Here’s something you’ll never hear a reader say: “That mystery went exactly as I predicted, and

that made me happy.” On the contrary, readers want big surprises as a reward for reading further.
These surprises are commonly referred to as plot twists.

What Are Plot Twists?

Plot twists are changes in a novel, short story, movie, or TV series that subvert expectations. They
don’t follow the linear path that may have been suggested by an author at the start of the story.
When properly executed, these misdirections genuinely surprise the audience and thereby enhance
their engagement.

6 Different Types of Plot Twists

Authors and screenwriters  are constantly dreaming up new ways to upend a storyline and, in the process,
create the next great plot twist. Here are some common plot twists:

1. 1. A supposed ally of the protagonist turns out to be the bad guy.
2. 2. An ostensibly important story element turns out to be a red herring (ie. a detail that upon further
scrutiny ends up being inconsequential). Learn more about red herrings here .
3. 3. When the main conflict appears to be resolved, an unforeseen turn of events introduces one
additional conflict to overcome. Read more about different types of conflict here .
4. 4. A new piece of information reveals that the story has an unreliable narrator.  Read more about
unreliable narrators here .
5. 5. A flashback or cutaway reveals information that the audience has but the story’s characters do not.
6. 6. A new character appears from out of nowhere to upend the existing narrative.

6 Examples of Plot Twists in Pop Culture

A good plot twist can take many forms. Here are some classics. (Skip this section if you want to avoid
spoilers.)

1. 1. In Shakespeare’s Hamlet, Hamlet’s generally dour demeanor turns positively psychotic when he
accidentally kills Polonius.
2. 2. In Goldeneye, James Bond is stunned to discover that his colleague 006 is a double agent who’s
been conspiring against him.
3. 3. In the first installment of George R.R. Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire (later adapted into the
blockbuster TV series Game of Thrones), the man we assume will be the series protagonist—Ned
Stark—is beheaded, revealing his children as the actual series protagonists.
4. 4. In The Sixth Sense, a child psychologist played by Bruce Willis realizes that a boy who claims to
see dead people can only speak to him because the psychologist himself is dead.
5. 5. In The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Huck’s plan to win Jim’s freedom is derailed when they
encounter Tom Sawyer, whose self-involved behavior results in Jim’s return to bondage.
6. 6. In Saw, a dead body rises and reveals himself to be very much alive and in fact the real killer.

Why Are Plot Twists Important to a Story?

Plot twists keep audiences engaged in your story. When they appear near the midway point of a narrative,
they grip your audience’s attention and inspire the careful study of all the details that will follow.

When they appear at the end of the film or in the final pages of a novel, they tend to form the lasting
memories that an audience associates with your narrative. (For instance, not many people can tell you all
the plot points  of The Usual Suspects, but they can all remember the shocking twist ending, which upends the
whole outcome of the plot).
 5 Tips for Writing a Good Plot Twist
Whether it’s your first time trying to write a successful plot twist or your fiftieth, here are some  writing tips to
help inspire you:

1. 1. Kill off a seemingly important character. If you want to get your audience’s attention, set up a
character who appears to be quite important—perhaps even someone who seems like the main
character—and kill them off 1/5th of the way into your story.
2. 2. Let your character discover a plot twist organically. Rather than describe a major plot twist
using narration, have your protagonist uncover the fact that someone isn’t who they claim to be, or
that a person they thought was dead is still alive.
3. 3. Elevate a seemingly minor character. One way to concoct a good twist is to make a seemingly
trivial character a much more important figure. Perhaps an ostensibly inconsequential barista or
checkout clerk was actually a spy the whole time. Perhaps a babysitter is actually the protagonist’s
mother.
4. 4. Have your big reveal instigate a twist ending. If you insert a good plot twist at the end of the film
or novel, don’t wrap up the story right there. Make the plot twist have a consequence—one more
problem for your protagonist to solve. Or, if you’re planning to start a series, make your twist ending
the cliffhanger that tees up the next book, movie, or TV episode.
5. 5. Make sure your plot twist is earned. There’s nothing worse than a plot twist that isn’t grounded in
the story you’ve established. Use careful foreshadowing to set the stage for a plot twist you want to
reveal once you’re far deeper into the story.

Want to Become a Better Writer?

Whether you’re writing as an artistic exercise or trying to get the attention of publishing houses, learning how
to craft a good story takes time and patience. Master of suspense and bestselling author of  The Da Vinci
Code, Dan Brown has spent decades honing his craft. In Dan Brown’s MasterClass on the art of the thriller,
he unveils his step-by-step process for turning ideas into gripping narratives and reveals his methods for
researching like a pro, crafting characters, and sustaining suspense all the way to a dramatic surprise ending.

PLOT Twist – An Essay

The secret is no secret… it’s been hiding in plain sight for 2300 years.

Most of our notions about plot come from Aristotle. He argued that plot proceeds
by discoveries and reversals.

