Introducing: The Tangled Web Twists the Plot!

With The Tangled Web ready to publish, we’re moving on… to The Tangled Web Twists the Plot. I’m so excited about this new book, and I’m grateful to have you along for the ride!

The Tangled Web Twists the Plot: Introduction

If there’s one thing that readers love, it’s a killer plot twist. We love to be left stunned, book in our lap, as our mind grapples with a shocker that we never saw coming. Off the top of your head, you can probably think of a handful of plot twists that left you floored. Ender’s Game? Gone Girl? The Murder of Roger Ackroyd, anyone?

You might think that in order to come up with a killer twist of your own, you’re going to have to either:

• wrack your brain, day in and day out, to come up with just the right twist

• luck into it

Not so. Using the tools in this book, you’ll learn 33 twists that are delightfully flexible, and can form the backbone to an infinite variety of plots. We’re talking about twists you’ve probably heard of, like “The Inside Man” and “The Mistaken Identity.” But we’re also talking about a few that may be new to you—twists like “The Secret Score,” “Casualty of War,” and “The Guilty Group.” We’re going to lay bare the inner workings of each of these twists, examining how they work, and various ways they can be put to service in your novel.

But this book is more than a list. It’s also going to explain the science behind plot twists: why they surprise us, and—just as importantly—what kind of support the author must lay down to ensure that we find them believable. We’ll also talk about how to write a plot twist that is more than just surprising and supported, but also resonant—because it is deeply connected to the characters’ emotional journeys, and to the meaning the reader takes from the story.

While this book is written with mystery novels in mind, it’s not just crime writers who will find it useful. Writers of every genre need to understand plot twists. Romances, comedies, and sci fi epics occasionally need a little whodunit to keep their plot wheels a-churning. And even if your story is entirely crime-free, you still want to be able to spin the reader off in an exciting new direction by deploying a killer twist.

In this book we’ll be dipping into Star Wars and Harry Potter. Into ghost stories and epic fantasy. We will deal with a few twists that are staples of the mystery genre—twists like “The Locked Room” or “The Perfect Alibi—” but the essentials of twisting plots are applicable to every kind of story.

Before you go any further, though, let me offer a small word of warning. Once I show you the logic underpinning a great plot twist, you won’t be able to unsee it. I’m going to show you how the sausage gets made—and that may sometimes make it hard for you to savor it with the same gusto. Over the years since I began analyzing plot twists, I have often found myself finishing a gorgeous, beautifully plotted mystery and thinking to myself, “Ah, so, it’s sort of a Suspect Rebound, with a bit of a Secret Score stinger. Neat.”

But if you’re willing to come with me on this journey, great power awaits. The power to blindside your reader with a twist so shocking—and so meaningful—that she’ll never be able to forget it.

The Tangled Web Twists the Plot is the followup to my first mystery writing book, The Tangled Web, which releases on July 29.