Plot Twist Story Prompts: Unexplained Phenomenon

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, Wrong Turn, here.

For today's prompt, have your characters puzzle over an unexplained phenomenon. It could be a door that's always open, even though a character constantly closes it (and can't pull it open without turning the knob). Or the phenomenon could be an unexplained distant light, unexplained sound, or faint smell.

The characters could figure out the explanation for the phenomenon immediately. But this kind of device can be a lot of fun for writers and readers alike if you let the characters develop theories over time before finally figuring it out. Or even let the characters think they have it figured out before revealing that it's still a mystery.

(7 ways to add great subplots to your novel.)

Mystery stories often play around with unexplained phenomena that beguile (or terrify) characters. Sometimes they're a main plot point, but they can often be fun subplots that help keep a story moving through the middle. As such, it's a great device for adding a little mystery to a novel that might categorized in a different genre.

So let your characters notice something they can't quite explain and puzzle over what it means for them and the story.

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