Almost all plot twists are constructed by combining discoveries and reversals, based on the already-
declared story premise.

Let’s unpack this:

 Discoveries: new information provided to the reader and/or the characters, or insights by the
characters into themselves, or insights made available to the reader into the story
 Reversals: reversals in the flow of the plot, primarily about hopes and expectations. We think
we’re winning but suddenly we’re losing. We think we’re losing, but suddenly we’re winning.
 Premise: what was revealed in the beginning of the story. You can have any outlandish premise
you like, provided it’s given at the start. However, if you introduce new material late on,
especially if it serves to solve the protagonist’s dilemma, it will feel like a deus ex machina.
Western story-telling from the middle-ages onwards relies on the double-reversal as the basic unit of
plot. We are winning, then disaster, but then we win even bigger than we hoped. Or we are losing, but
sudden hope intervenes, but then we lose even more than we feared.

A double-reversal makes a good climax, but it only becomes a true plot-twist when you combine it with a
discovery. Post-Sherlock Holmes, information is often embedded earlier in the story, and the discovery
enables the reader to finally figure it out. This was already present in the medieval Sir Gawain and the
Green Knight.

So… the secret to a good plot twist is the premise.

Once you’ve established the unique starting point for your story, you have the seeds of revealing the most
important implication of that premise. If you do so at the moment the story hits its climax with a double-
reversal, then you have a good plot twist.

 In Star Wars, the crucial, final plot twist is when Darth Vader is about to destroy Luke, but Han
Solo arrives in the Millennium Falcon and saves the day, whereby Luke is able to destroy the
Death Star.
o Hope: we believe that Luke is going to destroy the Death Star
o Reversal: Darth Vader finally gets Luke in his sights and is about to fire
o Double Reversal: Han arrives, and shoots Vader’s ship, allowing Luke to destroy the Death
Star
o Discovery: Han is not the amoral, disloyal figure he represented himself as, but, as we
hoped all along, a noble person in a rogue’s guise.
 In Macbeth, the crucial, final plot twist is when Macduff fights Macbeth
o Hope (or fear): Macduff is going finally end Macbeth’s reign of terror
o Reversal: Macbeth reveals he cannot be killed by any ‘of woman born’
o Double Reversal: Macduff reveals that he is not ‘of woman born, but ‘from my mother’s
womb untimely ripped’ (born by Caesarean section). He kills Macbeth.
o Discovery: the underlying discovery is that the ‘promise’ of invulnerability the witches gave
Macbeth was not a promise at all, but rather an exact prediction of how he will die. This
reinterprets the entire play for us.
Star Wars is a superb film, but it pales by comparison with Shakespeare’s masterful plot twist in Macbeth.
Shakespeare’s twist reinterprets the entire play, though, of course, it only confirms what we were most
afraid of.

JK Rowling’s best plot twist in Harry Potter is at the end of the Goblet of Fire. Harry is about to win the
Triwizard cup, but the cup is a portkey putting him in the hands of Voldemort, BUT his wand locks with
Voldemort’s and he is able to escape. This would be exciting on its own, but it becomes a true twist
because the key to the original premise is unveiled: everything that happened in the entire book was
Voldemort’s plan to get Harry there, and the twinned wands given in the premise of the very first book is
the reason why he can’t fulfil it.

Getting a really great plot twist is often a case of adding an extra act to your plot. If you find that the plot
has proceeded in a fairly linear fashion, and are now hunting around for a good twist to end it, then you
may want to consider extending the story to ‘what happened after’.
 In Pride and Prejudice we get an extremely fulfilling love story, where Lizzie finally realises that Darcy is the
man for her. Most romance stories would end there, but Austen adds one final twist: Mr Wickham elopes
with her sister, potentially bringing such shame on the family that Darcy can now not marry her. But Darcy
himself steps in and saves the day.

In Notting Hill Hugh Grant’s character’s cycle runs its course as he realises that he and Julia Robert’s
character Anna Shaw can never be together. But the plot goes one further, adding on the final press
conference scene and their reconciliation.

In Stardust, the novel, the plot reaches a satisfactory conclusion, but there’s no real excitement Neil
Gaiman was able to rework it for the film version, adding on an extra twenty minutes of excitement which
lifts the story to a greater height.

How to Write Plot Twists: Your Complete Guide

Mastering how to write plot twists involves more than just throwing a monkey wrench into your
story.

A well-written plot twist must be subtle.

You’ll need to learn:

 How to set up a plot twist

 Where to insert one
 How to use it to drive the main plot
 Mistakes to avoid

What is a Plot Twist?

If plot is the sequence of events that makes up your story — what happens to keep readers turning
pages, plot twists are unexpected, unpredictable, surprising, events or revelations that turn
everything inside out.

Why does surprise matter?

Predictability bores. And it’s a sin to bore your reader.

