Plot Twist Story Prompts: Old Technology

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, Connect the Dots, here.

For today's prompt, have your characters use old technology to accomplish a goal. For instance, a protagonist in a romantic comedy may mail a letter instead of sending a text message. Or it's possible in an espionage thriller that a cell of good or bad actors use old technologies to communicate to fly under the radar of newer (trackable) technologies.

(5 Tips for Writing About Fictional Technology.)

Keep in mind, this plot twist could work even in historical fiction, because the old technology is relative to the world your characters inhabit. Maybe instead of guns, an army uses spears and arrows. As an alternative to landline phones, your characters may use telegrams. In place of email, characters may resort to sending a fax.

And remember: It's possible to replace the idea of old technology with old magic if you're writing fantasy or supernatural fiction. Or heck, do both.

So have your characters use old technology, 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.