How to write plot twists and reveals

Although much more commonly talked about in the how to write a thriller, mystery and suspense category of craft advice, I am of the camp that most novels can benefit from using plot twists and reveals to hook the reader.

Think about that feeling when you’re reading along, and boom, out of nowhere, the story takes a hard left turn based on something new the main character learns. If such a twist (and that is a twist, not a reveal, more on that below) is done well, it will make perfect, logical sense once explained. All the clues will have been there all along, peppered expertly in, so that from the standpoint of looking at the story from the end, everything makes logical sense. We, the reader, just didn’t think to ask that question.

To be clear, I’m not referring to adding in a random car chase to amp the tension (although those are suspenseful and fun, and if they work for your story, do it!), but rather thinking intentionally about how to sprinkle clues in the story and misdirect the reader to think something else, so that when the truth comes to light, the reader is stunned, satisfied, engaged, and thinks, “Damn – how did I not see that coming? It makes so much sense in retrospect!”

So how do we, as authors, go about designing these left turns? Below are some tried and tested methods I’ve found work well.

The difference between a plot twist and a reveal

First, we need to define the difference between a plot twist and a reveal. Full credit for these excellent definitions goes to a talk I heard between Ruth Ware and Clare Mackintosh, two of my favorite thriller authors, at Thrillerfest (a fab conference!):

• A reveal is an answer to a question the reader knows to ask.
• A twist is an answer to a question the reader did NOT know they should have asked.

In other words, a reveal answers a question that you, the author, have set up in such a way that the reader is desperate to know the answer. These can be hanging questions, which are questions the Point-of-View (POV) character asks via dialogue or internally about the plot, and are not immediately answered because the POV character must sleuth out the answer. Why did she do that? Who is the killer? Why is that knife on the counter? Or, these questions can be a little more subtle, where the POV character is hiding something from the reader, in the form of a long-kept secret that has relevance to the story-present plot. The reader knows the POV character is hiding something, but they don’t know what or how that will impact what’s going on in the here and now.

A twist, on the other hand, answers a question that you, the author, have (cleverly) designed so the reader (hopefully) doesn’t even know to question it. This is often done using misdirection – a character overlooks an important clue because they are convinced for reasons that it’s not actually a clue, such as a knife being used to chop vegetables instead of as a weapon. Or the POV character assumes that another clue is THE clue, and ignores all other assumptions (i.e. a red herring.) Or perhaps a character assumes something about why the person doing bad things did something, only to be wildly incorrect when they learn the truth.

Plot twists and reveals must be intentional

The key to designing successful reveals and twists is intentionality. Modern thriller structure includes (at least) three twists and/or reveals. One at 50%, one at 85%-90% (the climactic scene), and one in the last 5%. There can be more, of course, but aiming for three is a good starting point.

The 50% turn works equally well as a twist or a reveal. For example, a reveal could change the course of what the POV character does to solve everything. They learn the thing they’ve been searching for, and then they set off on a new course. If a twist, this could be a discovery by the POV character that makes them view everything up to that point in a new light, something that challenges their assumptions.

There are obviously exceptions, but in thrillers particularly, the climactic scene (85%-90%) is almost always a plot twist. This is because ideally, to win, the POV character is between a rock and a hard place for the climax, having to make a choice between two equally difficult scenarios.

When they get to that moment of truth, if the assumptions they’ve made up to that point are wrong, all of a sudden, they have an out. They conquer (or not), and we smoothly glide into the very end, where yet another turn occurs.

The last 5% plot twist or reveal is the fun one. This is often to do with a subplot, or perhaps a continuation of the climactic scene, in that the main character thinks they’ve won, but there’s one final hurdle to overcome or discover before all is safe.

Or perhaps the main character reveals something that shows us what we thought we understood of their motivations and why they wanted what they did is incorrect, and in fact it turns out we didn’t think to ask a question about a fundamental assumption we were manipulated to believe, by the author, to take as “fact.”

Or perhaps the final twist sets the story up for a sequel – the person doing bad things that got taken down in the climax is part of a cabal of more people doing bad things. These final twists always make logical sense (as do all twists), but rely heavily on misdirection so the reader doesn’t see them coming.

Two things you “should” do

I disagree with using the word “should” in writing advice because there are always exceptions and “should” stifles creativity. However, there are two deal breakers that will make readers angrily never read our stories again. Here they are so you can avoid them:

• Genre expectations: Readers of fiction do expect that the climactic scene, that 85-90% twist, will address the story question. In mysteries, this is whodunit. In suspense, this is a resolution of whatever was keeping us uncomfortable throughout. In thrillers, this is where the main character faces the person doing bad things. In romance, this is the moment when the two characters finally decide to get together and have their Happy Ever After (HEA.) Facing the wrath of readers who don’t get what they want from genre expectations is not fun, and I don’t recommend it.