A good plot twist strengthens your story and can make it unforgettable.

So it’s worth your time to learn to write good ones.

How to Write Plot Twists That Work

Once readers are confident about where your story’s going, upend their expectations with new
developments.

While plot twists may most commonly be associated with endings, they can happen any time after
you’ve established your readers’ expectations.
The most common plot twist pitfall is that they’re too obvious.

Avoid tropes — situations that have been so overused that your story becomes predictable and clichéd.

Also avoid dropping so many hints that the twist is easy to see coming.

If readers aren’t surprised, they’re bored.

So how do you know if your plot twist works?

Readers will tell you.

Well-written plot twists:

1. Are carefully foreshadowed.

Plant enough clues so readers will be surprised but not feel swindled. Give away too much and the
reader guesses what’s coming. While your twist shouldn’t be obvious, readers should be able to
recognize the signs when they look back. Think The Sixth Sense or The Sting movies.

2. Use subtle misdirection.

Be a little devious. Guide readers to suspect one resolution, and then reveal it as a dead end. But
beware: A little goes a long way here. Be careful not to frustrate your audience.

3. Don’t rely on coincidence.

The twist must make sense or readers won’t buy it. Sure, coincidences happen in real life, but too
many stretch credibility.

4. Are consistent with your story.

You can reveal new information, but it must be realistic and believable.

5. Maintain tension.
Don’t take your foot off the gas. Keep tension building and you’ll ratchet up the excitement.

6. Don’t overdo it.

Limit yourself to one plot twist per book. Any more will appear contrived.

12 Plot Twist Examples

1. False protagonist
Readers assume an early character is your lead — but he soon dies, disappears, or is revealed as the
antagonist. False protagonist twists can be tricky, but they can result in memorable stories.

Killing off a character makes readers fear that no one is safe.

Examples include Ned Stark in Game of Thrones, Marion Crane in Psycho, and Don Vito Corleone
in The Godfather.
2. Betrayal and secrets
The main character has been misled, lied to, used, or double-crossed. A character appears to be an
ally, but once their true nature is revealed, the main character no longer knows who to trust.

3. Poetic justice
One common example is a villain killed by his own gun.

Unfortunately, poetic justice has been used so much that it’s become a cliché. You risk alienating
readers if you come across as too preachy.

The upside is that poetic justice can be emotionally satisfying to readers who love happy endings.

4. Flashbacks
The problem with these is that they take readers offstage to visit the past. Even if they reveal
something important to the story, the danger is the cliché of a character daydreaming or actually
dreaming and — after the flashback — being jarred back to the present by something or someone
interrupting him.

Better to use backstory straightforwardly by simply using a time and location tag, flush left and in
italics, and telling the story from the past as if it’s onstage now. In that way, backstory can propel your
story.

5. Reverse chronology
Novels that start at the end and progress backwards use a series of backstories that result in a
surprise.

The psychological thriller Memento features a main character who cannot retain new memories.
The story starts at the end — with a shooting, and proceeds back as the protagonist pieces together his
past. Such stories focus less on what happened than on why and how.

6. In medias res
This Latin term means “in the midst of things.” Don’t mistake this to mean your story must start with
physical action. It certainly can, but in medias res specifically means that something must be
happening.

Not setup, not scene setting, not description. It can be subtext, an undercurrent of foreboding, but
something going on. The story essentially starts, giving the reader credit that he will catch on, with
important information revealed later.

7. Red herring
This popular device, especially in mysteries and thrillers, seems to point to one conclusion — which
turns out to be a dead end with a reasonable explanation.

Agatha Christie was a master at having several characters behave suspiciously, though in the end only
one is guilty. Check out her And Then There Were None.

8. A good catastrophe
J.R.R. Tolkien used this in his novels. When everything is going terribly and the characters believe
they’re doomed, suddenly there’s salvation. The key is that the protagonist must believe his end is
coming.
 An example: In The Lord of the Rings, Gollum takes the ring from Frodo, and we think all is lost. But
then he dives into the volcano, saving everyone.

9. Unreliable narrator
In this twist, the point of view character either doesn’t know the whole story (due to youth or naïveté),
has a distorted perception, or is blatantly lying.

Popular examples include Pi Patel in The Life of Pi, Mrs. De Winter in Rebecca, and Forrest in Forrest
Gump.

10. A twist of fate

Random chance ushers in a sudden reversal of fortune, usually from good to bad. The main character
either gains or loses wealth, status, loved ones, or long-held beliefs.

It’s crucial to make such a twist believable. (See #3 under How to Write Plot Twists That Work above.)

11. Realization
This turning point of deep recognition or discovery is my least favorite, to the point where I don’t
recommend it. I prefer twists that come as a result of an external, physical act.

