: How to decide if a plot twist worth doing? There's a major piece of information in my story, which I could either make tell right away - or else keep it a secret, and use it as a plot

There's a major piece of information in my story, which I could either make tell right away - or else keep it a secret, and use it as a plot twist later. I'm having a hard time choosing which way to go.

In my particular case, there are two brothers travelling to rescue a prince; the thing is, he's not just a prince - he's their brother, and they're princes too.

I feel like this is something I could build up into a good surprise, a real "A-HA!" moment. On the other hand, it can also get awkward (e.g., if I use one of the brothers as a POV character, I need to show how he thinks of the prince), and I'm just not sure how effective this is in practice.

I can't surprise myself; I can only try to figure out what will surprise the reader. How can I tell if a plot twist I'm writing (or planning) is good and worthwhile?

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@Kevin153

If any of the viewpoint characters know the brothers' identities, this won't work as a plot twist. It might work if you use viewpoint characters who are not privy to the information.

In general, a revelation makes good plot twist only if it surprises the current viewpoint character. That is, the reader learns the information at the same moment when the viewpoint character learns it.

If it's a revelation only to the reader, and if the viewpoint character already knows the thing that's being revealed, that's not a plot twist. That's an authorial swindle. That's you (the writer) playing unfair with the reader. Readers get very annoyed at that.

But if a character is shocked and surprised by some revelation, that's characters playing unfair with each other. And that's delightful.

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: How to decide if a plot twist worth doing? There's a major piece of information in my story, which I could either make tell right away - or else keep it a secret, and use it as a plot

More posts by @Marchetta100

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