Post History
Plots twist. Stories don't. Sometimes a plot twist will show that reader that the arc of the story was something other than what they were expecting. But the story still needs to have a satisfying ...
Answer
#4: Attribution notice removed
by
System
·
2020-01-03T20:41:50Z (over 4 years ago)
Source: https://writers.stackexchange.com/a/24552 License name: CC BY-SA 3.0 License URL: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/
#3: Attribution notice added
by
System
·
2019-12-08T05:34:40Z (over 4 years ago)
Source: https://writers.stackexchange.com/a/24552 License name: CC BY-SA 3.0 License URL: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/
#2: Initial revision
by
System
·
2019-12-08T05:34:40Z (over 4 years ago)
Plots twist. Stories don't. Sometimes a plot twist will show that reader that the arc of the story was something other than what they were expecting. But the story still needs to have a satisfying arc. If the plot twist destroys the story arc, or is simply irrelevant to the story arc, then it ruins the story. If the plot twist is integral to the story arc -- and generally that means the moral arc of the story, it is essential. So, a plot twist is not an optional extra that you throw in gratuitously at the end. It is either where the story was heading all along, and the thing that reveals the story for what it is, or it is a disastrous distraction that destroys the story arc. That's how you tell the difference. Either the twist is necessary to the story or it is superfluous. Either leaving it out ruins the story or putting it in ruins the story.
#1: Imported from external source
by
System
·
2016-09-11T01:17:09Z (over 7 years ago)
Original score: 8