Back in May, when I did a talk at the Bristol Comic Expo - namely, My Future Shock Hell: Breaking Into 2000 AD (And What I Learned While Doing It) - I concluded with a promise that I’d post some thoughts on twist endings. Not only those that occur in 2000 AD’s FUTURE SHOCKS, but in pretty much every form of storytelling there is, from short stories to screenplays. So here’s a quick bit of study on what twists are, how they work, and how to identify the five different types
A twist is a moment of revelation within a story that throws into question all that’s gone before. Often appearing at the conclusion of a story, it’s essentially a specific type of action or ‘beat’. Aristotle called it the ‘peripeteia’ (variously translated as ‘reversal’ or ‘sudden change’), referring both to the sudden downturn in the protagonist’s fortunes that occurs in tragedy (such as Oedipus’ realisation that he’s married his mum) and the sudden change for the good in comedy (such as the lovesick Duke Orsino in TWELFTH NIGHT realising that his favourite page-boy is actually a girl in disguise). Whether for good or ill, the peripeteia means an abrupt reversal in the protagonist's circumstances. Aristotle pointed out that the reversal occurs in conjunction with ‘anagnorisis’ (variously translated as ‘discovery’ or ‘recognition’), the actual moment at which the protagonist uncovers a hitherto unknown piece of information. In other words, it’s that bit in the movie when the main character realises they’ve just murdered their dad, married their mum, or that they were a ghost the whole time. This is also the point at which the character might fall to their knees yelling, ‘Nooooooooo!’ – and it’ll probably be raining... You can read a revised and updated version of this essay over on my FREE Substack newsletter Agent of Weird
20 Comments
Graham
11/11/2014 08:43:21 pm
Great post. It looks like the Roald Dahl story about the greenhouse you were thinking of is the John Collier story "Back For Christmas". It says here on the internet that it first appeared in Alfred Hitchcock Presents in 1956 (with the plot involving a wine cellar rather than a greenhouse), but the story was re-used for an episode of Roald Dahl's Tales of the Unexpected in 1980.
Reply
Alec
11/11/2014 10:20:00 pm
Thanks, Graham. Yeah, I saw that story first on the Tales of the Unexpected show then again on Alfred Hitchcock. So I guess the Collier story got adapted twice. Assumed it was Dahl. Love both their work. Thanks again.
Reply
Matt Badham
2/18/2015 08:26:08 pm
That is a very well-written and informative post. Thank you for writing it, Alec.
Reply
Alec
2/22/2015 08:27:22 pm
You're welcome, Matt! And thanks for the re-tweet.
Reply
7/12/2015 03:11:32 am
What a great article. I've always struggled with endings in general, and twist endings are hard to do. Most articles on twist endings just say essentially, "Do an ending the reader won't expect" as if that wasn't obvious. This breaks it down so simply and easily, and even the categories of twist endings, that I feel like I can do a billion twist endings now. In fact, I just came up with two story ideas! Many thanks for this. I'll be tweeting it as well.
Reply
Alec Worley
7/13/2015 03:34:22 am
Glad you got something out of it, Nigel. Thanks for reading and for the Tweets! If it gets you thinking about structure in a different way, that's ace! All I'd add is don't, don't, DON'T treat it like a recipe book or a formula. Develop your own ideas and come back to the blog if you get stuck. Don't cling to these ideas. (And that's all they are: ideas.) Once you've crossed the river, don't carry the boat on your back - and other applicable Zen sayings. ;)
Reply
8/14/2015 07:09:35 am
I was becoming stuck on my third thriller, which I needed advice on. I wanted to know where to go with the idea of a triple twist plot that would work and satisfy. Your advice has been the best I've read so far. Thank you for taking the time out to help us writing folk. I now know how I can achieve it, and make it completely believable.
Reply
Alec Worley
8/23/2015 08:28:38 pm
Hey, Louise. You're super-welcome! Good luck with book four. ;)
Reply
Geoff Collins
10/6/2015 02:29:14 am
This is a nice summary of "twist types". Very helpful, wish I'd read it earlier. I published a twisted piece a while back (shameless plug, Google "Geoffrey Collins The Meet SQMag) and the hardest part was hiding the twist while leaving it in plain view. If you take the lazy option and just withhold information from the reader, they feel cheated. You kind of have to write an story that would stand on it's own merits so that the reader becomes engrossed and doesn't see what's coming. Not as easy as it sounds!
Reply
Dan Steel
12/12/2015 03:10:46 pm
This is a great piece of analysis, thank you. You probably know this already, but the idea of two "roles" in creative activities, (as you put it "writer-you" and "editor-you") is well founded in psychological research on creativity, and some disciplines deliberately separate the two (like music recording where you will typically mix down two weeks or more after recording) because the two roles are in tension which can lead to block.
Reply
Alec
12/14/2015 07:44:14 am
Cheers, Dan. I had no idea about that psychology you mention. Will have to look into that... Good to know we're on the right tracks. ;)
Reply
Benjamin Smith
5/7/2016 10:08:33 pm
I would love to see if we can get some FiveThirtyEight style empirical analysis of these twist types. I'd love to know if there are definitive correlations when twists are used and, say, their overall critical reception, or even just which twist type is used with the highest frequency. How early in the script, etc.
Reply
Alec Worley
5/12/2016 12:41:00 am
Thanks for reading, Benjamin! Analysis might be interesting, although a couple of issues spring to mind. 1.) You’d have to assume my definitions are correct and universally applicable – which they’re probably not, merely one set of definitions out of a zillion. 2.) The findings – for me, anyway – would be of no use creatively. As with all this stuff – from Save the Cat to Robert McKee – it’s an editorial tool not a creative one. Robert McKee’s theories might help you define and solve a problem, but they won’t help you write your story. You can’t drive a car with the roadmap pasted to your windshield, right? Paradigms were a real comfort when I started out. They helped me span that terrifying abyss between idea and finished story. But mistakes give you valuable experience points. And the more I’ve gained over the years, and the more my instincts have sharpened, the more I feel I’m moving away from all the paradigms – much as I still love reading about them. ;)
Reply
liam
11/28/2016 09:54:10 am
its good and helpful
Reply
liam
11/28/2016 09:56:17 am
its good
Reply
Taylor Clark
7/17/2020 06:20:40 pm
Hi! I happened to come across your post after searching for a way to end my first novel and I would like some insight from you. It's ironic that I'm making a book but i'm not a fan of reading unless someone recommends or makes me read something-- that's where you'll come in. (Warning: this comment is really long)
Reply
Alec Worley
7/20/2020 10:43:30 am
Hi Taylor!
Reply
Taylor Clark
7/20/2020 10:53:45 am
Wait yes I actually do have a reasonable ending in mind now. It was kind of gathering dust in my brain archive but now it sounds almost perfect. Thanks Alec
Thecla
9/1/2020 03:11:17 pm
This is a very insightful piece. I truly enjoyed reading every line. Weldone!
Reply
Your comment will be posted after it is approved.
Leave a Reply. |
LinktreeArchives
September 2023
|