: Re: How can I get in the Habit of Writing with Twists? I've always felt that my writing is very sequential. It's a chain of events. This happens, then this happens, then this happens, and so

@Murray831

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I will assume you know how to generate twists. But I want to offer a particular technique so I can refer to it later.

Wilhelm’s Law: Throw away your first three ideas.

This comes from SF/mystery writer and editor Kate Wilhelm. The thinking behind Wilhelm’s Law is this: Your first idea will be obvious to most readers. Your second will be less obvious, but many readers will anticipate it. A few readers will anticipate your third idea. Your fourth idea will be one that very few people expect.

Now, I don’t know if 4 is always the magic number. But the more readily you think of an idea, the more readily a reader will think of it too. So throw out ideas until you get to one that surprises you. And maybe throw that one out ;-)

Ways to Practice

Outline a short story in the usual way. Write the story. Throw out the climax. Given what you’ve learned about the characters and the story while writing, create a new twist to replace the climax you wrote.
Outline a short story in your usual way. Write the story, but stop just before the climax. Given what you’ve learned about the characters and the story while writing, create a new twist to replace the climax you outlined.
Outline a short story in the usual way. Before you begin writing, throw out the climax. Create a new twist to replace the one you outlined.
Begin a short story without outlining it. Put a character in a setting. Give the character a problem. Write the next sentence, then the next, then the next. Focus on how the character attempts to solve the problem, how each attempt leaves things worse than before, and how the character reacts as things get worse. Just before you write each attempt, each “things get worse,” and each reaction, apply Wilhelm’s Law. Repeat until you are satisfied with the twist(s) in the story, or until the story is done.
Write a story in your usual way. At any moment, apply Wilhelm's Law to decide what happens next.
For any of these practice methods, allow yourself the freedom to add, delete, or change anything earlier in the story, to support the twist you've written. (This one is hard for me. I tend to get committed to what I've written.)

Focus on learning. Some of these practice stories will be pretty good. Some will be too twisty. But you will get better at twisting. Focus on learning where and how to twist things. Then apply what you’ve learned.

With practice, you will begin to recognize when you're at a point where a twist might help, and you'll know how to create twists more quickly.

Then you can practice something else.

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