5 Ways Authors Can Leave Your Readers Twisted!
Every great story—from mysteries to rom-coms—needs a great twist. Here's some advice to new writers about creating that shocking twist.
5 Ways Authors Can Leave Your Readers Twisted!
Want to write a twisty turny gothic thriller? Maybe a whodunnit? Possibly a classic gumshoe investigation? Here are five tips to leave your readers mystified, page turning forward and backward to piece together the mystery.
1) Mystery is everything
It doesn’t matter what kind of book you’re writing, what keeps readers reading is always the mystery of what’s about to happen, or what did happen. Building that mystery is key. Will they or won’t they get together? Who shot Roger? Where is this going? A castle on the moon—how’d it get there? Tease your reader. Give them a mysterious hook and keep them reading.
2) Clues
A mysterious hook can be a bad tease if you don’t drop hints here and there. You need to leave clues to show the reader you’re working toward a payoff, but also to reinforce the mystery as a reminder. Sprinkle in some clues like dropping breadcrumbs as you journey into that mysterious cave. Maybe your lead is receiving mysterious text messages. Or maybe your gumshoe main character (MC) stumbles across a muddy footprint leading into the cellar. Keep the reader engaged with clues.
3) Red Herring
We established that a good mystery must leave behind some clues—it’s not just a tease, it’s a string of evidence leading somewhere. In a rom-com, maybe that’s a flash-forward showing the bride marrying someone else? Or maybe it’s a message written in blood. However, a good mystery doesn’t just move from A to B. A good mystery needs some turns for two reasons:
It’ll keep the reader guessing.
Leaving behind clues that are too obvious may actually ruin the payoff.
A red herring, for those not in the know, is a ruse. Maybe all the evidence is pointing toward suspect #1, but in reality, the killer is suspect #5. A good red herring is key to keeping the reader guessing.
4) Know your ending
Work backwards. Know who did it before you start. I have met some mystery authors who start writing without knowing who did it and why. If you’re talented enough to start writing before you know your ending, and can string together a great teasing mysterious hook, leave a few clues and toss in a squirmy red herring, and still stick the landing? Great. Pat yourself on the back, Jack. You did it. But for most of us, we need to know how it ends so that we can cover our trail by working backwards. If you know suspect #5 did it, it’ll be easier to make it look like suspect #1 was the murderer.
5) Let your characters decide you who they are
I know I told you to work backwards, but here’s the thing…
…sometimes your characters reveal who they are as you write.
Don’t get it twisted (<== see what I did there?), having a solid plan is important, but sometimes you start off with Roger being a good ole boy with some issues, then you get to chapter 6 and realize he’s the killer. Let your characters live, let them explore who they are, and maybe the twist will reveal itself to you.
In other words, be open minded to your own work. Sometimes the characters write themselves.
In Conclusion:
All books need a mystery, from slice of life to fantasy, science fiction to romance—readers need an investment, a promised payoff. Give them one by creating a reason for them to keep reading;
Create a mystery, then tease it
Sprinkle in some clues
Turn them around a few times like a blindfolded kid taking a whack at a pinata
Then stick the landing like Simone Biles by knowing your ending
And remember, be open to change if your plan isn’t as powerful as the twist that organically unfolds.
About the Author
G.A. Finocchiaro was born and raised in South Jersey. He is a self-described goofball with a taste for bad jokes and good burgers. Finocchiaro currently lives in the Philadelphia burbs with his imaginary friend, Ichabod.
Please visit GAFino.com for more information about G.A.’s work, or visit DuskboundBooks.com.