Plot Twist Story Prompts: Going Rogue

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, Board Up the Doors, here.

For today's prompt, have a character go rogue. That is, have a character behave in a dangerous or irregular way, especially compared to norms. It can also mean that the character leaves their normal group or position to take matters into their own hands.

(5 Ways to Surprise Your Reader Without It Feeling Like a Trick.)

This type of plot twist can produce fun and surprising results, because other characters have to react to their unexpected behavior. For instance, a member of a rescue team may decide they're not going to follow orders to go into a certain part of a burning building, because they think they can save more people in another part. Or perhaps, they're experiencing PTSD from a previous rescue situation.

Note that this plot twist does not have to involve action adventure situations. Maybe one person in a relationship briefly goes rogue, causing the other half to freak out and worry, for the purpose of making some romantic gesture. And remember, the person going rogue doesn't have to be the main protagonist or antagonist; secondary characters can go rogue as well.

So have a character go rogue and see what happens next.

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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.

Click to continue.