I was brainstorming a plot and I have it all developed except the twist. The story is about a group of five billionaire friends that are at a party one night comparing their accomplishments when they come up with a challenge. Each will put in $100 million into a pot. The object of the contest is simple. Each billionaire will start with only $1,000. They aren't allowed to reveal who they are, aren't allowed to have contact with any of their friends or family, must assume an identity that has no work history and not even a GED, not breaking any laws, and without any resources other than their initial $1,000 be the first person to either make $100,000 or earn the most money in one year. The contest will once and for all prove who has the best money making skills. They find a third party to hold the cash so that none of the participants can welch on the bet, and once a month they all meet together with the third party to share their progress. Unfortunately, after the second month one of the billionaires is killed in a robbery at the gas station he worked. Because they started with such a small amount, they didn't have exactly the best jobs or places to live. After another couple months another billionaire is killed in what was labeled a secondary casualty of a gang drive-by shooting. After yet another month, a third billionaire is killed in an apartment fire. At this point the two remaining billionaires have become increasingly suspicious of each other, believing they are murdering the others in order to win the $500 million pot. The two begin plotting ways to stop the other from killing them. That's kind of where I'm at, though I have a couple ideas.
I'm not sure any of these ideas are worth anything but wtf? 1. One decides to run for it, perhaps he knows he's ahead in the game and the other is actually intent on killing him. They collide eventually and you pick whom you want to survive and why. 2. They arrange a meeting to try to negotiate a peace treaty. Something goes wrong, you pick what. 3. One of the survivors says 'screw it' and gives away his money to the other. Then something happens to the other, good would be a real twist. 4. They arrange a truce and while meeting both are killed accidentally. 5. A relative/friend/lover of one of the already dead billionaires learns the truth of the game (a letter to be opened only upon the death of the billionaire) and hunts the two others down and kills them while both think it's the remaining billionaire who they have to worry about. 6. similar to 5 but the relative/friend/lover plays detective instead. 7. Both survivors hire hitmen to kill the other, and both succeed.
Those are all good, and I like 7 probably the most. The idea I have is that the two remaining guys have a confrontation where they are going to either kill or be killed by the other, only to realize that neither of them were the real killer, and that only one other person knew what was going on and could possibly be killing everyone, the third party holding all the money! ...but that is when there can be another twist. The third party has the two billionaires left set up for the crime of killing the other two, which would disqualify both of them, thus leaving the money to him as none of the participants are any longer alive, or didn't break the rules. Yet the billionaire that was presumed killed in the fire, had faked his death because he realized what was going on and reveals himself to have the third party character arrested and thus wins the contest.
Your idea is good. I think the main hazard here is to avoid anything too predictable, but also avoid something too implausible. It's a fine line to walk.
I think the twist depends on what actually has happened so far. Have you decided why those people where killed? Was it just accidents or was it actually someone behind it. Spontaneously I think it would be funny if the twist was that there was no hidden plot behind and those last two people where just panicking over nothing and ends up causing their own deaths somehow.
You don't need a twist. If there isn't a reversal that fits naturally and seamlessly, you can do far more harm than good by hammering one in anyway. Also, writers brainstorm by writing, After you've taken the story to the limits you can reach on your own, polish it up and out it out there. Listen to the responses you get from your readers. Don't write your story by committee.
