 Drama: January 18, 2017 Issue [#8084] |
  Drama
This week: To Twist, Or Not To Twist? Edited by: Kitti the Red-Nosed Feline  
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Stories, like life, can be full of twists and turns. But when is it a good idea to drag your readers into the unexpected? And what should be avoided?
This week's Drama Newsletter is all about the question of when to twist, and when not to twist.
Kitti the Red-Nosed Feline |
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Twists. They can be a good thing. Who doesn’t remember the twist in The Sixth Sense? That was a powerful one, wasn’t it? Touching. I never saw it coming.
It is because they can be a good thing that it can be extremely tempting to add a twist to your story. I’ve done it with some of my pieces. But with every twist and turn, you are taking a risk, and that is something that every writer should be aware of.
The first question to ask is whether or not your story needs a twist. Do you want to add one just for the sake of adding one? If so, it may not be the best idea to go ahead. Do you want one to make your story more interesting? It might work, but why do you feel that your piece won’t hold the reader’s attention as is? Do you want to add one for the shock value? That is quite the popular thing to do, but what is your intention there? Shocking your readers for the sake of shocking your readers, or to be edgy, may not be the best idea, either. The best reason to add a twist is that it will work well with your storyline, and with your characters. It is as simple as that.
The second question to ask is what kind of twist you want to go for. Take, for example, a story where the build-up is firmly heading towards a happy ending and then it’s all tears, the end. If that is what you are going for you are a very brave writer indeed, because deep down most readers long for a happy ending. They have been emotionally involved in your characters and they want, need a pay-off for this involvement. There is a certain satisfaction in a story that ends well. A dose of reassurance. If you are not giving your readers that pay-off, there will need to be a different kind of pay-off, a different kind of emotional release, and it has to make sense. If the end of a piece doesn’t make any sense, your readers may be far less willing to trust you with their emotions (and their money) a second time.
Another example is the death of a beloved character. Again, there is the emotional involvement of your readers to take into consideration. That doesn’t mean that no beloved characters should die, but the death has to make sense. There has to be some kind of purpose to this event. As mentioned above, adding a twist of this nature shouldn’t be merely to shock your readers. It should add something to your piece.
It is well known that in A Song of Ice and Fire no character is safe. This is because the world it is set in is a brutal one. And the Game of Thrones is a brutal game. Still, what if Arya were to die, or Tyrion, or Daenerys? It could happen. I do not believe that it will – I have my own theories on how the story will end – but I am not the author, and he is free to do as he pleases. I admit that I would be upset, though, if I had grown to love these characters as much as I have – a love that the author has worked hard to develop – only for something small and silly and completely unnecessary to happen and poof, that character’s gone. I have yet to forgive Mr. Martin for something that I cannot see adding to the story and just seems unnecessarily cruel – I will not say what, because spoilers.
I keep on mentioning the need for a twist to make sense and that is because a bad twist can ruin your story or novel. Let’s say that you are writing a story about a group of bunnies living in the woods. We’re three quarters into the story, and we’ve followed the bunny characters through ups and downs and interactions with deer and owls and badgers... and then suddenly it turns out that the bunnies are shape shifting aliens because, hey, aliens are cool, and the woods are some kind of metaphor for the political wilderness we find ourselves in and by the way, the owls are staunch followers of this religion, or that faith, and you’re making some big, bold statement here that your readers cannot wrap their heads around all of a sudden, and that they were never looking for in the first place, because they thought it was a story about bunnies living in a wood and that was what they were happily enjoying until you did that. So, don’t mess with the bunnies in that way. Let them be bunnies.
I may have put a fear of twists in you at this point, but that is not my intention. A good twist can be very welcome. It can add to the novel and add to the reading experience. It can make a good book all the more memorable, and may even make readers recommend your work to others.
It needs to be well thought out. Aid, rather than hinder the flow of emotions. Slot nicely into your story and work with your characters. If you can make it work, great! By all means, happy twisting. 
Kitti the Red-Nosed Feline
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The Drama Newsletter Team welcomes any and all questions, suggestions, thoughts and feedback, so please don't hesitate to write in!
Sally - A great newsletter, Kit!
Awwz, thank you, Sally! 
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Quick-Quill  - I have a blog that is old. I need to get back to it, but I can't keep a diary, who wants to read my blog?
I've found that receiving prompts really helps me keep up with my blogging. Without them, I tend to slack. As for who wants to read your blog, though, you would be surprised! Once you get into the swing of things, people will come. And if you stop by other bloggers and leave some comments, they will often return the favour. Before you know it, you have an audience. And you might end up making some good friends!
~~~
Wishing you a week filled with inspiration,
The Drama Newsletter Team.
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