Do you like to surprise your readers by taking unexpected twists and turns in your story? I'm not talking about a big twist or reveal at the end, but rather during your story. How unexpected in your next chapter, paragraph, sentence? I also think taking readers down an unexpected path doesn't have to be anything big. Sort of just, as Whitman said, the path not usually taken. I also think a good writer can do this without it being jarring, which is another aspect of this. It still needs to feel like, of course, this is what the characters are doing next and, of course, this is what happens next. But at the same time the writer keeps it far from predictable. Know what I mean? Do you weave the unexpected in throughout your story? What kind of ride are you taking your readers on? And how do you do it? I would love to hear from you all on this.
Personally, I think unexpected twists and turns should naturally be a part of any good story. Why? Because life is a series of unexpected twists and turns and it only makes the story more interesting and realistic to the readers. I try to be as concise as possible in my work, which means I'm always trying to make sure that there's a turning point at the end of the build-up at every chapter and that nearly every detail included has some sort of relevance in the plot or character development, even if it might not seem very obvious in the beginning. I've been told that my writing is very quirky at times... I believe that it has to do with my ability to understand human beings fairly well and to describe them. As a writer, I'd like to think we're all really master observers of the universe and will pick up on strange or interesting quirks that other people have to use in our writing. For me, oftentimes, the surprising aspects in my stories are how the characters act and react when presented with different, sometimes otherworldly situations. And to be honest, I don't think I'm intentionally weaving the unexpected in throughout the story; it's just what I perceive to be a good story and therefore, it's kind of naturally occurring when I write. How about you? How do you go about your process in inserting unexpected plot twists? And to add to your question, what have you read or written that you thought was surprising of late? For this question, I can go first. I thought the opening lines of the Netflix show, "Wednesday", is one of the best opening scenes I've read/watched in a while. "I'm not sure whose twisted idea it was to put hundreds of adolescents in underfunded schools run by people whose dreams were crushed years ago... but I admire the sadism." It's so true!
Like many things related to impact, I think it's hard to judge ones own writing regarding level of surprise. As to whether it's something to which one might aspire, then absolutely. Surprise and twist endings will often impress as something tacked on that bears little relation to what precedes, or even worse when they trivialise what might otherwise have been worthwhile, unless very well done with some retrospective acceptance that it could never have been otherwise. As a reader, there are passages that twist me inside out, where I've stopped to wonder how the fuck did we end up here? Going back to track the development is an interesting exercise. The opening pages of Fightclub come to mind as an example of what I mean, and not the spoiler alert later in the same book. Slaughterhouse 5 is another
I actually don't fully agree with this. I think if you understand how human beings work, you can manipulate them quite easily in your writing and thereby, achieve a level of intended surprise. I say this also because I've been told by people who are used to reading my work that they expect these twists by the end of the chapter but can never really guess what the twist would be about. Haha. Also, it's true that it doesn't always have to be a plot twist; I think if you are well-read, know what the cliches are and have a unique perspective of the world, you can easily break the cliches and add details that make them more realistic and surprising. Of course, I don't mean "you"; I just mean writers in general.
I love subverting expectations. I don't add anything shocking that isn't earned, though, or at least I try not to. As you said, these things can be jarring. In my writing, I concentrate a lot on emotional impact, and things we see coming a mile away usually don't have as great an effect on us. There are exceptions, of course. I can think of a couple of books in which we knew someone was going to die from the beginning, and I still bawled at the end. In general, though, broadsiding the reader is more effective.
