Overdone Plot Twists to Avoid 

My manuscript does not have any of these plot twists, but it has totally made me want to write a story that sets up every single one of these perfectly and then fails to deliver on all of them, haha

I will never forget the feeling I had when I heard “I am your father, Luke!”

#3 reminds me of a choice I ended up making in my story; It's clear from the start SOMETHING happened between the two main characters, but not what it was. Originally it was meant to be a big reveal at the end, what actually happened, but I ended up realizing that the gain of a big reveal moment, was all I gained from having it at the end,compared to the benefit of the reader having the proper context for the actions of the characters, and hence why I ended up "killing my darling" by moving the reveal to the emotional climax of the first arc near the beginning of the series instead, so the readers could better appreciate the actions of the characters and how difficult certain interactions are for them, due to knowing the underlying issues underpinning these interactions.

Ah man, my story about a person who was secretly the villian and related to the false villian all encompassed in a dream that he wakes up from at the end is ruined! 😝

The “it was all a dream” plot twist works when the reader keeps hoping “OMG I hope this is a dream because this is a terrible place and situation for the protagonist” such as in The Wizard of Oz.

Thank you so much for this video, it's so helpful! I've binge-watched literally all of your videos these past few days lmao

Thanks for such a great and informative video! :D I'm writing a medieval dark fantasy novel and am very relieved that I've not chosen any of these plot twists and am actually doing something original, like I'd hoped! Haha

I feel like the risk of the reader already knowing there is a twist coming can be a good thing as either it makes them feel good for guessing it right, or if you know their expectations so do a double twist kinda thing. Great video as always!

7.23: ''It was all a dream'''....I check this one out, and it just pisses people off and not to trust you anymore. It is an overdone thing yes, and it is annoying, which means what we felt along the way is just a pointless effort.

Terrific article, Alyssa. I recognized every one of them (and two of them are in my novel!). But the dream twist is a non-starter for me. I started the much-hyped Falling, written by a former flight attendant, but when I discovered at the end of the first chapter that the thrills and shocking events of that chapter, so structured to pull us in, were all a dream, I gave it one more chapter and then gave up on the book. You're right -- it's a big risk, which didn't work for me. But it must have for many, because the book is a best seller.

Ive been watching a lot of writing plot twists videos and this is really informative. You didn't say we shouldn't do these twist but gave tips on how to pull them off effectively! The only twist I kinda have is dying and coming back, except they don't come back it just allows a bigger door for the plot!

Maybe there's a little confusion with the ending season of Lost? That is not a good representation of the "It was all for nothing" plot twist. Someone's gonna have to explain why they think that. I agree there seems to be a twist like that for the ending of season 5, but the events of season 5 actually lead into season 6 quite nicely. Lost is my favourite show. I've watched it once a year every year for the last decade.

I use a plot twist as a cliff hanger in my first series from either protagonist/antagonist to set up expected suspense. As for the character seeming harmless and is "as said: responsible. I pulled the strings to have it so that character had no choice for actions/decisions. When explained later, the threads are more clear with breadcrumbs associated to one elaborate mystery. Medieval dark fantasy, though it starts light, it becomes darker as each book progresses. I spent two years analyzing the plot in the midst of drafting, alongside other projects on top of work.

Another great video, keep them coming.

Mine wasn't here, phew! :) Great advice as usual though

A twist's effectiveness can be measured by whether or not there's any substantial fallout or consequences from it. If not, then it was a cheap, soap opera-style surprise. Bad twists go for shock first, sense later, if at all. Some that I've encountered in fiction: a seemingly nice or perfect character turns out to be a fraud and jerk, a demonized historical figure turns out to be a softie (and vice versa), two enemies used to be in love, someone said to be long dead turns out to be alive somewhere, the commoner is royalty, the royal is a commoner, some previously underwritten and unimportant character is a traitor, somebody close to the main character is a traitor, a seemingly grim prophecy doesn't come to pass and is reinterpreted to be positive, and finally, the disposable third wheel of an earlier heterosexual love triangle turns out to be a lesbian/bisexual.

Terrific video, Alyssa. Stephen King touched on these tricks in _Misery_ , which in addition to being one of his three best novels and one of the most perfect movies ever made, is a wonderful piece of literary criticism. Bodice rippers often use these corny twists. Diana Gabaldon is essentially writing Misery Chastain novels without any irony and calling them _Outlander_ . I think you're doing your part to turn out more Kings and fewer Gabaldons.

