Sometimes, it’s nice to read a plain and simple story. Predictability and consistency are not necessarily bad things for a novel. In a busy, often hectic world, readers enjoy being able to occasionally kick back and relax with an easy-on-the-heart-and-mind type of book. However, writers can also keep readers interested in a novel by adding a shocking turn of events.
Think of some books you’ve read in the past that, perhaps, had a surprise ending or a plot twist in the middle of the story. Such elements add uniqueness, mystery and intrigue to fictional tales. There are many ways you can incorporate a shocking turn of events into your next best-selling novel.
Keep readers interested with these plot-twist ideas
If you want to take your readers by surprise in your next novel, consider some of the ideas included in the following list:
- A character believed to be dead makes an appearance.
- A mistaken identity is revealed.
- A character readers believed to be the antagonist turns out to be a hero.
- An acquaintance from a main character’s past emerges.
- Two characters admit their true feelings toward each other.
- A person goes missing or a lost person is found.
- Main character does something completely unexpected.
You might be able to work several of these ideas into the same story. These plot twists are almost guaranteed to keep readers interested. And they’re fun to write, as well.
Predictability versus surprise
Some authors, such as Shelley Shephard Gray, often write stories that are predictable for their readers. While main events and some of the finer details might change from book to book, there are similarities threaded throughout most of Gray’s novels. Readers often find this type of writing “comfortable” or a “relaxed” form of entertainment. There’s nothing wrong, however, with trying your hand at elements of surprise to keep readers interested.
If your stories often follow a similar pattern, make the next one a bit more unpredictable and see what happens. For example, if you always write happy endings, try ending with a cliffhanger or a shocking ending that your readers could never have imagined.
You don’t have to save the shock value for the end
If you want to keep readers interested in your next novel, you don’t have to wait for the final chapter to add a plot twist. In fact, adding shock value to the beginning of a story is an option, as well. Consider “The Body Auction,” by author Lisa Mathis. Her main character, who is nurse practitioner Layla Matthews, awakens in a coffin at the start of the book.
Not only are readers caught by surprise from the first chapter, they can hardly put down the book, as Ms. Matthews sets out on a journey of mystery and horror in discovering that she is caught in the middle of a human trafficking scheme. By starting out with an element of surprise, Mathis takes her readers on a roller-coaster journey of intrigue, fear, anxiety and, finally, hope. Whether you add shocking events to the beginning, middle or end of a story, you’ll be sure to keep readers interested.
