Plot twists that satisfy one reader can frustrate another. In this video, I break down how to calibrate your plot twists based on the genre you’re writing and the readers you’re writing for, whether that’s a fair play mystery, a thriller, or something in between.
The question is how do I calibrate plot twists with reader sophistication when some readers want to follow along with the detective and solve the crime and others are just along for the ride. I think the answer has to do with reader expectation per genre. If you are writing for readers who want to follow along with the detective what you’re talking about is a fair play mystery where the reader knows what the detective knows at the same time as the detective knows it and nothing else. That is what makes a puzzle it’s fair and it allows the reader to exercise those little gray cells as Hercule Poirot said alongside the detective who is often but not always an amateur sleuth.
That’s very different than if you’re writing a thriller or a story with an unreliable narrator Readers of those genres have different expectations so how do you know well it behooves you to read widely in your sub-genre if we’re talking mysteries or whatever genre you’re working in the broader writing sense because if you read long-lasting exemplars and best sellers current bestsellers you will begin to understand you’ll identify patterns you’ll understand what it is the authors are doing that appeals to a certain segment of the readership. That’s what I do in my monthly webinars. I analyze exemplars, long-lasting best sellers, current best sellers and I look for patterns of what the authors are doing that appeals to certain segments of the readers on all different kinds of topics having to do with the craft of writing. I hope you’ll attend if you’re not already.
Go to janecleeland.com slash events and you’ll find a listing. The bottom line of what we’re talking about right now is that the issue of how frequently you plant plot twists and what comprises a good plot twist really has to do with genre and reader expectations. In all genres, not just mystery, I could make this same point literary nonfiction in fantasy and horror, in literary fiction, as well of course as crime fiction. If this tip had value for you, I hope you’ll like it.
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