What do you do when one of your characters holds information that would blow your twist wide open? In this Ask Jane video, I walk through two approaches that actually work, including one used in some of the most talked-about thrillers published in the last decade.
Hello, Jane Cleland here. The question is, I have four characters. One of them has information that if known would spoil the twist for readers. What do I do?
Well, there are several possibilities. Maybe only have three points of view and let this character be a suspect or be a participant but not a narrator. That might be interesting.
Another possibility is an unreliable narrator. This is popular in thrillers and in literary novels, Gone Girl, Jillian Flynn, Best Day Ever, Calla Luda. This approach can be engaging. It can be intriguing.
It can get readers thinking. What you want to be very cautious about is because unreliable narratives require careful structure. You’d never want your readers to be saying, “Oh, Clay’s. That was just too coincidental.”
Or, “Huh?” A little head scratching going on. So as long as you are deliberate and make sure that there’s great logic underpinning your I think it’ll work and I know you can do it. If this tip had value for you, I hope you like it.
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