The 14 Worst Plot Twists in Fantasy Rookies Make—and How to fix Them

Here is a list of plot twists to get you started on your epic tale.

A story’s plot twist is an unforeseen development that heightens the conflict between the protagonists. Plot twists and characters are what make the best books that we adore so great. Let’s not overlook world-building. The fantasy genre is prone to monotony and a well-placed plot twist will keep your readers hooked.

14 Worst PLOT TWISTS

1. After an epic battle, it is revealed that everything was a vision/ illusion. (The most disappointing story twists are those like this one. When anything like that is exposed, the reader’s investment in the plot is destroyed.)
2. An off-page major battle. (Every significant event in a story ought to take place on the page. A reader finds it exceedingly difficult to follow a novel where the actions are briefly described, not seen. Additionally, the reader lacks empathy for the characters. Doesn’t care at all.)
3. Death of every character and the villain wins. (This kind of plot twist is tricky. Depending on the tone of the overall story it can kill the whole book. If there is no foreshadowing about the villain and no character arc from the hero going in that direction, this abrupt turn in the story will be jarring.)
4. The death of the main character is too sudden and without any explanation. Also, the other cast doesn’t mourn his/her death showing that he/her was not important and there was no impact on the whole book. Life does on and the reader discovers the main character was not even the most important person and all this time the reader was following the story of a fake protagonist.
5. The most disappointing type of ending in a fantasy story is that it was bland. Dull. Tasteless. The world-building was generic. The characters can be interchangeable and forgettable. The reader saw the plot twist coming a mile away. Nothing extraordinary happened in the end. Everything is solved and everyone is happy ever after. (This book will drown in the ocean of other generic books.)
6. Pull a Deus ex Machina. (Deus ex machina is Latin for “god from a machine,” and comes from Greek plays where actors playing gods would descend from above and tidy up the mess that characters have created. It’s a cheap fix to explain plot holes littering the story. It can come as a sudden power-up or an ultimate weapon coming out of nowhere to defeat the enemy. It’s a cheap technique that doesn’t feel earned.)
7. There are too many people that are murdered off without having enough time to develop in order to make the main protagonist feel deserving. That’s a red flag for a weak main character. (Too many events are occurring, and the characters are disorganized. There are too many plotlines going on at once, and not all of them are engaging. Very muddled writing. Think about eliminating the pointless characters or fusing them together to create one interesting character.)
8. The villain comes from the future. This one is a huge cliché and, if done poorly, may quickly become a horrible plot twist. (Depending on how the story was developed and the proper foreshadowing, this can be done right. But it’s a huge risk it falls on its face.)
9. Realizing that the fantasy kingdom as a whole was constructed in a large research facility and that the book is truly in the sci-fi genre rather than the fantasy subgenre. In the end, all the questions remain unsolved. (This feels like a breach of the readers’ trust and goes against what the book’s opening promised.)
10. Every unsatisfactory death of the villain. (Do we need to elaborate on this? Really? If the villain has been hyped up like the worse of human garbage and then with only one sword swing he/her topples over…the readers are going to rage on Goodreads.)
11. A sudden comeback of a dead protagonist when everyone had mourned them and cried and finally had closure…and out of nowhere…insert dramatic music, he/she saves the day. NO! (Don’t do that. Do not deceive the readers. Accept letting go of a character. This had been done to death in telenovelas. Stop!)
12. When the main love interest was dead from the start. The whole book is based on, the hero going on a quest to find that person, and at the very end…we, readers, found out it was pointless and he/she was dead from the beginning. (This one is on the list of unsatisfying ends of a story. Reading this kind of story feels pointless.)
13. The villain was the dumb character and is actually a genius. Really? If there’s no hint from the beginning this will be difficult to swallow.
14. Aliens! Imagine finishing a bland fantasy book and discovering an unexpected plot twist: freaking aliens. This is the most bizarre development that could possibly happen. (No comment!)

A good plot twist needs a proper build-up. It takes more than just dropping a bomb to make it effective. It needs careful planning. Here’s a short technique for dropping the hammer when the readers least expect it by slipping in a seed, a revelation, and weaving it into the story through the plot and the characters.

