Set Up The Plot Twist: Master Storyteller Series (1 of 4):

Creating a compelling story is all about how you engage, surprise, and emotionally connect with your audience as you go from plot point A to plot point B. Great storytelling is a craft built on proven techniques and deliberate choices that, when execute properly, will resonate deeply anyone who engages with your story.

This is my first post in our 4-part series on 20 advanced storytelling rules, techniques that can elevate your story no matter the genre because they form the backbone of stories that stay with audiences long after the credits roll or the last page is turned.

In this post, I'm sharing five foundational rules for setting up your plot twist—guiding audience assumptions, planting clues, fostering emotional investment, using misdirection, and delivering a payoff. They have proven to be an extremely effective way to flex your writing skills and elevate your stories.

For each method, I share an example you can study for further clarity but, advanced apologies for the spoilers.

1. Audience Assumptions: Building a Believable Reality

Start by building a story foundation your audience can trust by presenting a version of reality they’ll naturally accept. You can base this on character behavior, genre tropes, or cultural norms and use your setup to guide their expectations and keep them firmly engaged in your story.

Example: In The Sixth Sense, Malcolm Crowe’s (Bruce Willis) role as a therapist feels natural. His interactions with Cole and the world around him align with audience expectations, making the ultimate reveal—that he’s been dead the whole time—all the more shocking.

Pro Tip: Identify what your audience is most likely to believe about your world and characters. Then use that as a springboard to surprise and delight them.

2. Plant Subtle Clues: The Breadcrumb Trail

The best stories don’t just tell—they reward the audience for paying attention. Subtle clues laid throughout your narrative should feel inconspicuous on first viewing but meaningful in hindsight.

Example: In Get Out, the Armitage family’s unsettling microaggressions (e.g., Rose’s dad insisting he’d vote for Obama a third time) foreshadow their sinister motives. These breadcrumbs build unease without tipping off the twist too early.

Get Out (2017)

Pro Tip: Plant small details—visuals, dialogue, or behavior—that seem ordinary until the full context is revealed.

3. Build Emotional Investment: Make Them Care

Your audience won’t feel the impact of your story unless they’re invested in the stakes. Emotional connection is the glue that binds your narrative to the hearts and minds of those experiencing it.

Example: In Moonlight, Chiron’s struggles with identity, love, and masculinity create a deeply personal connection with the audience. The story’s tender resolution surprises not through shock, but by defying the expected tragic ending.

Pro Tip: Create multidimensional characters with relatable struggles. The deeper the connection, the greater the payoff when your story shifts or surprises.

4. The Misdirection: Guiding Attention Away

Misdirection keeps your audience engaged and guessing. By steering their focus toward false conclusions or red herrings, you heighten the impact of the true narrative payoff.

Example: In Knives Out, Marta’s apparent guilt keeps the audience focused on her actions, only for the real culprit to emerge in a satisfying twist. The misdirection feels natural, keeping viewers hooked while clues are hidden in plain sight.

Pro Tip: Use red herrings strategically to divert attention. Just ensure the truth feels earned when revealed.

5. Deliver the Payoff: The “Aha” Moment

A payoff that feels logical, surprising, and emotionally satisfying is the hallmark of great storytelling. This is where the threads of audience assumptions, clues, and misdirection come together in a moment of clarity.

Example: In Us, the revelation that Adelaide is one of the tethered recontextualizes the entire story. Subtle behavioral hints and the film’s theme of duality make this twist both surprising and deeply resonant.

Pro Tip: Payoffs should deepen your story’s themes and leave your audience reflecting on what they’ve just experienced.

The Foundation of Advanced Storytelling

The rule of assumptions, planting clues, emotional investment, misdirection, and payoff are just the first steps in mastering storytelling. These foundational techniques build trust with your audience, allowing you to surprise, challenge, and reward them with deeper layers of narrative.

As we move through the rest of this series, I'll break down more of the 20 advanced storytelling rules that elevate stories across genres.

In our next post, we’ll dive into techniques like reframing the narrative and subverting expectations, showing how to make your twists unforgettable and meaningful.

If loved this post, be sure to share and be sure to follow this blog series for more in-depth insights. If you're ready to dive deeper, remember to check out my accompanying YouTube videos for a visual breakdown of these techniques, complete with examples from some of your favorite movies.

Let’s start crafting stories your audience will never forget!