Plot Twist!

Why, What, and How It Works

I’m a big fan of plot twists. I love reading a book or watching a movie and getting to the twist and realizing that I didn’t see it coming. I’m a stickler for them being a bit hard to detect; my own radar is keen, so nothing disappoints me more than seeing the twist from a mile away.

One of my favorite movies in this regard is The Sixth Sense, and if you haven’t seen it, I won’t spoil it here; but if you have, it’s quite a twist, right? I did not see that one coming.

I’ve used plot twists at one level or another in everything I’ve written, and I thought I’d share some tips for creating them.

What Twists Do

Why use plot twists? First because they’re fun. Readers love them, especially young readers.

But twists actually perform a necessary function. A good twist will lift the middle out of the doldrums. A good twist will set the story in a new and unanticipated direction. A good twist will add depth to a story – and even reflect some richer thematic meaning.

I’m not going to spoil things here, so I have to be a bit cryptic.

When I wrote The Mystery of Mystic Mountain, I knew that the plot twist would have something important to tell the reader about the meaning of “treasure”. I also knew that I wanted to surprise both the reader and even the characters in their treasure hunt. So when I devised the twist, it was in order to surprise everyone, send a new direction and depth to the story, and help me generate the anticipation that leads to greater tension in building to the twist.

How To Write Twists

The thing about creating a plot twist is it’s very hard to do in the first draft. This is because you want the twist to be a surprise, so you almost have to surprise yourself.

Again, in MMM, it wasn’t until I was closer to the end of draft one that I realized what I needed in order to twist the story logically. Because that’s the key: while the reader can’t anticipate the twist, it must come out of logic and not out of coincidence.

This means you have to know your characters and the possibilities for twists in order to come up with the right twist. And it means that once you have the idea for your twist, you’re going to need to go back and layer in very subtle hints and remove anything that would either make it obvious or make it improbable.

It’s a fine line to tread, no?

Working in the Twist

Here’s what I recommend:

• Write your first draft with an idea that something might twist in the late middle second act to the third act but keep moving forward until it hits you what you need. Once you know the basic plot and your characters, the twist will emerge.

• Go back in your story and see where you can braid in subtle hints, or where you need to remove obvious pointers.

• The twist must be organic and possible. There are no coincidences in fiction; everything emerges as a result of the main character’s agency/actions (cause and effect). So now go back to what your main character does throughout the early part of the story and make sure that they are “setting up” the twist, even when they aren’t aware of it.

• If you’re stumped about your story’s twist, brainstorm some possibilities, always keeping in mind that it needs to emerge organically from the story and not come out of the clear blue.

Mystery of Mystic Mountain’s Good News

I’m just thrilled by this review of MMM, from The Horn Book (Jan./Feb. 2025):

“With themes of family, grief, and loss, Fox has crafted a multifaceted mystery novel with even more to the story than clues and riddles.”

And with its nomination for the 2025 Edgar Award, Juvenile, from Mystery Writers of America. And that it’s longlisted for the Reading the West Award with so many fabulous books!

I’ll be going to the banquet for the Edgars in New York in May, which is “dress to kill”, so there will be pictures!

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