Chapter 15: Unique Plot Twists

And how to come up with them.

Classic Plot Twists aren’t the only way to twist your plot. It’s also possible to come up with plot twists that are unique to your individual premise. In this chapter, we’re going to use a very simple exercise to do just that.

First, let’s lay out the bare bones of a premise. A woman and her husband arrive at an exclusive island resort to spend a romantic vacation together. At first everything seems perfect—except for the stomach bug the wife seems to have picked up. Her husband is solicitous, trying to make sure she eats, or at least drinks plenty of fluids. Over the course of a few days, the wife begins to get the idea that her husband is trying to poison her.

Now, let’s list some of the assumptions that are inherent in that premise.

• The husband is in fact trying to poison her

• The poison is intended to cause death

• The other resort guests are here on vacation

• The woman loves her husband

• The man with whom the woman arrived is her husband

• The purpose of the exclusive resort is tourism

And then all we have to do is come up with a way of violating each assumption. Doing so will give us a unique plot twist, something tailored to this individual novel.