Great video Alyssa, but just a comment - the ending of LOST wasn't, in fact, that all that had happened on the show hadn't actually happened. It was just the relatively small "flash-sideways" universe which turned out to be purgatory. Unfortunately a lot of people didn't get that though :(

Always great advice. I continuously tweak my manuscript with each video you upload. Have you discussed character arc? I have to create an unlikeable character and turn him into a hero. It’s challenging!

I read a traditionally published novel about a group of friends on an island and one of them is killed. It's set up, as you would expect, that one of the friend group did it. But nope, it was a character's husband who wasn't on the island, but flew there to do the deed, and flew back. The fact he flew to the island is only revealed in the chapter before he's exposed as the killer, along with an unknown-until-he-reveals-it motive for doing it. I couldn't believe that an editor for a major publishing company wouldn't immediately send that sort of cheat right back to the author with a big red X.

I remember reading a book where the author spent way to much time trying to convince the reader that a certain character couldn't possibly be the killer that it became blindingly obvious that character was the killer and she was.

Once again, thanks for the insight.

Dennis Potter’s Pennies From Heaven had a terrific plot twist. The main character is Arthur in pre World War II England. Arthur sells sheet music and dreams of owning his own music shop. He constantly pleads with his wife to put up the money. She won’t. Shewinds up dead. At Arthur’s trial we learn that he is a serial adulterer had no plan to find customers. Bob Hoskins played Arthur.

Hi Alyssa! I love your content and went back to the beginning of your channel to watch all the videos! :D I'm curious how many plot twists are one too many for an average novel? (sorry if this was already asked somewhere in the comments)

Dont forget that the most overdone plot twists have also been the most famous of all time.

None of mine here, phew! :) but great advice as usual

One question on misleading protagonists: say that the protagonist has a secret that is known to the readers (revealed in, say, chapter 2), but the side characters don't find out until the end. Assume the protagonist remains consistent in terms of beliefs and actions throughout. Is this protagonist misleading, or just secretive?

I’m writing a book right now where a guy is trying to figure out who a murderer is. It’s NOT a split personality thing where the protagonist learns that it’s actually him. I literally hate that plot twist, it’s so overdone and annoying. The thing is, I’m not entirely sure who the killer is yet, and as I go back through the chapters, I inadvertently laid clues to it being the main character in a split personality sort of twist -_- that’s not what will happen, I won’t allow it! Lol Stupid brain

The perfect one is not so perfect twist is exactly why people hated Luke Skywalker's character in The Last Jedi.

Alyssa: "What would happen if we knew from the beginning that the protagonist was the murderer?" Me: "Read 'Crime & Punishment' to find out."

I love your points but the up and down high tone of how you read the notes makes it feel like I’m in a PowerPoint presentation where the presenter doesn’t want to be there

The second book in my series has a major plot twist at the end. Can't reveal it ;^) However, there is a *huge* clue that the readers of the first book can easily see in the first several chapters of this one. I even give the answer in the Epilogue almost as instructions like: _"reader, if you just do this, you'll see that you've known all along!"_ We'll see if readers follow along and do this simple, simple thing when I'm in beta. Should be a major "WTF?!?" moment if they do.

Are there any actually _good_ implementations of the _'it was all a dream'_ twist? Every time I've seen it, I've not just hated it, I also no longer trust that author. I won't read their lazy garbage again.

A perfect example of a good plot twist is in "Come Back Jerry"

I like this because not long ago, I saw someone on Reddit asking about how to do the plot twist of a character you thought was dead is actually alive. There's ways that can be done badly. Lots of TV shows did it poorly, but there's also good examples. Shannon Hale's books of Bayern quartet include a plot twist in the fourth book where a dead character turns out to be alive. I won’t give it away, but it’s done well because it is consistent with the character and makes sense in the logic of the universe. My story will have plot twists, not like any of the ones mentioned here. It won’t get into too much detail or give it away. I'll just say it takes place in a post-apocalyptic dystopian city, and when I got the idea way back when, I thought to myself, "What if this city was actually a...." and I won’t say the rest.😊

Watching this made me realize that I kind of added in one of these plot twists without really realizing it.

Damn, I hate those last two--"It was all a dream" and "Surprise, the hideous villain is not REALLY dead." They both absolutely suck. Both are "toss the book across the room" tricks.

