: Re: How to subvert expectations and abort plotlines without alienating the reader? Subverting expectations and suddenly aborting plotlines was a no-go zone for me for a while. The only time I could

@Welton431

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At the end of the day, it has to make sense.

You don't go flipped a story around however you like to confused the reader. Your story needs to make sense. For example, Arya killing the Night King made absolutely no sense to me. Not situationaly and not story wise either. The Night King, a core antagonist is going to be done in, by a Girl who has a panic attack sneaking past a library of White Walkers, yet somehow manages to sneak through a clearing, past a encirclement of White Walkers with no warning. It was sudden, unexpected and disappointing.

For a story that made a point of making sure that no character was covered in plot armor, the final season really threw that on its head, and failed to provide any good explanation or reason behind it.

You can make it less shocking by introducing Easter eggs, hints or small inconsistencies in the story. As an example, the first season of West World, Bernard was revealed to actually be a robot. This was built up by having him sometimes disappear. Having him miss obvious details that a normal person would see. Or having him unable to answer questions that he should be able to answer.

Another example would be the Matrix, introducing the idea that you are actually in a simulation and not the real world. Creating mysterious messages and unknown phone calls. While this was done very early in the movie, there was still a build up, to ensure that the transition wasn't going to leave the reader confused and annoyed.

Even once you reveal your great twist, you need to put in some effort to help re-establish your new setting to the reader to ensure you don't just leave them in the dust. That means you have to explain your new setting and address the previous hints you left.

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