12. Deus ex machina
In ancient Greek and Roman stories, this plot twist was known as an act of God, literally meaning
“god from the machine.” This refers to a crane-like device play producers used to fly an angel or other
ethereal being into a scene to save the day.These days, the term refers to an implausible and
unexpected introduction of a brand new element that does the same. Frankly, it’s a huge mistake and
is seen by agents, publishers, and readers as the easy way out.

Avoid this twist at all costs, unless you’re writing parody or satire.

8 Plot Twist Tropes to Avoid

Several have been done to death, so recycling them risks a boring, predictable plot. You should read dozens
and dozens of books in your genre so you’ll recognize what works and what doesn’t.Tropes are often the
result of lazy writing.

1. Long-lost family. A popular example is, “Luke, I am your father!” from Star Wars. In The Return of the Jedi we
discover that Luke and Leia are twins.
2. The dream. The entire story was a dream or hallucination, as in Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland and The
Wizard of Oz.
3. The elaborate ruse. The villain is so clever he can anticipate the protagonist’s choices at every step, leading
the main character to an unlikely outcome.
4. Beauty and the Beast. A beautiful woman falls for an ugly man because of his personality.
5. The Chosen One. Especially in Young Adult fantasy, a young person is expected to save the world simply
because of his birth lineage.
6. The Resurrected. Someone presumed dead magically recovers to fatally shoot or injure an antagonist.
7. The Love/Hate Dilemma. Two people who initially hate each other end up falling in love. This is one of the
oldest tropes in the romance genre.
8. The Unexpected Aristocrat. Discovering the lead character is actually part of a royal line.
 101 Plot Twist Ideas
Red Herring — All suspicion points to one character, but when the truth is revealed, it's another
that did the terrible deed.

The narrator is not the person we thought they were.

A weakness of a character is actually their greatest strength.
A character's strength defeats them.
A character's weakness saves them.
The weakest character is the villain.
The strongest character is the first to die.
The smartest character is the first to be outwitted.
The most skilled character succumbs to the least skilled character. 
The protagonist is living two lives.
The antagonist is living two lives.
The wrong first impression of a character.
What first seemed like a wrong first impression of a character ends up being right.
A surprising person ends up being the puppet master behind everything.
When the protagonist solves the mystery, it opens up a Pandora's Box.
The conflict the protagonist was going through was a ruse concocted by their friends to help them with
confidence or to overcome fear.
The conflict the protagonist was going through was a ruse concocted by former victims of their bullying.
The conflict the protagonist was going through was a practical joke.
The protagonist receiving help actually doesn't want it.
The protagonist that doesn't seem to want help actually does.
A gift is really a danger.
What seems like a dangerous object at first is actually a gift that helps the protagonist. 
The dead body isn't dead.
The informant is actually the mastermind.
The supposed mastermind is actually a red herring.
An otherwise straightforward romantic comedy leads into horror territory.
A gigantic meteor streaks across the sky.
A terrible storm moves in, threatening all.
A stranger enters the story, informing the characters that they are all being watched. 
The goal achieved ends up making things worse.
The love interest is the antagonist.
An object has a special meaning.
A missing child planned their abduction to get back at their abusive parents.
The parent is really the grandparent. 

Good vs. Evil Plot Twists

The narrator is the villain telling the hero's story.  
The narrator is the hero telling the villain's story.
Your character is a superhero that lost their powers.
The opening hero is killed within the first act. 
The villain is a twin of the hero.
The hero is one of a triplet trio. 
Two villains are two of a triplet trio — the hero is the third.
The protagonist is both the hero and the villain. 
The supportive friend is the killer.
It is revealed that the hero has an unheroic past.
The villain is in love with the hero.   
A supporting character is an intruder working for the villain.
The hero is related to the villain.
The villain is an evil clone of the hero.
The villain is revealed to have been right under the hero's nose the whole time.
The strength of a character is actually their greatest weakness.
The hero must die to save everyone else.
The villain has a change of heart but has driven the hero too far over the edge and must stop them.  
The villain ends up being revealed as the true hero.
The hero ends up being revealed as the true villain.
The hero and villain each live dual lives — one where they are the hero and another where they are the
villain.

Timeline Plot Twists

The protagonist is revealed to be from the future.
What we believe to be set in the past is actually set in the present.
What we believe to be set in the present is actually set in the future.
What we believe to be set in the future is actually set in an alternate reality. 
The protagonist is revealed to be from the past.
The protagonist is revealed to be from another dimension or timeline.
The antagonist is revealed to be the protagonist's future self.
The antagonist is actually the protagonist's past self.
The antagonist is revealed to be the protagonist's alternate reality self.
The ending is revealed to be the beginning.
The beginning is revealed to be the ending.
It's all a dream. 
It's all a nightmare. 
It's all a memory. 
The love interest is a bodyguard sent from the future to protect them. 
Your story based on or around true events is an alternate reality with a different ending.
A stranger enters the story, informing the characters that they've all done this before. 