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Now I know I have a great, never-used plot twist😊

My story twist is that the protagonist's unexpected pregnancy is her own time traveling murderous twin in utero...

It never really happened... the LOST ending that you mentioned is a good example. However, digging back a bit further in history, the TV show, DALLAS had a much reviled "it was all a dream" season. Yup. I'd stay away from the "it's all a dream" trope. I will toss a book that falls down that rabbit hole (won't even resell it at a used book store). Return from the dead... I was told by a trusted person that a cousin had died of cancer. Twenty plus years later I ran into her at a family reunion. The consequences in my life were minimal; I had not made any decisions because of the false information. However, the experience does illustrate that misinformation about death is possible, even for the "common man." A misinformed character who acts on that misinformation--be it deliberately or accidently incorrect--is not exactly a new plot device, and that misinformation could be news of death.

@Alyssa Matesic As to a character “returning from the dead”. My current project involves a situation where a character “dies” before the start of the story. They are more of a memory of the protagonist than a character in which the readers will have become invested. If it turns out there was deception on the part of the antagonist made to look like death, would introducing this person at a critical juncture break your rule? Thanks!

Hey there Miss Matesic, So, I'm just shy of 18 years old and I've decided to traditionally publish my 2nd novel that I just finished. My question is, should I include my age on my query letters? I know lots of adults are impressed with teenagers and kids who do impressive grownup thing like writing books, but I'm also concerned that my youth might turn off agents since kids are notorious for bad writing (from lack of experience). Also, thank you for your tips. They're EXTREMELY helpful.

Not a plot twist, because the reader knows, but not Heroine. Three main characters: *Hero/Protag:* A truly nice guy who is stuck in the body of a wolf due to no fault of his own. His fatal flaw is that he believes anyone can be redeemed, including Villain. His task throughout Act II is to transform himself into a warrior. He knows he must kill Villain in order to break the wolf curse and return to being a man. Days before chapter 1 he tried to confront Villain, but was nearly killed, and hours later Heroine found him washed up on a sandbar in the river. Chapter 1 opens days later with Heroine nursing Hero back to health. He cannot speak and so has little opportunity to communicate with anyone. He's taught Heroine a "yes/no" system of communication, but she has to ask the right questions. *Heroine:* She is thrilled with her new pet. He's a real sweetheart and very affectionate. In fact she's convinced he wouldn't hurt anyone. He's sweet to Heroine's BFF (and her horse) in chapter 1, an out-of-state sheriff at the opening of Act II, and Heroine's mom and mom's BF at the opening of Act III. Her pet wolf is very shy and usually hides from people. Despite the fact that her pet seems to understand everything she says, and he does this cool question/answer trick, she _knows_ it's impossible he's more than an ordinary wolf. She's met Villain and thinks he's kinda weird and creepy. *Villain:* He's demon possessed, really nasty, and enjoys a few magical protections from his Demon/Master. He's driven to murder girls (typically early teens) by Demon, but he enjoys it. He attempts to murder Heroine's BFF mid-Act I, and targets Heroine for Act III. His favorite thing is to rip out his victim's beating heart and gulp it down. Transforms into a Murderous Black Beast by the light of the full moon. Hero and Villain know _almost_ everything about each other. While Heroine knows almost nothing about either of these two. The reader spends time in each characters' head, and so knows as much as the characters do. *Magical Scene:* About 1/4 of the way into Act III Hero and Heroine are out of an evening stroll across the Montana prairie. Annoying Boy from school appears and Hero hides. Heroine gives A-Boy the brush off and he's displeased, but she runs through the woods and escapes. When Hero rejoins Heroine she scolds him for not protecting her. Hero's POV, so he's like, _What, that pipsqueak? You didn't need my help._ *About 20 minutes later* Hero senses danger and flattens himself to hide in the tall grass. Villain appears and says some vaguely creepy/menacing things to Heroine. Knowing he has no effective weapon against Villain and cannot possibly win a fair fight, Hero instantly launches himself and Villain, taking him by surprise and ripping out this throat (perfectly fair, but useless). A few heartbeats later Demon's power heals Villain--he stops spurting blood and verbally threatens Hero. Stuff happens, Heroine runs away, fight breaks off (Hero's taken an effective weapon from Villain), and Villain runs after Heroine because he knows killing her will hurt Hero more than simply killing Hero. *New scene and we switch to Heroine's POV:* She's half submerged in icy water, hiding behind a beaver lodge and peeking through the sticks. Annoying Boy shows up and shoots Villain (who has transformed into Monstrous Black Beast) 3 times with his high-powered rifle. MBB stumbles and goes down 3 times, but then gets back up 3 times, fully healed. MBB goes after A-Boy. Freaked out, A-Boy throws down his rifle and zooms away on his quad bike (a.k.a. an ATV). After another minute of shivering Heroine swims to shore and runs for home. She doesn't know what happened to Hero. And who was that naked man running around the top of the ridge, waving a hunting knife, and shouting insults at Villain? *The next chapter* shows the confrontation between A-Boy, MBB, and A-Boy's heavily armed family (MBB gives up and runs away). *Next scene in this chapter* and Heroine is at home and contemplating what the heck had just happened. Her precious sweetheart of a wolf attacked Villain and ripped out his throat... but Villain got better. Why did Hero do that? She thought he was so nice. And then Villain got better! How is that even possible? Only minutes later Monstrous Black Beast was hunting her. It gets shot, and hit 3 times... but it gets better too. She draws the conclusion that Villain and MBB are the same person/creature. But what happened to her pet wolf? Her mom isn't home and so Heroine locks the doors, turns off all the lights, and sits in the back of her closet with a .22 rifle across her lap, even though she knows it's useless against Villain/MBB. *The "twist" is the Heroine's:* Especially concerning her love bug of a wolf. Can she even trust Hero any more? Or does he know something she doesn't? I think a bit of editing on Heroine's realization scenes to amp up her confusion/concern is in order. Four more short chapters to go and the novel is done. Woo hoo! I've been editing as I go (it's a disease) so I won't have tons of editing. A structural pass to cut low-value scenes/subplots to get the word count down a bit. Another pass to perfect character voice. Then I recruit beta readers---mostly among the Blackfeet people in Montana. Gonna hit the writer's conference in April.

