Comments on A Brain Scientist's Take on Writing: How to Pull Off an Amazing Plot Twist (When You Re...

I find the plot twist in Atomised by Michel Houell...

2010-04-28T06:40:15.095-04:00

I find the plot twist in Atomised by Michel Houellebecq really great.

Great post, Livia. Thanks for the dissection of a ...

2010-04-26T13:14:27.005-04:00

Great post, Livia. Thanks for the dissection of a fine example.

Livia, this is one of my favorite books of all tim...

2010-04-14T10:28:42.464-04:00

Livia, this is one of my favorite books of all time. The ending blew me away. I like your thoughts on the book so much I'm bookmarking it. I've turned it over and over in my mind, but you've really pinpointed many her great skills on why this plot worked.

I was told about this book a while ago and today i...

2010-01-18T19:49:56.616-05:00

I was told about this book a while ago and today it won the Newbery Medal! After reading your blog, I MUST READ THIS BOOK! I wish I had it for my 6 hour plane ride to Los Angeles tomorrow. Oh well, maybe I will have it for the trip back home. Thanks for providing great info without spoiling it.

Livia - I thought you described the foreshadowing...

2010-01-05T13:38:20.411-05:00

Livia - I thought you described the foreshadowing process very well without spoiling anything. The art is in planting clues that are well woven in; they must be functional parts of the narration.
When I was 21 I read "The Key" by Tanizaki, and immediately re-read it to pick out the "clues".
It fired me with the ambition to write a novel that demands a rereading; it took me 35 years, but I succeeded (according to two reviewers) with "After the Eclipse", now on Scribd.
Congrats on your blog, which I'm enjoying very much!
Tom Rymour

Kristi, It seems like the number of crumbs would ...

2009-12-15T07:31:45.763-05:00

Kristi, It seems like the number of crumbs would also be related to the sophistication of your reader. You can get away with alot more if the reader hasn't read alot of plot twists yet. I've never tried to pull a surprise ending myself, but if I ever get the chance, I'm totally going to ask Rebecca Stead about her thought processes going in.

Love your dissection, Livia. As a reader we despe...

2009-12-15T07:27:44.222-05:00

Love your dissection, Livia.

As a reader we desperately want a surprise to light up those "that's something new" bells, but we usually don't want to analyze why.

As a writer we over analyze to the point of being afraid of having unraveled our twist, worrying if it will actually be a surprise.

It seems to fit into your earlier topic of ourselves being organizing creatures. I'm curious -- What's the tipping point between enough crumbs to make the ending fit neatly into the whole, but not so many that the surprise is gone?

Like with a jig-saw puzzle -- there must be a certain number of pieces required for the brain to see the whole, depending on the complexity of the picture -- right?
Best, Kristi

I think one of the most challenging aspects of a p...

2009-12-11T22:41:10.556-05:00

I think one of the most challenging aspects of a plot twist is what you stated in #2 about giving enough "hints" along the way so that it isn't completely random and doesn't make sense. Crafting clever plot twists is definitely an art...one that I'm a complete rookie at. Great insights....love the blog.

I haven't read this book, but I think I'm going to...

2009-12-11T15:02:34.450-05:00

I haven't read this book, but I think I'm going to have to.

I don't think I write plots with *big* twists, though I do enjoy a bit of foreshadowing. I would love to learn how to do 'proper' twists.

Hi :) I love a great plot twist ending. They are m...

2009-12-11T02:48:31.828-05:00

Hi :)
I love a great plot twist ending. They are my favorite type of endings since reading Agatha Christie's 10 Little Indians (alternatively titled And Then There Were None). Also I am a huge Twilight Zone fan and the twist endings to most of the episodes were sheer genius.
:)
Thank you for sharing.
I've put When You Reach Me on my ToBeRead list.
Happy Holidays,
RKCharron

Interesting post - makes me want to run out and bu...

2009-12-10T20:48:37.376-05:00

Interesting post - makes me want to run out and buy that book! Twisty endings are so much fun - I often go right back and reread looking for the clues I missed :)

And the bar keeps moving higher and higher for the...

2009-12-10T16:08:05.947-05:00

And the bar keeps moving higher and higher for the writer, as the readers learn how to predict these things.

Rich

I agree with Jason - it was clear enough without s...

2009-12-10T15:19:09.882-05:00

I agree with Jason - it was clear enough without spoilers, even for those of us who haven't read the book you're talking about. :)

Ender's Game is a good example - I really enjoyed the twist ending, and the clues were all there in the second (and third, and fourth...) read-through.

Good plot twists will make the reader say "OHHHHHHHHHH...". Preferably out-loud, even while sitting alone on a public bus with everyone staring. ;)

Nice post. That book came to my attention the oth...

2009-12-10T13:54:19.312-05:00

Nice post. That book came to my attention the other day from being on some list of good kids' fiction. I'm going to put it on my wish-list, now.

And for the record, I appreciate the thoughtful yet spoiler-free analysis. Just right.

Comments on *A Brain Scientist's Take on Writing*: How to Pull Off an Amazing Plot Twist (When You Re...