Mind-Bending Plot Twists

The story being told is revealed to be a fictional book written by the protagonist.
The characters are actually figments of someone's imagination.
The characters are manifestations of someone are multiple personality disorder. 
The antagonist is a split personality of the protagonist. 
A stranger enters the story, informing the characters that their reality isn't what it seems. 
The love interest is actually a figment of a lonely person's imagination.
The detective hunting down the criminal is actually the criminal — they suffer from Dissociative Identity
Disorder.
The physically challenged character isn't physically challenged.
The mentally challenged character isn't mentally challenged.
The mentally stable character isn't mentally stable.
The killer imagined their whole killing rampage.
 Supernatural Plot Twist Ideas

 The protagonist is revealed to be a person's psyche trapped in another's body.

The narrator is an angel, examining the lives of humans.
God is the narrator, admiring his/her creations.
The narrator is Satan, reveling at the tormenting of God's little creatures known as humans. 
Death narrates the story, witnessing a life he/she must take.
The dead body discovered is a dead ringer for the person that found it.
A character that believes they are in Heaven is actually in Hell.
A character that believes they are in Hell is actually in Heaven. 
The ghosts aren't ghosts — they're from a parallel universe merging with the protagonist's universe. 
An object has a special power.
Those we thought were dead are not.
The people we thought were alive are dead.

Tech & Sci-Fi Plot Twist Ideas

The events of the story were all a computer simulation.
The city the characters live within is actually on a spaceship.
The city the characters live within is actually set deep within a mountain after a nuclear war.
The spaceship where the story takes place is actually a prison—unbeknownst to the crew.
An otherwise straightforward drama leads into science fiction territory. 

Plot Twist #101. The writer looking for plot twist inspiration had a revelation that led to an even
better plot twist not mentioned above.Bend and shape these plot twists to fit and elevate your
stories — and share them with your writing peers.

What is a plot twist?

A plot twist is a story development that readers do not expect in which either
something shocking happens or something shocking is revealed. Generally, the
storyteller will set up expectations and then "twist" those expectations by revealing new
information through subsequent plot points.

The criteria for a plot twist tends to be made up of the following:

1. It must be narratively sound,

2. It must be unexpected, and
3. It might be foreshadowed.

To no-one’s surprise, plot twists are particularly prevalent in mysteries, thrillers,

and suspense fiction. However, the twist takes no prisoners and has reared its head in
almost every genre out there, which brings us to…
 50+ plot twist ideas in pop culture
If you seek inspiration for crafting your own twists, there’s no better place to start than
with some of the most popular unexpected plot-turns in film and literature. But be
warned: there be spoilers ahead. With that in mind, here are over 50 examples of plot
twists in film and literature.

I Am Your Father
Mum’s the word when it comes to family secrets, right? Not so fast. This is the plot twist
that concerns a revelation about the key character’s family. It could be that there is a
surprising reveal regarding parentage — or perhaps it’s uncovered that the protagonist was
an orphan all along.

Made legendary by Star Wars, this type of plot twist is nevertheless widespread in all
genres and mediums, as there’s no drama quite like family drama. As George Carlin once
said: “The other night I ate at a real nice family restaurant. Every table had an argument
going.”’

1. Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back. In a pivotal battle, Luke discovers that Darth
Vader, his ultimate nemesis, is actually his father.
2. Angels & Demons. Robert Langdon is shocked by the revelation that the late pope’s aide
is actually His Holyness’s’s son — conceived through artificial insemination.
3. Shutter Island. During an investigation of a disappearance from a remote asylum, U.S.
Marshal Edward “Teddy” Daniels realizes that he himself is the missing patient — and the
husband and murderer of the woman that he had been trying to locate.

More plot twist examples of this flavor:

4. The Man From Earth. Right before he dies from a heart attack, Will learns that the
unaging Professor John Oldman is actually his father.
5. Oldboy.  Mysteriously imprisoned for 15 years, Oh Dae-su falls in love with a young
restaurant chef who is later revealed to be his daughter.
6. The Kite Runner. Amir has mixed feelings when he discovers that his closest childhood
friend, Hassan, is his half-brother.
 It Was Me All Along
In which protagonists’ worst enemies is actually themselves. This plot twist turns the
magnifying glass inward to reveal that there was something off about the main character
all along. It’s one of the oldest tricks in the book — and when executed expertly, it can blow
people’s minds away!

7. Fight Club. The narrator of the movie meets Tyler Durden, a soap salesman, and
together they start a local “Fight Club.” In time, he realizes that he himself is Tyler Durden.
8. Gone Girl. Amy Dunne is revealed to be alive — and also the mastermind behind the
framing of her husband, Nick Dunne, for her own “death.”
9. The Murder of Roger Ackroyd. Dr. James Sheppard, the first-person narrator of the
novel, comes out as the murderer in the case that Hercule Poirot had been investigating.

