posted
I'm working on a short story right now, and contemplating how to end it. The whole story has been something that came out of left field for me, so it's been somewhat surprising as it came. Now that I'm trying to end it, I see two possibilities ahead. One seems more predictable, but makes more sense. One has a cool twist but doesn't feel as satisfying. Generally, do most readers prefer the twist, or something that satisfies their expectation?
Posts: 14 | Registered: Feb 2011
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posted
In my experience, unless the twist is a little sensible in retrospect, most readers fly into a violent rage at an unexpected and unsatisfying twist.
I vote for the more satisfying ending, but I'm a "and they all lived happily ever after" kind of girl.
posted
The thing about a twist ending is that all the info that suggests it is a possibility has to be present upfront. It's very tricky to balance that in order to have it really be a twist. Like, a successful twist story ends in a way that makes the reader say, "Oh, man, why didn't I see that coming!?" Rather than, "WHAT? NO, you can't do that!" If the reader reads the story a second time, they should be able to say, "DUH, yeah... NOW I see.... that's what was going on this whole time." It takes some practice to get the hang of how to balance giving info away and withholding info, what to tell now and what to leave vague, etc.
I think unless you know you can do that well, the "satisfying" ending might be more successful. But who knows...
posted
I like twists, but I agree that they have to be fair. I'm not sure what you mean by more or less satisfying. Some equate this with happy or sad. It really just depends on the story. I would suggest getting a few volunteers to read your story with both endings and get their feedback.
Posts: 2003 | Registered: Jul 2008
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posted
Ah, balance--the true secret to life. After about 9 years of writing, I feel fairly confident about my beginnings, but I still have to master the ending. In fact, I have the beginnings of 7 novels... *sigh*
Posts: 14 | Registered: Feb 2011
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quote:Satisfying is always better than unsatisfying.
I agree wholeheartedly, but expectations are tricky critters. A twist can be very satisfying, but only if it is set up properly, as has been well stated previously. If your reader is expecting a twist that doesn’t come, that can be just as unsatisfying. Because at this point this is only conjecture, as you are the only one who knows the story, write both. It may be that once written you will clearly know which is right, but if not then take the suggestion to use one or three readers that you trust. You can also keep both and as such have an “alternate ending” version available.
posted
There was a movie called "Flawless", I think, that had an incredible twist at its end that I definitely did not see coming. The movie was about a woman in the 70's getting past over for promotion with the London Diamond Exchange. A custodian was also displeased with (if I remember the plot correctly) not having enough money to retire. So the two planned to steal a small amount of diamonds out of the vault, thinking they probably wouldn't even be missed.
Early in the movie the custodian mentioned his wife was killed. By the movie's end, most viewers would forget all about it except that the man is a widower. At the end, the custodian cleaned out the entire vault. Why? To ruin the man resposible for the diamonds. Why? Because he was the one who murdered the custodian's wife and got off scott free.
I never saw the ending coming. Blew me right out of the water, and I consider "Flawless" one of my all time favorite movies. Very, very well done, and the best example of a surprise twist ending I've ever seen. Kinda like one hand doesn't know what the other hand is doing .
posted
I think for the short story go twist. If you can't do something unexpected in a short story, then where can you?
I think for novels twists can work, but then you have more of a chance of people being upset, ("I spent 10 bucks to find out it was all a dream?"), but for a short if they don't like it what'll they do... not buy it? Move on to the next one?
I say go big or go home. Whatever ending YOU are the most psyched about, go ahead and write.
If it doesn't work for a few test readers, then at least you have something predictable that will work, so the short won't be a total loss.
posted
From your post it sounds like you feel the one ending feels right while the twist might feel tacked on. When making these kinds of decisions, I suggest you always go with your spidey-sense--go with your gut. Go with what feels right. Or figure out a way to make the other ending work so it feels right as well. Usually, a twist doesn't work because it wasn't seeded earlier in the story or because it's not logically motivated.
Posts: 327 | Registered: Jul 2002
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posted
There are some kinds of twists that just don't work all that well, and therefore are unsatisfying.
There is the "what is REALLY going on" twist, that makes your story more of a "first chapter of a novel" because now that your reader knows what's really going on, they want to know what the characters are going to do about it.
There is the "Ha, ha! I fooled you!" twist, that makes the writer look clever and the reader feel stupid, and often causes the book or magazine to go flying across the room and into the wall.
And then, there's the "punchline" twist, which turns the story into a long, drawn-out joke, and can make the reader wish for those moments of his or her life back.
posted
I don't think you'd write one of those twists, Amy, but I thought it might be a good idea to describe them, since we are talking about twists in this topic.
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