No Twists for Twists’ Sake: Earn Your Ending

Today’s post is by author Kathleen Barber.

Imagine you’ve just picked up the latest buzzy thriller, the one that has everyone on social media raving about the “shocking twist.” You start reading, and you’re really into it. It’s a murder mystery with no shortage of suspects—the victim Jane’s cheating husband Hugo, her jealous best friend, her unstable coworker, an obsessive delivery person—and you’re having fun guessing which one is the culprit. You turn to the final page, full of anticipation … only to discover the murderer was the victim’s long-lost twin sister, a character who was never once mentioned in the preceding 300+ pages. What?

Is that a twist? Technically. But it’s also an unearned ending. The author didn’t take the time to lay the groundwork for that conclusion, and the reader is left feeling unsatisfied, even cheated.

Let’s discuss some techniques and craft elements that will help you craft an ending that feels both surprising and satisfying. Note that while I focus on thrillers in this article, earning your ending is important across all genres. No matter whether you’re writing a thriller or a romance or upmarket fiction or something else, you want your reader to feel fulfilled by the ending.

1. Sprinkle the clues

The most straightforward technique is sprinkling clues throughout the novel—while withholding the one element that ties them all together. As an example, in the imaginary thriller I described above, we might see clues throughout the novel that Hugo is the murderer—a single piece of jewelry left behind by his lover, a receipt proving that he wasn’t where he said he was, an unexplained scratch on his face—but it isn’t until a final clue slots into place that we reach the inescapable conclusion that Hugo is guilty.

2. Layer the clues with red herrings

To throw your reader off track, consider layering your legitimate clues with misdirection and red herrings. In our example, this would mean each time the author hinted at Hugo’s guilt, they would also plant a false clue pointing toward someone else. In the same chapter we learned about Hugo’s gambling problem, we might also find evidence that the obsessed delivery driver had been peering through the windows at night or following Jane around town.

3. So many suspects

You can also throw so many suspects at the reader that you completely muddy the waters. Creating an ensemble cast can be one way of doing this, as can systematically introducing and dismissing additional suspects as you move through the book. The way this would work in our example would be to first throw suspicion on the delivery driver, only to reveal in the next chapter he had an airtight alibi. Suspicion might then move to her coworker, and the coworker would then be excluded. And so on, until the field narrows around your ultimate culprit. The trick is to present many options and make them all seem equally likely.

4. Set it up

You can also provide the answer at the outset of the book. I know that sounds counterintuitive: who wants to read a book when you already know what happens? It’s actually a neat trick to keep the reader off-balance. In our example, we would strongly suspect Hugo at the beginning. But, as the novel progressed, that suspicion would be clouded by things like giving him an alibi, destroying his motive, and of course throwing suspicion on other characters. Later, when the author circled back to definitively show it was Hugo all along, the reader would be satisfied they called the ending—and more important, satisfied by the ride that took them there.

5. Multiple POVs

Using multiple points of view can help earn your ending because different characters have access to different information, and while none of the characters individually know enough to identify the culprit, the reader has an advantage. In our example, this could mean that Jane’s best friend, sister, and coworker are all POV characters, and they’ve all seen something that makes them suspicious of Hugo—but none of them alone has seen enough to cause them to really think it was him. Only the reader has access to all the clues.

6. Interstitial elements

Incorporating interstitial elements like news articles, social media posts, and journal entries can provide clarity to the reader while leaving the narrator and other characters in the dark. In our fake example, useful interstitial elements could be Jane’s journal entries revealing a darker side of Hugo or emails between Hugo and his lover.

7. Flash forwards

Starting the novel with a flash forward allows you to present a clue to reader right from the start. This is most effective when the clue is out of context and the reader can’t make sense of it until much later. In our example, the book might open showing us the murderer leaving the scene of the crime, and the reader is given a small clue to his identity—such as a hidden tattoo—that doesn’t come back to the story until much later.

8. Flashbacks

Flashbacks can help earn your ending because they give the reader a glimpse into a character’s past or illustrate how things are set up. In our example, a useful flashback might reveal a dark secret from Jane and Hugo’s past.

9. Dual timelines

Dual timelines are challenging but amazing when done well. In essence, you’re telling two stories: the present-day story and a parallel story in the past. It’s effective because you can gradually reveal the truth in one timeline while keeping the characters in the other timeline in the dark. In our example, the investigation into Jane’s murder could play out in the present-day timeline while the past timeline reveals a surprising motive for Hugo—and it isn’t until the storylines come together that the reader understands the full picture.

10. Unreliable narrator

Finally, there’s everyone’s favorite: the unreliable narrator. With an unreliable narrator, you can include direct—even obvious—clues that still throw the reader off because they’re reluctant to accept anything the narrator says at face value. In our example, let’s pretend the narrator is Jane’s sister, who has a known substance abuse problem. She sees clues pointing to Hugo’s guilt, but because she’s under the influence at the time, no one believes her, not even the reader.

No matter which of these techniques and craft elements you incorporate into your novel, the important thing to keep in mind is that you want to leave your reader satisfied. Readers want to both be surprised by the ending and to feel as though they should have seen it coming, and so it’s important to take the time to set things up and to earn your ending.