My character and his foil are fighting in a war. And he promises this foil character to protect him. But during a battle, the main character leaves the foil behind as he falls back across a bridge. After realizing his mistakes, he traces his steps. He is only a few yards away when the bridge is blown up. He watches in horror as his comrades die (a rather gruesome sight), causing the character to suffer from PTSD. The foil is declared MIA. But he will return later and play an integral part in the story. Is this too cliches?

I have too many twists--I'm all twisted up! lol I've had to be super mindful of the "perfect" character. It's a gradual descent into antagonism, because of the protagonist, and not necessarily "all of a sudden and at the end." It's more of a see-saw dynamic: as one goes up, the other goes down and vice versa.

I love how just about every book George RR Martin has written that was used and will be used for the HBO GOT series’ does every single one of these. The man defies all rules, haha

So I have a question on how much screwed up stuff can be in one novel. I like pushing what I can personally handle because I love that kind of thing. I want to watch or read something that will leave my mouth hanging open because I can't believe it happened.

Well, twists upon twists that deliver on its impact quickly should work, depending on the suspense level.

The love interest in my writing is the antagonist estranged half brother. The protagonist doesn't learn this till she's already in love.

The book I'm writing as a very basic plot twist. It's a M/M romance novel and the twist is kinda cute. Won't spoil it for anyone who happens upon my book when I publish it.

I HATE Long-Lost Family. I usually groan. Blofeld is James Bond's adopted brother? (Spectre) Michael is Spock's unknown step-sister? (Star Trek Discovery) Oh please! I always say: "with billions of people around, what are the chances that these people are related? Why do they have to be? Ugh! I can see it for some of those fantasy tales, but it's so overdone.

Is it a good idea, to make a plot being, a non presious thing that goes missing like fav pen or lucky coin. And then Adding a serious motive for taking that thing. This one is for a short film Genre - suspense&comedy Will it work.??

I have recently finished my manuscript. I do have a character that was thought to be dead. He is actually introduced in Chapter 2 and is an active character throughout the book. He is a burn victim with a believable back story that is sprinkled throughout the book and strong relationships with all of the other characters, including his adult daughter who believes her dad died when she was ten. He has a few secret keepers. You know they are keeping a secret from his daughter, the main character, but you have no idea HE is the secret.

I actually liked the ending of Lost. I thought it sweet they all found each other in the afterlife.