• Lying to the reader: While a POV character can lie to other characters via dialogue, text, letter, email, note, etc., and can absolutely omit key details from the reader, don’t ever lie directly to the reader via inner thought. Inner thought, or interiority, is what engages us, the reader, with the characters. We like being in character’s heads, knowing what they’re thinking and what they’re planning, and what their motivations are. Not only will lying lose the reader’s trust (a surefire way to lose the reader), but if a twist is dependent upon a lie the POV character stated via inner thought, the twist will feel cheap, and not well-earned. Readers are smart. Give them enough clues that it makes sense, but not enough that they can guess the twist. (The one caveat to this is if the character themselves is convinced what they’re thinking is the truth – then it’s fair game.)

My best advice for how to design plot twists and reveals for maximum impact is to be intentional. Think about what the reader should assume, and have the characters follow that thread. Think about what a final twist and climactic twist could look like, and work backwards from there to misdirect the reader to think the opposite. While there are pantsers out there who can write a fully-formed twisty novel without planning (bless you, you unicorns), I am not one of them. Mysteries, thrillers and suspense novels are complex puzzles, and more than that, a game of manipulation. We, the author, try to misdirect the reader. The reader knows we’re trying to trick them, so they look harder. We, the author, know the reader will do this, so we get clever with red herrings, etc. And so on.

Timing your plot twists

To be effective at this, I fully subscribe to the belief that, at a certain point, we must look at our entire story to make sure all our clues, red herrings, misdirections, plot twists and reveals are placed for maximum impact and maximum enjoyment by the reader. Doing an outline ahead of time or an as-is outline is a great place for this planning.

Final thoughts

Give yourself the time and space to think through each piece of the puzzle, and then aim to put it together in such a way that the reader understands what you want them to understand, at the point you want them to understand it.

Happy writing!

Related posts you may be interested in:

3 Act Structure Guarantees A Fantastic Page Turner!

A bold statement, I know!

This blog post looks at the 3 Act Structure and in it I’m going to teach you what the 3 Act Structure is and why it’s the simplest way to guarantee you have a cause-and-effect plotline with conflict and action. 

Alongside having memorable characters, you need an intriguing story arc. There’s a lot of debate about whether a character or a story is more important. But to me, they are the yin and the yang of any good book. 

You need both if you’re going to write an excellent story.

What Is Structure?

Story structure is the framework used to ensure you hit all the right plot points and story beats.

There are many structures out there, including The Hero’s Journey, Save The Cat and, of course, the 3 Act Structure. 

It’s the tool you use to take your character out of their existing imperfect life and into the storyline. 

Structure is the skeleton upon which you hang your story in the most logical, efficient and compelling way possible, so your reader doesn’t close your novel after the first chapter. 

I believe, especially for new writers, the 3 Act Structure is the best structure to use because it gives you enough structure to get your character from A to Z but is loose enough that you can play around and experiment. It gives you room for ‘magic’. 

‘Magic’ is what I call those epiphany moments when you suddenly realise how two seemingly disparate ideas you had are actually connected and where they fit in the story. Or, a character speaks to you and tells you what to write next, making your life so much easier! 

Let’s break the 3 Act Structure down.

Inciting Incident

At the start of your story, we see your protagonist in their normal day-to-day life. Depending on the type of story you’re telling, that life could be near perfect, or it could be a complete shambles!

Either way, you need to convey your character’s normal life within the first couple of scenes.

Side Note: A chapter comprises either one scene or multiple scenes. This will depend on you and your style of writing. There is no one size fits all. Have a look at other books in the genre in which you’re writing and go with the one that feels most natural to you.

Within those first few scenes, we see their day-to-day life, but very quickly something comes in to disrupt that normal day. That’s why you choose to start your story there; it’s as close as possible to the moment when your protagonist’s life is turned upside down.

That moment is the Inciting Incident. It’s what kickstarts the plotline. Your protagonist has officially started the story.

This is where a lot of new writers fall down. Although a major disruption has occurred in their protagonist’s life, the writer backs off from giving them anything to do. Instead, the character might have a cup of tea and think about what to do. But not do it.

You must give your protagonists something to do at this point. They need to take action. It’s this action point that then propels them out of the first act and into the second.

Remember, the action they take doesn’t need to be the right thing to do. It might be entirely the wrong thing to do, but that’s okay. The important thing here is that they take action.

Let’s think about Anna in The Woman In The Window by AJ Finn. The Inciting Incident here is that she thinks she witnesses the murder of Jane Russell.

What does she do? She phones the police, thus opening up a can of worms and the plotline begins!

Obstacles

From that moment on, your character comes face to face with a series of obstacles, each one more taxing and difficult to overcome than the last.

This is what forms the Rising Action. Things get worse and worse until your protagonist is forced to face the very belief they are trying to hold on to but which isn’t serving them, i.e., their flaw.

I recommend you have at least three obstacles getting in your protagonist’s way. To ensure the cause-and-effect trajectory, keep in mind that the solution to the first obstacle creates the second, and the solution to the second obstacle creates the third.

If we look again at The Woman In The Window, we see that, when agoraphobic, and prescription-drug-addicted Anna phones the police, she has to let them into her house, something she desperately wants to avoid.

