In this five part series, we look at what makes a book or a story or a screenplay a page-turner:
Make sure your plot has twists.
Yes, there are only so many stories—some people say 36, some say only 7, but regardless of how many core plots there are, there are always new ways to tell them and to surprise us.
Maybe you are writing a Romeo and Juliet story—but what if it turns out Romeo is courting Juliet only because he’s secretly in love with her mother?
Or maybe you are writing a revenge story about a father who seeks to get even with the drunk driver who apparently was responsible for the death of his son and another person—but then discovers that it was actually his son who was at fault?
These kinds of twists make us keep reading to see what other hidden facts will emerge. If you want to see how this is done well, watch shows like C.S.I. and N.C.I.S., police procedurals where new twists (and new suspects) emerge at least three or four times in an episode.
In a short story one twist (usually revealed at the end) is enough; in a novel or screenplay you need to keep on surprising and intriguing the reader, so it helps to have several. The trick, which has been mastered by the best mystery and thriller writers, is to make each development suprising but, in retrospect, logical. It applies to other genres just as much as to thrillers but studying the masters of that genre can help you see most easily how it's done.
(Next post: style)
(Want a kick up the backside to actually write that book or screenplay you've been thinking about for so long? Join my Writing Breakthrough Strategy Program--see http://www.jurgenwolff.com for details.
