The other night, Dean Wesley Smith wrote a good blog post about plot twists. You can read it here, if you’re interested. I’ll warn you though. Dean’s blog is written for other writers, so it may not interest you if you don’t write fiction.

Me, I don’t really write for writers. Haven’t since I got my MFA a few years back. So why am I writing about plot twists tonight?

Well, two reasons really. One I’ll get to in a minute. The other, because I have thoughts about plot twists from the reader/viewer end of the spectrum.

Plot twists. When they’re done right, I love them. When they’re done wrong, I end up throwing books across the room or changing the channel (possibly to include a small amount of yelling at the screen before I change channels).

But what do I mean by done right?

Well, a lot of that is on the creator end. If the plot twist isn’t set up well, it doesn’t work. But that’s not all. The story has to suck you in. You have to get caught up in the story, so your subconscious picks up the clues the creator left, but your conscious mind doesn’t put them together.

Let me give you an example.

The Sixty Sense. Brilliant plot twist. Saw it in the theater and was totally sucked into the story. Now mind you, I freaking love ghost stories. Always have. The plot twist in this movie is one that I should have seen coming a mile away.

All the clues were there.

So did I catch it before the reveal?

Well, yes. Honestly. But not by much. (I could name the moment, for those who are interested, but it’s pretty late in the movie.)

So, if I did catch the plot twist, why do I say The Sixth Sense is a good example?

Two reasons: 1) I’m the kind of viewer who should have spotted the plot twist before the third scene. It’ a ghost story, and I know ghost stories. But the movie got me so caught up that it didn’t happen until much, much later in the film; and 2) when I figured it out, I got a chill all through my system.

The feeling of figuring it out was just as awesome as if I didn’t figure it out at all.

And that’s how I know a good plot twist. That chill of revelation, even if I figure it out myself. That chill tells me that my subconscious picked up all the clues, even if my conscious mind missed them.

And I love that.

Oh, and as long as I’m talking about plot twists, I want to give a shout out to Murder by Death. The mystery genre is famous for its plot twists, and that wonderful comedy spoofs several of the most famous mystery writers beautifully. If you haven’t seen it, you ought to check it out.

Now, what’s the second reason I’m talking about plot twists?

Well, I have the honor to see my novel Magician’s Choice included in the SF Plot Twists Storybundle. It’s a great set of books, for one low price, by some authors you really ought to check out.

And these folks know their plot twists.

Click the covers if you want more information.

Liked it? Take a second to support Stefon on Patreon!