The police come and, as she tries to explain what she thinks she saw, the police consider her flaky and unreliable as a witness. This is a problem for her if she’s going to persuade anyone that she witnessed Jane Russell’s murder.

Because nobody believes her, she has to prove she knew Jane Russell and did indeed see her bludgeoned to death. She’s proactive. She looks for witnesses who also knew Jane and may have seen them together, and clues that Jane came into her house.

What I want you to notice here is that one thing leads to another. You can do this in your stories. If your character’s husband says he’s leaving, what would she do to either make him stay or speed up the separation?

If your character is accused of a crime they didn’t commit, would they sit quietly and let the police build a case against them, or would they a) go on the run, or b) hire the best lawyer they could and prove their innocence?

If your character’s planet is being attacked, would they cry and wait for the invasion, or would they rally the troops and bring their best fight?

The trick is to make sure your character does something physical. You do not want them to head straight to a coffee shop to think on their own. If they go to a coffee shop, they are meeting someone to have a conversation about their situation and decide about what to do next.

This is how you create a cause-and-effect storyline whereby your character keeps making poor decisions that get them in hotter and hotter water!

The Climax

​Eventually, your character reaches the climax of the story, and this is when they face their biggest obstacle or hurdle. This is the one that forces your character to change in a fundamental way, or do something they never thought possible.

It’s the moment they accept that the way they’re living life isn’t all that great and that, in fact, if they want a better life, they need to shake things up.

Therefore, getting to grips with your character’s flaws before you write is so important. Only when you know what your protagonist’s flaw is can you have them reflect on why things were so bad in the beginning, notice the changes they’ve made over the storyline, and identify how they will do things differently from now on.

For Anna in The Woman In The Window, it was only as someone was attempting to murder her that she recognised her drug addiction and agoraphobia were not keeping her safe, but were in fact holding her back from living a real life, outside, with other people, which is what she secretly wanted.

As undramatic as it sounds, your climax and ending need to be ‘satisfactory’. What this means is that you tie up any loose ends and leave your reader feeling all is right with the world for now. We know real life is more complicated than that, but for the purposes of fiction, most readers want to feel safe when they close the book for the last time.

They can take a breath to reset before they delve into your next novel!

Final Thoughts: A Word From An Expert

A final rule of thumb when it comes to building your story’s tension is to remember what Hitchcock taught us:

“Drama is real life with the dull bits cut out.”

This is what drama is at its heart. Your reader doesn’t want to know the minutiae of your character’s day to day routine. They don’t need to know what your character had for breakfast, or what shower gel they use, or how they travel from A to B.

Focus on the drama and you’ll write a compelling, page turner or a novel!

Moniack Mhor – A Highland Writing Retreat

In 2019, I went to the beautiful Moniack Mhor Writing Retreat, situated in the heart of the Scottish Highlands.

I spent a marvellous week ensconced in an old but beautifully refurbished croft house with nine other writers. We spent much of the day sitting cosily on the sofa in front of a roaring fire.

Together, the other writers and I worked on our manuscripts. Some were works-in-progress, others were new pieces inspired by the croft, the hills and the company.

We were all there for the same reason. We needed the solitude and space Moniack Mohr writing retreat gave us to mull over our ideas, discuss them with the tutors and, most importantly, get our manuscripts up and running.

Expert help and encouragement

​In between our free time to write, we had the honour of working with two visiting tutors, Kerry Hudson and Janice Galloway.

Both highly acclaimed and award-winning writers gave their time generously. They shared their insights and experience, offered suggestions on our work and generally encouraged us to keep going with our writing and not give up.

What was just as valuable as the 1-2-1 sessions were the conversations around the dinner table and cake breaks!

Industry Insights

They offered insight into their writing processes, the publishing industry and the realities of being a published author. Some of it was very sobering.

For example, it was there I learnt that the average traditionally published author (from JK Rowling at the top of the income tree, all the way down to the unknown debut author) is £10,000 ($12,000).

My wholehearted thanks to both Kerry and Janice for their enthusiasm, generosity and encouragement to go for our dreams.

Are you a writer?

If you are a writer, be it fiction, non-fiction, memoir, poetry or songs, I cannot recommend enough the impact a week away with like-minded people can have.

Find out which retreats are available here.

It’s a real soul booster because you’re with people who talk your language, whether it be about syntax, punctuation, story structure, rhythm, verse, or even where our creative impulse comes from.

Not everyone in our day-to-day lives understands why we creatives want to create – sometimes they think we’re a bit crazy!

But on a retreat such as Moniack Mhor, or even a local weekend class, we’re with others equally crazy!!

If you’ve had time away to create, let me know. I’d love to hear about your experience. If you fancy it but haven’t been able to yet, get in touch because perhaps I can help you find somewhere just right for you.

Looking for more time to write?

If you’re a beginner writer looking to get started, download my free cheat sheet, 30+ Ways To Find Time To Write. It will help you find the time you need to write.