In the manuscript I am working on now the narrator is 100% true, but one of the characters is NOT reliable and lies frequently to the other characters (and therefore the reader), and the reader learns not to trust anything this character says by mid-way through the book. (The unreliable character is Satan btw)

Well shit. I have like 4 of these twists in mine, though none of them are actually done "classically". Maybe I should lower the bar a bit 🤔

Question: I am starting the querying process and the agent has a form. The form states that you must pick the correct genre and you can’t pick more than one. My novel is a multicultural, young adult, supernatural, romance novel. All of those options are avl on the form. Which genre do I pick if I’m not allowed to pick multiple? It’s young adult, but would I have less competition if I select multicultural, or would that eliminate me as it’s a Young adult romance? Help please.

How would you handle having about four or five plot twists near the end of your story?

I hate it when magic won't work because the author decides it would be too easy, and so they come up with some lame excuse that wasn't even foreshadowed.

For my debut novel, I managed to create a huge twist so many didn't see coming. I gave a very small hint earlier in the novel until half way through when the big reveal came. Each character hid a secret from each other. Most told me, that the side protagonist wasn't too shocking but that of the protagonist was and complimented me for a good buildup. In my latest one, its more the suspense if that person can be trusted. I tried to give the impression if the villain can be trusted or if she will stab both heroes in the back. Some reviews mentioned the twist as well for being well developed. Now for my fantasy steampunk novel, which will be a 3 part series, I hope I managed it as well.

Any book/film in which it turns out that it was just a dream is automatically crossed out for me and my rating is the lowest of the low. This thread always makes me feel cheated by the writer. I'm invested in the story, in the emotions and suddenly what, it was all a dream and the protagonist can start the story all over again? No way. Those are the kind of books I burn. It's different with hallucinations. Done well they are simply fascinating. What I like most is when the protagonist begins to understand that something is wrong, that someone is playing with his mind or he himself is in some kind of disease state. I include coma and life lived in the subconscious world in this group, but only if there is some impact on the person after waking up, for example, he can't distinguish what was a dream and what is reality. If someone wakes up from a coma and "oh, it was just a dream" such books I burn.

The characters in Dorothy's dream turn out in the end to represent her family members etc - and we all love the characters - but isn't The Wizard of Oz an example of 'what we saw never happened'? I'm glad I watched it as a child, decades before I learned to be so critical of plot crutches; I simply enjoyed the fantasy.

I love an unreliable narrator story, but only if I know about it in advance.

Showing something that never happened. This is "cheating your audience"! In a film it is even worse, because the audience believes what they see, not what they hear.

Love your vids, but I am pretty sure you do not understand the ending of LOST. They were not dead the whole time, they did not die in the crash, it was not purgatory, and it wasn't a dream.

plot twist = conflict of perspective?

I hate number 4. happened in troll hunters. they found a time device that reversed not just the movie that concluded the story, but the entire series (kind of like lost). It feels like why should we have even bothered watching if it doesn't stand. Personally I'm working on a story with the sibling one ... but they find out and it forces them apart rather than together. There's a lot of lies around it the whole family has to untangle including that the resultant infidelity was hidden by all adults involved, along with the half sibling.

Im writing an epic that is based on long last family.🤣

Too many distracting, interruptions called ADS!

Alyssa, I've been an editor and writer for 30 years, and all that you say here is only pap, which helps to make you money through YT, but does almost nothing for these young writers. Your advice is obvious, if only entirely outdated, and only encourages not-very-good authors to waste their time. Meanwhile, you also play at being an expert at book endings, or book beginnings; and how to write the perfect first 10 pages, and etc-etc-etc. When, in fact and in practice, no editor, publisher, nor agent, knows what makes saleable writing sell (much less what is a good book); this is because none of those people have a clue as to what people want to read at any given time. In other words, editors-publishers-agents are scared out of their minds for their jobs because they haven't a clue as to what will sell: good book, bad book, or the greatest book EVER; or an absolute crap story. If anyone (or you, Alyssa) doubts what I have to say, just ask yourself, "Why is Alyssa running this YT channel rather than making millions-billions as an editor-publisher-agent?" Yes, your answer will lead ALL THESE YOUNG WRITERS to the truth: just write; make your characters believable; make your story readable. That's all. And, and, and ... if you get lucky enough to find a publisher, you might get lucky enough to sell books to all the very few readers who are yet out there looking for their next good book to read.