Plot Twist Story Prompts: Epiphany Moment

Plot twist story prompts aren't meant for the beginning or the end of stories. Rather, they're for forcing big and small turns in the anticipated trajectory of a story. This is to make it more interesting for the readers and writers alike.

Each week, I'll provide a new prompt to help twist your story. Find last week's prompt, Forced Decision, here.

For today's prompt, let a character experience an epiphany. That is, let a character experience an "aha!" moment when they suddenly have some greater understanding of other characters, actions and reactions, and the world around them. The more profound the epiphany the better.

(5 ways to surprise your reader without it feeling like a trick.)

Epiphanies can help detectives solve crimes, lovers realize they're in love, and villains hatch plans for villainy. While epiphanies can be felt by many at the same time, they're often experienced by one character. And this fact makes them interesting, because one character's epiphany may not line up with the other characters at all.

For instance, a character has the epiphany that the best way to "save the universe from overpopulation and war" is by collecting a bunch of powerful rocks and snapping half the life forms out of existence (Avengers: Infinity War). In another instance, a character has an epiphany that each time her farm boy says "as you wish" that what he really means is "I love you" (The Princess Bride). In both cases, the character's life and goals in life are changed by their epiphanies.

So let a character have an epiphany and see where that takes your story.

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Have you hit a wall on your work-in-progress? Maybe you know where you want your characters to end up, but don’t know how to get them there. Or, the story feels a little stale but you still believe in it. Adding a plot twist might be just the solution.

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