Predictable unpredictability

[LaRascasse]

I have put up quite a few short stories in the last few weeks. A plot device that I am particularly fond of is "sting in the tail" or "twist ending".

The essence for it to work is if the reader does not see it coming. He has an ending in mind and when he reads the last bit, he goes "WTF, did that really happen?" and re reads the last part. If done correctly, it can have a good effect.

My question is, if you use it too often, does the reader "see it coming" in subsequent stories? That ruins half the effect. Any tips on this issue?

 

[lovecraft68]

I have put up quite a few short stories in the last few weeks. A plot device that I am particularly fond of is "sting in the tail" or "twist ending".

The essence for it to work is if the reader does not see it coming. He has an ending in mind and when he reads the last bit, he goes "WTF, did that really happen?" and re reads the last part. If done correctly, it can have a good effect.

My question is, if you use it too often, does the reader "see it coming" in subsequent stories? That ruins half the effect. Any tips on this issue?

Yes I think it does. Now rather than read and enjoy the story they are concentrating too hard wondering where it is "really" going.

It's like the guy who directed 6th sense which of course had a surprise ending (color of night was before that and also had a great twist.) now anytime you watch one you're looking at every scene saying "gotta remember this it might mean something"

alas for him the only twist they could have now is if they were decent.

 

[beatrice_dreams]

Yes I think it does. Now rather than read and enjoy the story they are concentrating too hard wondering where it is "really" going.

It's like the guy who directed 6th sense which of course had a surprise ending (color of night was before that and also had a great twist.) now anytime you watch one you're looking at every scene saying "gotta remember this it might mean something"

alas for him the only twist they could have now is if they were decent.

I agree - I guessed the twist of The Village about halfway through. I hate a predictable story!

You need to switch it up with a straight forward story once in a while... (and that doesn't mean something about mermaids at the bottom of an apartment building swimming pool. That's just weird.)

 

[Stella_Omega]

What I find is that most writers end up using the same twists-- the bad guy is psychotic, and his crimes simply don't make sense, for instance.

Or, the butler did it.

Or, the "beautiful woman" is "really a man." That one is mighty common...

 

[sr71plt]

I think that part of the enjoyment of writing is to mix it up and take different approaches and story arcs. But I also think it's OK if someone enjoys writing the same story over and over again. (Makes a difference which author I'll follow, though.)

 

[LaRascasse]

Thanks for the advice so far.

I have tried to model my short stories like those of Roald Dahl (if you haven't read his non-children work, do so at the earliest.) Those stories have beautiful, slightly dark twists in every one of them, yet I read through his entire collected short stories twice over. There was a time, when I knew there was going to be a sting, but wanted to know what it was going to be or how he was going to pull it off. I still read it when I get the chance.

Like Dahl, I try to mix it up. There is no fixed twist (like finding out the beautiful girl is a guy).

Any more advice will be appreciated, look through a couple of the shorts if you want.

 

[PennLady]

Any element used repeatedly by the same author will presumably get his readers' attention, and they'll be looking for it. Some will enjoy it, some not. I stopped reading Dean Koontz b/c his books got too formulaic. On the other hand, some people like to see if they can pick out the twist.

 

[Handley_Page]

Any element used repeatedly by the same author will presumably get his readers' attention, and they'll be looking for it. Some will enjoy it, some not. I stopped reading Dean Koontz b/c his books got too formulaic. On the other hand, some people like to see if they can pick out the twist.

Like its a test of 'Lateral Thinking'?

 

[Boxlicker101]

O Henry was noted for his surprise endings, and he did them very well, but every time I read a story by him, unless I have read it before, I concentrate on figuring out that twist at the end. It doesn't ruin the story, but it does detract.

 

[PennLady]

Like its a test of 'Lateral Thinking'?

Perhaps; sorry, not entirely sure what that means.

 

[TE999]

David Lynch uses trick endings over much (not to mention beginnings and middles) so that you're not enjoying the show, you're looking for clues. His TV show 'Twin Peaks' is/was a prime example.

Limit your use of surprise endings in your stories or risk being typecast or even worse, predictable.

 

[PennLady]

Here's an example -- I got four e-books from Amazon by a Shannon McKenna (not quite sure about the name but that's close). They are a series about four brothers, and in each one a brother finds the woman he loves. I'm on the last one, and while they are ... decent, they are predictable and once I'm done I can't say I'd be too anxious to read any more (got these for $.99/ea).

Here's how it goes: Brothers all suffer from odd childhood -- being raised by survivalist father who died when the oldest was 18. So each guy finds/meets Woman. Odd courtship ensues, alpha male brother fights feelings then gives in. Thriller stuff is in the background -- one or both is pursued by a terribly well-funded enemy. One or both makes mistake, goes off alone, etc., and a presumed friend is involved in some sort of betrayal. It's not quite the same story four times, but it's not too far from that.

I think that's the kind of thing to watch out for, although I know you're not talking about the same twist each time. But maybe once the surprise will be in not having a twist.

 

[Boxlicker101]

Almost all my stories end the same way, with everybody cumming and having a great time. Maybe I should change that, although I feel that would be contrary to my purpose in writing them.

 

[sr71plt]

Almost all my stories end the same way, with everybody cumming and having a great time. Maybe I should change that, although I feel that would be contrary to my purpose in writing them.

You could start with that and go uphill from there.

 

[SamScribble]

I seem to recall reading somewhere (a long time ago) that when writing a story with a twist, the seed should be planted within the first third of the story. That way, it becomes part of the reader’s 'experience' and seems more natural, less contrived.

I must say that I don’t much like stories in which the author conceals the basis for the twist until almost the end.

 

[XXplorher]

Lay the egg

Lead them to it

Hatch the other thing that was there all along...


OP laid it out as if he were the first person to ever think of it.

Never let the reader feel that way... eh. That's bothersome.

 

[Ironiclaconic]

I often use twists. I think the central problem in most erotica is that it lacks conflict. Typically the conflict is resolved in the seduction, not the sex. So the sex scene is just a denoument or epilogue. When I use mysteries and twists it's partially to keep the conflict going through the act of sex. It's also more fun to write. Here are my rules:

1) The story can't stand on the twist alone. The twist needs to be sufficiently natural that if the reader sees it coming it's still a good story. The twist should cause everything to still make sense, not just be a surprise for the sake of surprise.

2) Plant subtle clues, that way if the reader figures it out they deseservedly feel clever, not robbed.

3) Avoid predictability. Use expectations set by a previous twist to create a red herring to conceal a new one. Or skip the twist occasionally and instead have the sex act resolve an interior conflict. Sometimes it doesn't fit the story.

4) Read or watch good twist stories to see how the masters do it. Unreliable narrators, hidden motivations, red herrings, integration into themes, and character conflicts, etc.