I’ve been told on several occasions that my twisting
plotlines can keep readers turning the pages. For me it’s all about false turns and
foreshadowing. Adding intrigue or mystery to a novel can be like navigating a
maze. Leading the reader down a few dead ends doesn’t do any harm. It keeps
them on their toes, throws them off guard. But there must be one of the
potential paths that leads cleanly from point A to point B. Otherwise what’s
the point?
There is a couple of ways to add believable mystery to a
plotline, one is to meticulous outline every plot point before sitting down to
write. It doesn’t allow for much freedom or free writing.
Another way to do it is what I do. I call it the Bill and
Ted method, based on the movies Bill
and Ted.
Basically I know point A and I know point B, but I usually have no
more than the vaguest idea what’s going to happen between or what sort twists
and turns I’ll encounter. In Bill and Ted, when the guys find themselves in a
difficult situation, but with a time machine, they realize they have the
ability to change things to make the present what they want.
This is what I do. I jump around in the point, dropping in
plot twists, or necessary foreshadowing. This allows me to make the plot as
complicated as I like while still reaching the same end point. For example, if
I’m writing and a character reaches a locked door but needs to get through that
door, I go back further and foreshadow the means for them to get through.
Find out more about Carol Oates
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