More plot twist examples of this flavor:

10.The Usual Suspects. Roger “Verbal” Kint, a small-time con man, is interrogated by the
police who hope to hunt down the mob boss Keyser Söze. A fax later confirms too late that
Kint is Söze himself.
11. Orphan Black. Sarah Manning is right to be confused when she spies a girl who looks
just like her by the train: she is just one of hundreds of clones.

Will The Real Evil Guy Please Stand Up?

In which the reveal of the villain (or anti-villain) is a surprise to audiences. Maybe they’re
a minor character or someone entirely unexpected (such as a close friend or relative of the
protagonist).

Generally, this plot twist requires some amount of foreshadowing, so as to trigger an “Oh, I
should’ve known” reaction from audiences.

12.Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. Harry battles through three perilous stages of
the Triwizard Tournament to find that the real villain has been under his nose throughout
the entire novel: Barty Crouch, Jr. in disguise as Harry’s mentor, Alastor “Mad-Eye”
Moody.
13.Psycho. In a turn of events, the person who kills Marion Crane in the shower at Bates
Motel is not the overbearing Mrs Bates — rather, her son Norman, who has
been masquerading as his dead mother this whole time.
14.Frozen. An eternal snowstorm unveils the actual antagonist in the story: Prince Hans of
the Southern Isles, youngest of thirteen sons and one of Anna’s suitors.

More plot twist examples of this flavor:

15. Sherlock. Even Sherlock isn’t able to identify Jim Moriarty, a minor character who
disguises himself as Molly Hooper’s gay boyfriend, as his greatest nemesis until it’s too
late.
16.Iron Man. Tony Stark discovers that the man who wants him killed is his old friend and
mentor, Obadiah Stone.

Love the Way You Lie

In which it’s revealed that the narrator has been unreliable all along — either due to pure
subjectivity or their selfish wish to misrepresent the facts.

Because of the nature of this type of plot twist, it is almost always told by a first-person
narrator.

17. We Are All Completely Beside Ourselves. Rosemary Cooke starts her story in the
middle to disguise the fact that her missing sister is actually a chimpanzee.
18.Atonement. Not until the postscript is it revealed that Briony Tallis had fabricated the
previous sections of her story to give Robbie Turner and Cecilia Tallis the happy ending
that they never got because of her.
19.Life of Pi. Pi Patel tells a story about cannibalization and survival on the open sea that
may or may not be about zoo animals.

More plot twist examples of this flavor:

20. Never Let Me Go. Kathy, the narrator, holds back the truth that she and all of her
classmates at Hailsham are actually clones who are raised to have their organs harvested.
21.Fingersmith. Sue Trinder sets out to swindle Maud Lilly’s fortune — only to fall in love
with her and face an uncomfortable truth.
 Nice Job Breaking It, Hero!
The hero’s successfully solved the riddle or problem. Great. Time to pop open the
champagne, right?

Not quite. Sometimes the hero’s actions make the situation even worse than before. We
borrowed this headline from the site TV Tropes because it fits this plot twist perfectly: the
hero accidentally breaks the world. Perhaps they trigger an apocalypse or maybe the
antidote that the hero acquires is actually poison. Either way, it’s something that the hero
must now fix — or else.

22. The Incredibles. Mr. Incredible helps a mysterious benefactor destroy a violent

robot only to discover that his actions have actually helped the evil Syndrome develop the
perfect killing machine.
23. Ender’s Game. 10-year old Andrew “Ender” Wiggin fulfills his war training by
leading simulated wars against an alien race — only to realize that the “simulations” were
actual battles and he’s unwittingly committed genocide.
24. Zootopia. Judy Hopps, police officer extraordinaire, successfully locates Zootopia’s
missing predators — which immediately cases a public frenzy of fear, hate, and
discrimination.

Oh Crap, That Wasn’t The Actual Final Boss

Congratulations, hero! You’ve figured out the identity of your nemesis, gone to extreme
lengths to hunt them down, engaged in ferocious battle with them and emerged victorious
from it — only to discover that they weren’t actually your final boss. There’s someone (or
something) bigger and badder behind the scenes, controlling the strings of the marionette.
Oopsie.

25. Batman Begins. Bruce Wayne has subdued The Scarecrow when Henri Ducard,
Bruce’s old mentor, shows up and reveals that he is Ra’s al Ghul.
26. Iron Man 3. Tony Stark is thrown for a loop when he discovers that the Mandarin
is really a bad English actor named Trevor Slattery who has been hired by Aldrich Killian
to act as a decoy.
27.Howl’s Moving Castle. Howl and Sophie manage to kill the Witch of the Waste — only
to discover that the Witch’s fire demon, Miss Angorian, was the real villain all along.
 I Dreamed A Dream That This Dream Was Fake
This is the one in which the entire story turns out to be all a dream — and it’s so well-
known that its appearance at the end of a story is almost a punchline these days. That said,
authors and filmmakers still continue to find new ways to re-invent this twist today.

