The Problem With Twist Endings In Your Novel

The problem with twist endings in your novel.

how to write an amazing believable twist and what not to do to surprise your reader.

One of the things an up-and-coming writer loves putting into their novels is a twist ending. They love the idea of the reader getting to the last page of a five hundred novel only to be hit with something amazing, something shocking.

Something that will stick in their minds leading them to recommend the book to everyone they know. But are there any problems that could come up? Something that could actually hurt your novel by having a twist ending?

In this blog, we will be looking at the problem with twist endings in your novel.

THE PROBLEM WITH TWIST ENDINGS IN YOUR NOVEL

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The idea of a twist ending is a nice idea, it makes the reader jump when they come across it. Sometimes you can actually hear someone scream out when they stumble across it. As a writer, you feel proud. Job well done. But there’s only one catch with a twist ending. As the writer, you’re the only one who knows it’s there. And a new writer might make the mistake of believing the success of the novel comes down to the shocking twist ending.

The problem is the reader has no idea it’s coming up. How will the reader get to the ending of the novel if the novel isn’t that great, to begin with? Too many writers bank on a surprise ending being the book’s selling point. But only the writer knows about it.

THEY’LL NEVER GET TO THE END

The twist might be wonderful, but if the book is boring the reader will stop reading halfway through, never getting to the amazing ending.

One technique is to tell the reader at the start there’s a surprise ending coming up, but that loses its effect. It’s like telling someone they’re going to have a surprise birthday party, but you hold back telling them the location and who’s attending. Thinking it will still be a surprise. In reality, it has no effect on them.

THEY’LL SPEND TOO MUCH TIME GUESSING

You never want to tell the reader to be “aware” of the twist ending, because the reader will try guessing the twist chapter after chapter. And there’s a chance they’ll be right. A twist is never effective if the reader can guess it correctly before it happens. In fact, it has the opposite effect.

The most effective twists are the ones that come out of nowhere at the end. But if you have a 500 hundred-page novel with the twist in the last paragraph that means the reader has to read through 499 pages to start with. If you write a boring book they’ll stop after page 50. That wonderful surprise ending will be for not.

IT’S LIKE FROSTING ON A CAKE

If you are planning on a surprise ending don’t focus on it, put it out of your head. First, you have to write an amazing novel. One that keeps the reader’s attention from start to finish with amazing characters and storyline, then you hit them with a surprise ending. You have to look at your surprise ending as frosting on top of a cake. But the novel with its complex characters is the cake itself. The twist is a bonus, but don’t try selling the entire book because of the last-line twist.

The problem some new writers make with twist endings is there’s nothing leading up to it to justify it. As a new writer, you cannot throw a twist in just for the sake of one. There has to be a justified reason, or the reader will know it was just an add-on. Leaving it to have no emotional impact. The golden rule of twist endings is the emotional impact it will have. That won’t happen if it’s tacked on at the end.

THEY’LL RE-READ YOUR NOVEL

You want the twist ending to be so clever to a point where the reader can go back and re-read your novel and see “the clues.” Making the reader realize the twist was being hinted at all along. Leaving the reader to wonder, “how did I not see it?” The reader will respect your book if you were putting clues throughout, but doing so in an interesting way.

A book with a great twist should be a book you can read twice. But the second is like reading it for the first time. The best novels with a twist are the ones that feel like two books in one. There’s a great emotional story the first time through, but the second time with the knowledge of the twist makes you see it differently, but it’s just as powerful.

THEY’LL HAVE MORE PASSION THIS TIME

If someone can read your novel a second time knowing about the twist and it still feels the same, the twist wasn’t all that great. The reader will feel scammed. If the twist was powerful enough the reader will want to re-read your novel this time with more passion than the first read. Don’t let them down. Don’t write a standard novel then throw a twist in the last chapter at the last second. Be aware of the little hints you can place in your novel throughout.

It doesn’t mean you have to know every hint before you start writing. If you’re almost finished writing and you come up with new clues you can always go back to the beginning chapters and add them in. Rewrites are what make twist endings great. As a writer, you have the freedom to change things. If you come up with a twist ending when you’re almost done don’t just throw it in there and leave it. Look back at your novel and see what can be added to justify the twist. Making it look as though you knew about the twist idea right from the start.

INTENT AND OBSTACLES MAKES US TURN THE PAGE

But don’t rely on a twist ending being the heart and soul of the book. In the end, it’s character that sells. It’s the conflict. Intent and obstacles make us turn the page. Never write a novel thinking the twist ending is all that’s needed. To a point where tension, drama, conflict are not needed. You’re putting too much pressure on a twist ending the reader doesn’t even know exists.

The twist has to play into the theme. Connecting to characters’ inner conflicts and resolving them. Tying the twist into the emotional conflict of the story. You can’t have a twist that doesn’t connect with the story in any way, but if the twist is connected with the lead character’s inner struggle it will be that much more powerful.

IT HAS TO MAKE SENSE

A twist has to make sense, if it’s silly or over the top the reader will laugh and your great powerful novel will come across like a joke. Make sure the reader can’t tell the twist was deliberately added at the last second for the sake of a twist. This makes it lose all its effect.

You want the twist to blend in as though it had to happen. As though the story could not end any other way.