List of fixes:

1. Off-page events/battles. If you lack the skills to write fight scenes then do research and read lots of books in your genre. Action and dialogue are important to convey interest. Don’t skip it, it will give your story more personality.
2. Everything was an illusion/vision. Just don’t. Throw that one away. You can’t fix it. Instead, focus on the protagonist’s inner conflicts. If you want to show they have to deal with inner obstacles, then craft a good character arc. (Check positive and negative arc. An arc needs a goal to help moves the plot forward but it’s hindered by a lie. An obstacle preventing the protagonist from reaching their full potential. To overcome the lie and reach their goal they need to face: The truth. Positive arc is all about self-improvement. The Negative arc is the character rejecting the truth and embracing the lie.)
3. If you’re going to kill everyone in the end, at least, tell the readers it’s probably a suicide mission from the start. So the reader knows the stakes. Also, their deaths need to serve a purpose. (e.g. Star Wars: Rogue One. Still, the overall story needs the proper tone. DARK. Also, every character needs to have a complete arc by the end so nothing is left unanswered. They come to terms with their decision and their sacrifice.)
4. The hero dies and no one cares. When the main character dies you need a proper pause for the reader to digest and come to terms with this. Don’t just toss it aside and race back into battle. Make the cast react to this death. Even the villain. His main rival is gone. How will he feel? Also, make his friends pick up the quest and try to finish it in memory of their lost friend. When they fight against the villain and they try their hardest and still fail but the villain had doubts and sweat buckets for a second. The reader still cheers for the friends trying their best. Even the villain respect their effort. Still, they will end up exiled or in jail.
5. A dull generic story. Add flaws to the main character. No one likes a Mary Sue/Gary Stu. Add some decent plot twist: (The weakness is the greatest strength, Betrayals, power with consequences, give them a proper backstory. It doesn’t need to be epic, it needs to feel real, with a message. Friendship, trust, courage, struggle, hope.)
6. God/magic save the day. If the Magic has not been weaved into the lore and nothing has been explained about power-up/magic/God. It is not believable if it drops out of nowhere. But this intervention lessened the hero’s role in the book. (Proceed with caution)
7. Kill useless characters so the hero has an excuse to fight. So that this will work, the readers need to care about the dead characters. Add moments where they bond with their pals. Jokes around the fire. Give them a purpose they will not achieve. (E.g marry this girl) Include a pause for the hero to grieve and acknowledge that the lost person creates a gap in his plans. They need to feel real.
8. Villain for the future. From the start, you need to add hints. A note, the clock stopping at a certain time, a photo that couldn’t exist. Throw in a red herring so that when the characters are chasing the wrong person so when the truth is revealed it will be more satisfying.
9. All this time everything was happening inside a lab/obscure organization facility. Please do not market this as a fantasy. The readers will rant that this is wrong/ a lie/ Marketing scam/ theft. You are not being edgy, you’re leading the readers on. Tricking them into a lie. Yes, you can have an unreliable narrator but if done wrong, people will hate it. Solution? Tell the readers what they’re getting into. From the first line, joke about it. Make it your incending incident at the end of chapter one. So The story is all about escaping this fake place.
10. Unsatisfying death of the villain. Write a worthwhile ending. Well, it’s not that simple. The battle needs to be balanced. Make it hard to kill the enemy. No one really wins in the end. It’s bittersweet for the hero. What if he/she isn’t happy about killing the villain. What is the weight of this action? What are the consequences?
11. Someone the reader thought was dead saved the day. You need to make the death unclear. They fall off a cliff, lost at sea, in a storm. You can’t show the dead body of the character and then do a lot of mental gymnastics to make them come back (I see you Star Wars franchise). Or, just leave the dead character alone. Do better! You don’t need to introduce a dead character to save your hero if he/she was strong enough to stand up for themselves. A memento of the dead character might give the hero the boost they need in their moment of weakness.
12. The love interest was dead from the start. Please don’t put this in the romance category. We know that the romance genre is very lucrative. This is not a romance, it’s a tragedy or a domestic psychological/ thriller. Stop cheating readers with twisted plots thinking it’s edgy. It’s not. It’s a scam. Readers will not trust your writing when you had trick them once. It’s hard to get your audience’s trust back. The internet is connected you can get a huge backlash if you’re fooling the readers. At least, tell the audience what they are getting into. Be honest, use humor.
13. The villain playing dumb. Make it a duel pov. So that the villain can give his/her reasons. It’s more about the cat-and-mouse chase, and who will outsmart each other first. This can be really interesting when well done.
14. Aliens. Star wars is a fantasy with aliens.

Whatever plot twist you add to your fantasy you will not be able to satisfy everyone. There will be someone out there who will rant about plot armor. Just try your hardest and polish your story as best you can.

So take everything I said with a grain of salt. And with a lot of humor.

I hope you like this post. It was quite long. Comment your worse plot twist and remember to like and subscribe.

Keep writing and see you soon.