I remember the columnist Jon Carroll arguing that there were only really three plot twists: (1) somebody's alive that you thought was dead, or vice versa; (2) somebody's a different gender than presented; (3) hidden parentage is revealed.
(That doesn't account for The Village, but maybe that's why it sucked!)
I think Tootsie managed to parody all three in the climactic soap opera reveal.
Anyway, the trick isn't in the plot twist but in disguising the fact that there
is
a twist at all. If you go into a movie expecting one, it's never hard to parse because there are only a few options that aren't ridiculous.
Gosford Park, for example, does a pretty good job of hiding the fact that it's a
Hidden Parentage
movie.
What, Hec? Gosford Park is a hidden parentage movie, you say?
I remember the columnist Jon Carroll arguing that there were only really three plot twists: (1) somebody's alive that you thought was dead, or vice versa; (2) somebody's a different gender than presented; (3) hidden parentage is revealed.
At minimum, that list is missing "It was only a dream!"
At minimum, that list is missing "It was only a dream!"
That's not a twist. That's a betrayal.
Why does it have to be?
It's just bad storytelling. It breaks a certain convent with the reader.
Of course there's no reason why any element is bad in itself, but historically it's been a refuge for shitty writers who don't commit to the story they're telling or just want to pull a cheap meta rug out from under the reader. So it's considered to be in bad taste, and is usually one the first things you're taught to not do in a writing class.
Careful. I've taken a lot of writing classes, and no one has ever told me there's something no one should do.
The thing that sets a lot of great writers apart is that they can get away with breaking all kinds of "rules" and make it compelling, believable, and page-turning.
Which one do you believe "it's just bad storytelling" or "there's no reason why any element is bad in itself"?
Would you write a story that ended, "...and it was all a dream."?
Which one do you believe "it's just bad storytelling" or "there's no reason why any element is bad in itself"?
They're not exclusive. I do believe it's bad storytelling and should be avoided.
That doesn't that you couldn't subvert the trope or do something with it.
