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The character twist that felt forced vs the one that paid off

I was reading through a writing prompt about a secret agent who retires to run a B&B, and it got me thinking about twists. In my own writing, I tried a twist where the mentor was actually the villain the whole time, and it bombed because readers saw it coming from chapter 3. But then I did one where a side character was secretly documenting everything for a true crime podcast, and that one got people talking. Does a twist work better when it's hinted early or when it comes completely out of nowhere?
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morganhill
morganhill21d ago
Ugh the mentor twist, I feel that. I had the same thing happen and it's brutal when everyone's already figured it out by dinner.
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alexc93
alexc9323d ago
Twists hit hardest when they make you rethink everything, not just surprise you.
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jamie_white
Yeah exactly. That movie Primal Fear did that to me.
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