The Surprise Ending -
Expect the Unexpected
Rob Parnell
You
pick up a book by an unknown author. From the cover you
have some vague idea it’s a thriller of some sort.
You start reading.
Two sisters, Pat and Jo, are on
their way back to their mother’s house. They’re
arguing, unhappy they shared the same boyfriend but have
now both lost him.
(You’re thinking, maybe this
story’s about love, loss and forgiveness.)
When they arrive at the house,
the mother’s not there.
(Maybe it’s murder mystery.)
They call the police but they
won’t act on a missing person for 24 hours at least.
The phone’s suddenly cut off and they hear scuffling
outside. It’s dark now, and the sisters are
terrified.
(Gasp! Maybe it’s a psycho!)
The window upstairs smashes.
Timidly, they go to investigate. In the main bedroom, the
wind is howling through the broken window. In a mirror,
they catch a glimpse of a shadow darting down the
corridor. Jo follows but discovers nothing.
(Oh no, what if it’s a ghost
story.)
Pat decides to leave but Jo
won’t let her. The door slams in Pat’s face as
she tries to leave. They fight but Jo restrains her
sister. Books fly around the room and furniture
overturns.
(This is some kind of weird
telekinetic thing going on right?)
The sisters talk. Maybe
there’s nothing sinister going on. It’s just
like when they were kids and their mother thought they
had a poltergeist that one time.
(Phew!)
Then, the door is broken down by
a hooded figure with an axe.
(Oh no – it IS a psycho!)
They’re chased around the
house until the figure is pushed off the balcony. When
they get down to the rain soaked mud outside, it’s
their mother.
(A twist? Okay, it’s a
strange story but there were clues, weren’t there?)
“Where the cloak?” Jo
looks up and there’s someone else there. The
psycho’s still alive! They run back into the house,
bolt the doors. Oddly, everything’s quiet.
The phone rings. Wasn’t it
cut off? They answer it. To their relief, it’s the
ex-boyfriend. But then he says, ‘Won’t you let
me in? I’m just outside.’
They look out of the window and
sure enough, there he is, grinning, hooded, with the axe
in his hand…
Okay, this example is a little
crass and melodramatic but the same ‘shock and
twist’ style of storytelling can be used in any
genre... and frequently is nowadays.
The trick is to make various any
intervening steps between actions as credible as
possible. Don’t give out too many clues and use
internal monologue to focus on what’s happening in
the present rather than helping the reader to
second-guess the plot.
There are two ways of doing this.
1. Make it up as you go along.
The trouble with doing it this
way is that you’ll end up with all kinds of
inconsistencies. Okay, some authors do it. They
deliberately put their characters in situations they
can’t possibly resolve and then, through skill or
luck create events to get them out of them!
However, with this approach,
you’ll likely spend much of your time repairing
mistakes in your text – after you’ve finished
your first draft.
2. A much better way is by
planning.
Right from the start, do a rough
template in note form of where the plot goes, where the
twists are and how you will end the story, especially if
you’re going to have one final twist that throws the
whole story into another, more profound light.
You must know the twist before
you start!
It’s the only effective way
of diverting attention away from it all the way through
the story.
It’s a great technique
– and it’s not only popular with readers,
it’s a surefire hit with agents, publishers and, of
course, movie producers!
The double twist is even better -
a real favorite.
Use it and you’ll be
successful before you know it.