28. Twilight Zone, “The Midnight Sun.” The last moments reveal that the
predicament of the Earth falling into the sun was entirely Norma’s fever dream: the Earth
is actually moving away from the sun, which means that the world is freezing to death.
29. Inception. A still-spinning top at the end of the film hints that Dominick “Dom”
Cobb may or may not still be stuck in an eternal dream.

More plot twist examples of this flavor:

30. A Beautiful Mind. A brilliant mathematician suffering from schizophrenia is

shown to have been hallucinating friends, enemies, and moments the entire time.
31.Jacob’s Ladder. The ordeals of Jacob Singer, a war veteran of Vietnam who is being
haunted by frightening visions and fragmented fantasies, give way to the reveal that Jacob
died in Vietnam and it was all a dream.

Must Pretend Harder to Look Alive

If it quacks like a duck, looks like a duck, and swims like a duck, then it’s probably a duck…
except in stories. We're talking about the ones in which we realize (perhaps too late) that a
character has been dead along!

As you might expect, this plot twist shows up most often in the genres of science
fiction, horror, and sometimes cosmic horror (which blends the two). However, it will
sometimes make its way into the mainstream, with M. Night Shyamalan’s The Sixth
Sense being a prime example.

32. The Others. When a family appears at Grace Stewart’s house one day, she thinks
that her house has been overrun — but soon comes to the epiphany that she and her
children are dead and that they are the actual spirits haunting the house.
33. The Sixth Sense. Child psychologist Malcolm Crowe begins working with a boy
who claims that he can see ghosts. It’s not until the final act that he realizes that he himself
is a ghost.
34. The Twilight Zone, “The Hitch-Hiker.” A young woman driving cross-country
across America keeps encountering a man at the side of road. Only when she calls for help
does realizes that she was killed in a car accident days ago — and the hitch-hiker who says
gently, "I belileve you're going my way," is Death.

Not Too Dead To Ruin Everyone’s Day

In which every hero’s worst nightmare comes true and villains only seem dead. In other
words: someone who’s supposed to be dead isn’t actually dead and can pop back into the
main storyline like the moles in Whack-a-Mole. Likewise, this plot twist is used across the
board to foil the protagonist, so it may be worth it to tread carefully.

35. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban. Harry Potter’s climactic encounter
with Sirius Black triggers the revelation that Peter Pettigrew, Voldemort’s secret
henchman, is still alive — and has been disguised as Ron’s rat this whole time.
36. Saw. In a twisted game of life and death for two trapped victims, the “corpse” that
had lain prone on the ground for most of the scenes rises and reveals himself as the real
Jigsaw Killer.
37.Wreck-It Ralph. In Sugar Rush’s pivotal race, Vanellope’s glitch shows that King Candy
is in actuality a fame-hungry auto-racer from another game named Turbo, who is
supposed to have been unplugged and gone entirely from the arcade.

Bet You Thought You’d Seen The Last Of Me, Suckers

In which anyone who ever uttered, “Well, this death seems final,” since the 1800s is
proven incorrect. One of the first famous instances of it occurred in 1893 when Sir Arthur
Conan Doyle tried to kill off Sherlock Holmes in “The Final Problem.” There was such a
public outcry that Doyle was compelled to miraculously resurrect the detective.

Though some argue that it’s a cheap trick to bring a character back to life, it’s still a
common occurrence due to fan demand — particularly in today’s Internet-driven culture.
So as long as people raise a ruckus online over the deaths of their favorite characters, we’ll
probably continue to see this plot twist live a long life.

38. Lord of the Rings. Previously presumed dead after falling off the Bridge of
Khazad-dûm during a battle with a Balrog, Gandalf makes a surprise comeback.
39. The Walking Dead, “Heads Up.” Glenn Rhee plunges straight into a mass of
bloodthirsty walkers but miraculously survives and makes a return in the third episode of
the sixth season.
40. The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe. Aslan, the King of Beasts, is
seemingly killed by the White Witch on the Stone Table — until dawn breaks and he is
resurrected, thanks to the workings of a Deeper Magic.

Damnit, Where’s Kansas?

In a delightful twist within the realm of plot twists, the human being isn’t the one causing
trouble this time around. Instead, the setting of the story take center stage. Found
particularly in science fiction and alternate reality stories, its hallmark is an unanticipated
moment in which the protagonist (and the audience) has to wonder: “Where are we,
really?”

41.The Truman Show. As the unsuspecting star of a decades-long reality show, Truman
Burbank does not realize that he has lived in a massive and elaborate television stage since
birth.
42. Planet of the Apes. Astronauts crash-land on an unknown planet ruled by an
advanced society of talking apes. Their discovery of the remains of the Statue of Liberty
clues them into the realization that they are in the future and that it was Earth all along!
43. Oryx and Crake. In flashbacks, the real reason for the post-apocalyptic world is
revealed: Crake distributed a wonder drug to engender a global pandemic and wipe the
world’s slate clean.

