agenda:

in this chapter, i'll be giving my opinion on plot twists and how to do them right.

warning:

➛ spoilers for chaos in the canvas

discussion:

before we proceed any further, let's get one thing in the open for future references:

a plot twist is a plot twist only if it's done right.

if not, it's just a sleazy way to interest your readers and the odds of it backfiring are pretty much abundant. we all know how majorly important the twists are to keep a story going, even if it's just a normal, everyday love story that we're reading.

the thing is, in my opinion, these twists are way more important than even the main characters and villains - they're the reason people enjoy your story, really. if you don't manage to nail this one thing, you would have to do a lot of extra stuff to keep the readers entertained and that would be much more difficult (not that writing twists isn't difficult as it is).

now that we've established how important the twists are, let's talk a little about failed plot twists.

failed plot twists mainly occur (not always) when you don't plan beforehand and add in one just for the fun of it. no harm in that, guys, and it's actually kinda fun as you can always get back to them after finishing your first draft but let's face it, a little thought in your first draft and you wouldn't even have to spend days thinking of how to rectify your mistakes afterwards.

a little thought and that's what we're going to discuss today.

what's important is the fact that the plot twists should never be out of context. they shouldn't make you go like, "what the hell, this can't even happen." or worse, "damn, this is not what the story is about." but rather, "damnnit, now everything makes sense." or maybe just, "what in the name of holy god was that!!"

you got what I said?

the twists have to be relatable, they should slap the readers across the face and pull the rug from under their feet or whatever but THEY HAVE TO BE IN THE CONTEXT OF WHAT YOU'VE ALREADY WRITTEN BEFORE!!

there's no other way to do the twists, even if you're a pantser.

if you're a planner, making plot twists isn't as difficult for you because you already have some idea of how the story is going to turn out and you plan your twists according to that.

but if you're a pantser, only holy almighty knows how absolutely difficult it is to structure your twists and make them relatable and not just cheap thrills but there's no other way, you guys.

you have to plan them a little while ago before you drop them in your chapter, you have to have some sort of build up towards it rather than throwing it in your reader's faces with no prior background. and you have to drop your hints here and there before the final, epic moment comes.

there's no other way!!

and although the best plot twists are the ones that hit you out of nowhere, there's still a general motion towards them that the readers might be unaware of at that moment.

a few silly, unimportant lines or descriptions can build up to a great plot twist but those silly, unimportant lines are important!!!

without those, your plot twists are just cheap thrills and readers don't appreciate that, i tell ya' all.

so, the key here is clues, it's always about the effin' clues and knowing when and where to hide them.

advice:

now that we know whats, hows and whys of failed plot twists, we'll talk a little about how to do plot twists the right way.

‣ planning

plan. your. twists!!

you can't throw them out of nowhere. in that case, they're just cheap thrills. plan the twist you want to add at least 3-4 chapters before you drop it. that will give you enough chapters to drop your clues which brings us to our next point.

‣ clues

drop your clues; wisely or unwisely - it doesn't matter. the only thing that matters is that there should be substantial number of clues in your story that hint towards the big twist.

the readers might not get them when they're first reading (some might if they're sharp) but they should always get it when they're reading the second time to specifically look for them.

that's like a rule or something.

they should be there, hidden in plain daylight or just somewhere between the description lines, but they should always be there. there is no other way, none that i know of at least.

and the hints that you've dropped throughout the story should all add up and make your readers go like, "woah, didn't see that coming!"

‣ purpose

the twist should always serve a purpose, big enough to alter the whole story or just a small one to change a few things, but it has to have a purpose. if there isn't, that's not twisting, that's cheating on your readers in the name of fun and that's a crime readers don't forgive easily.

it should never be done just for the fun of it. never!!

‣ contextual

the plot twist should coincide with what you've already written; it shouldn't be contradictory in any way. it could make your readers understand something that has been nagging them (that you have been nagging then with!!) or it could just provide more drama to the story while remaining true to your story and its characters. that's the key!

‣ finding hints

another great way to do plot twists the right way, especially for pantsers, is to go back and find something that can serve as a clue. when you wrote something initially, it being a clue wouldn't have been your real intention but you can turn it into a small clue so that your reader wouldn't feel betrayed when you drop the twist.

just find a line, make it a clue, plan your twist in relation to that and bam, you're done!

i did this in glory of the midnight sun all the freaking time and it worked well with me so why not!!

examples:

❝ BELOW ARE SPOILERS FOR CHAOS IN THE CANVAS SO PROCEED WITH CAUTION ❞

as most of my readers say and exactly in accordance with what i originally planned, chaos is filled with twists and turns. those twists are essential and without them, the story would lose most of its flavor but they have a purpose and i try to drop as many hints as possible for each twist.

i'm picking one major twist, the mother of all the twists, to give you an insight into how i plan my twists and when and where i leave my hints.

major twist

hemayal and ibrahim's marriage

now, for this one twist, i gave plenty of hints. not some, PLENTY.

and some of my readers actually knew something was going on, not exactly what, but they knew hemayal and ibrahim share a past. a lot of characters said a lot of things relating to their marriage, not openly, but the hints were pretty in the open.

god, i didn't even try to hide the hints, they were so obvious.

‣ when hadeed called ibrahim when hemayal was kidnapped.

i mean you guys, that was very obvious. why on earth would a brother call some distant cousin of his to inform him that his sister was kidnapped? kidnapping is a pretty serious thing and families try to hide it as much as they can. hadeed himself calling ibrahim to tell him that his sister was kidnapped obviously meant that hemayal and ibrahim had a very serious thing going on and that hemayal's husband should be informed of such matters.

‣ ibrahim's family specifically asked to meet hemayal when dadu died.

this one wasn't a major hint but it served the purpose. dadu wasn't only hemayal's grandfather, he was mehmal and hadeed's dadu too and he was a father to her father. but the only person the yazdanis insisted to meet was hemayal.

why, you may wonder?

‣ the dialogues, man. the dialogues.

mehmal literally said this to hemayal:

"you do know that he can come to your room even if the house is full of people, right?"

"the house is filled with people but none of them would have even batted an eye if he came to your room."

i think this one's pretty solid. it was like a nail in the coffin!!

and dadu and hemayal's conversations in chapter four and seven were like everything you needed to know! he hinted so, so many times!

these are all i can think right now but i'm sure there were many other dialogues and descriptions. and some people even guessed it!

conclusion:

just do your twists right and plan them ahead of time if you have to make them believable. dropping clues and knowing where to hide them is crucial too. just don't turn them into cheap thrills, for the love of all things holy!