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Everyone loves a great plot twist, but a poorly executed one can ruin an otherwise good story. Plot twists can make your story more engaging and memorable, especially if you're writing in the thriller or suspense genres. But bad plot twists will make your story memorable for all the wrong reasons.

It’s critical to ensure you are pulling off your plot twist effectively, or it can have the opposite effect and make the reader disengage with your story. So, what makes a bad plot twist? A plot twist that is predictable, overdone, or cliché can erode the reader’s trust in your storytelling. To help you understand how to fix a bad plot twist, I'm going to cover some of the most common and cliché plot twists in fiction, as well as why they're used so frequently and some options for how to approach the twist differently.

One note here is I am not saying any of these plot twists are off limits. In fact, you are going to see them everywhere, likely in many best-selling novels as well as in TV shows and movies. So if your story hinges on one of these twists, it's not game over. You don't have to scrap the whole thing. My goal is to get your writing wheels turning and make sure that you consider carefully how you approach plot twists.

Long Lost Families

This is when some characters in your story find out, typically toward the middle or end of the story, that they are actually related. Maybe they are half-siblings or long lost cousins.

The reason this plot twist is used so frequently is it immediately amplifies the emotional stakes of the story. You have transformed the characters' relationships and they are now bonded and much closer than they ever realized. This can be especially interesting if you have two characters who are enemies, or a protagonist and antagonist, who find out that they are related, because now they have to rethink their entire relationship.

However, this plot twist can be convoluted to execute and sometimes it is not convincing, either through the way the characters are related or the method through which they find out they are related. Since the logistics of this plot twist can be difficult to execute, it’s important to make sure that your reader is on board with it.

Ask yourself if it is actually necessary to have these characters be related, or if you are potentially leaning on this plot twist to make the story more emotional and dramatic then necessary. When learning how to fix a bad plot twist, you have to be able to tell when the twist is actually critical to the story and when it may be extraneous drama.

If you determine this twist is necessary, then make sure the characters’ backstories are believable enough so that the reader doesn't have to jump through hoops to understand how they are related and never knew previously. Making this revelation logical will heighten its effectiveness.

The Perfect Character Who’s Hiding Something

This plot twist happens when a character the reader has seen as good and positive throughout the story ends up being the antagonist. This plot twist is used so frequently because it’s a betrayal for both the characters in the story and to the readers, who had also believed this character was a good figure. The reader has been rooting for this character all along, so having that character actually be crooked causes shock and drama.

But because this twist is so overdone, you run the risk of having the reader suspect any character that is coming across as too perfect from the get-go, especially if you are writing a thriller. That character might end up being a red flag to the reader from the start because they are already familiar with this twist.

What I recommend doing here instead is making all of your characters complex, layered, and flawed. All of your characters should have good sides and bad sides so that almost everyone is a suspect. No character is too perfect, and no character is too imperfect. This is also going to enrich your story overall, as having complex characterizations will help the readers connect with them more deeply.

Misleading Protagonists

Another term used for this plot twist used in first person novels is an unreliable narrator. This is when the protagonist, who we have been following throughout the story, ends up being someone completely different than the reader thought they were.

This could be, for example, if they have a mental condition the reader was unaware of that completely changes their entire worldview and personality. This could also be, in the case of a thriller, where the protagonist ends up being the killer but they hadn’t presented themselves as the killer at all throughout the story.

This plot twist is one of the biggest ways to shock and surprise your reader if it is pulled off effectively. However, it is also the most risky plot twist because if it is not executed well, you run the risk of the reader being totally upset with how the story has played out. If done badly, it will make readers close the book because of how frustrating and unsatisfying the twist is.

I recommend proceeding with caution if you have a misleading protagonist or unreliable narrator in your story. If you want to consider reworking this twist, ask yourself what would happen if the protagonist revealed their true selves from the beginning of the story. How would that transform the narrative? What would you gain? Would you lose anything or not? Could that even make for a more interesting story? For example, if your protagonist is a killer, what would happen if we knew that fact from the beginning?

A misleading protagonist is potentially the riskiest plot twist, as it definitely has the biggest payoff, but you will also have the most to lose. So, when learning how to fix a bad plot twist, make sure you weigh all the pros and cons.

It Was All a Dream

This plot twist is when all the scenes or a large portion of the scenes are actually some kind of delusion or a dream by one of the characters, so what we saw happen in the story never actually occurred. This is sometimes summarized by the phrase “It was all a dream.”

The reason this plot twist is popular is because, compared to some other plot twists, it's easier to execute. It quickly adds a dramatic layer to the narrative and you're able to deliver a shock without changing much of the story. However, because of that, it is often seen by readers as a cheap trick. They are going to potentially feel manipulated when it is revealed that none of what they read actually happened. You risk letting the reader down and having them feel like the time they gave the story was all for nothing. When the series ending of Lost aired, it received a lot of criticism for this reason. The fans were not happy at all.

I recommend considering some other options if you are currently working on a story with this plot twist. You could take the twist out entirely and think about what would happen if everything in the story actually did happen. However, if the dream or delusion element is critical to your vision of the story, then I recommend revealing it earlier in the story, such as in the first third or half. The reader is more likely to be on board with this revelation if it happens earlier, before they've finished the entire novel. It also gives you more room to explore the ramifications of the reveal.

Returning From the Dead

The last overdone plot twist is when someone returns from the dead. This is when a character who the reader thought was dead reemerges at a pivotal moment, either to save the day or create some kind of chaos.

However, similar to the too perfect character, since this has become a common plot twist, any time a character dies in a story, the reader is likely to keep an eye out for their reappearance. This is especially prominent in thriller and crime novels. Instead of feeling shock and potential joy at seeing a lost character return, the reader can feel like it’s a gimmick.

One option for another approach is rather than convincing the reader a character is definitely dead, leave it a bit vague. This technique will avoid this plot twist and also add a layer of intrigue to the rest of the story. Because you left the door open on the character’s mortality, the reader will wonder if they are going to come back and be intrigued with the will they, won’t they effect.

I hope these tips help you understand how to fix a bad plot twist and craft more shocking reveals in your story. A weak plot twist can always be made stronger, either by subverting reader expectations or by making current elements in your story more complex. By fixing bad plot twists, you will both improve your manuscript and your skills as a writer.

Thanks so much for reading and happy writing!