More plot twist examples of this flavor:

44. The Good Place. Witnessing a hell of an argument between her friends sets up
Eleanor Shellstrop‘s epiphany: the Good Place has been the Bad Place this whole time.
45. The Village. A blind daughter discovers that her 19th-century “village” is entirely
fake and the villagers are actually captives of a social experiment conducted by a history
professor.
 Invisible Good People
“This guy looks nice,” said no-one probably ever of the greasy-haired, beaked-nosed
silhouette lurking in the far corner of the room. However, believe it or not, that’s the
premise of this plot twist that deals chiefly with misconceptions and wrong first
impressions: someone who seems “off” turns out to actually be good. It’s a nice reminder
in and of itself that there are good people everywhere, if you just try to look for them.

46. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone. Harry Potter is surprised to be told
that his most hated professor at Hogwarts, Severus Snape, has been helping him survive
some tricky situations throughout the entire school year.
47. I Am Legend. In a world beset by vampirism, Robert Neville comes to the
uncomfortable realization that he is the monster in the eyes of the infected — not the other
way around.
48. Pride and Prejudice. It takes a botched marriage proposal and many declined
dances for Elizabeth Bennett to suspect that Mr. Darcy, Lord of Pemberley, has a heart of
gold under his stick-in-the-mud exterior.

More plot twist examples of this flavor:

49. Toy Story. Woody and Buzz are under the impression that Sid’s mutated toys are
savages until they step out and help put Buzz back together.
50. Love, Simon. Simon Spier doesn’t expect to cross paths again with Bram
Greenfeld in his search for “Blue,” his pen pal and the other closeted gay student at his
high school.

Gasp Factor
In which the twist is an unexpected plot event that attempts to accomplish one objective
only: make the audience gasp. Jane the Virgin, a satirical romantic comedy drama, is
perhaps the queen of this sort of plot development: each episode parodies all the expletive-
worthy twists and turns of a Latin telenovela. Exclamation point!

51. Game of Thrones. Eddard Stark, the head of House Stark and Lord of Winterfell, is
beheaded by Joffrey Lannister.
52. Jane The Virgin. Michael Cordero, Jr. dies abruptly in the season three finale
from an aortic dissection.

This Herring Was More Salmon Than Red

Sometimes a plot twist comes out of nowhere, without warning or many clues. Whether
that’s an indicator of a good twist or not is up for debate. However, it still registers as an
unexpected event that takes audiences by surprise — which is why we’re including a
special section for movies and films that fall into this category.

53. The Wizard of Oz. Dorothy is befuddled to discover that the Wizard of Oz is a

middle-aged man using a microphone.
54. The Prestige. Robert Angier, a rival stage magician, doesn’t realize that “Alfred
Borden” is actually a double act of twin brothers until it’s too late.
55.Gossip Girl. The end of the series pans to a shot of Dan Humphrey, revealing that he was
Gossip Girl all along.

Did we say that there were only 55 examples in this list? Well, how about THIS twist: here
are 15 more!

10+ plot twist ideas for you

Now that you have an idea of what plot twists look like, you might find it easier to write
your own. But in case you’re still struggling to come up with a twist, here are some
hypothetical scenarios to jumpstart your thinking.

56. CHARACTER A is persuaded by CHARACTER B that it is all a dream — when it’s

actually not.

57. A gift from CHARACTER B to CHARACTER A is really a trap.

58. It is revealed that the NARRATOR is Death.

59. An ARCHAEOLOGIST at a dig comes across his own skeleton.

60. CHARACTER A discovers the real identity of CHARACTER B through an old

yearbook.
61. It is revealed that all the sounds that CHARACTER A has heard throughout his life has
been inside his own head.

62. CHARACTER A believes he is in Hell. It’s actually Earth.

63. It is revealed that CHARACTER A and CHARACTER B are not themselves because
they were body-swapped.

64. CHARACTER A is informed that the previous events were actually part of an alternate
reality simulation.

65. It is revealed that SANTA CLAUS is real.

66. A promise that CHARACTER A and CHARACTER B made when they were children is
not really what they think it to be.

67. CHARACTER A is set up with CHARACTER B, a rich politician, and finds herself
falling in love with CHARACTER B’S GIRLFRIEND.

68. CHARACTER A goes on a series of blind dates without realizing that it is all being
filmed for the next experimental season of The Bachelor.

69. A key strength of CHARACTER A becomes a key weakness.

70. CHARACTER A experiences puzzling and unexplained flashbacks because she is the
reincarnation of GEORGE WASHINGTON.

Now, over to you

A well-written plot twist makes for some of the most exciting, mind-blowing, and dramatic
stories in history, which is why it’s so important to get it right. Here’s the second plot twist
for this post: it’s now up to you to write your own.