We love to be entertained.
Have you noticed that great stories are full of twists?
Here’s an example from Roald Dahl’s wonderful book, James and the Giant Peach.
- James is a happy boy.
- James’ parents get eaten by a rhinoceros.
- James goes to live with his abusive aunts on a hill.
- A strange man gives James magic seeds.
- James accidentally drops the seeds and they burrow into the dirt.
- A giant peach grows on an old, dead peach tree.
- James crawls inside the peach and meets giant bug friends.
- The peach is set free from the hill and rolls into the sea.
- Sharks attack the peach.
- James ties the peach to seagulls and flies into the sky with his friends.
- James and friends see magic cloud-men making hail.
- James and friends crash into a rainbow.
- The ropes tying the peach to the seagulls are severed by an airplane.
- The peach crashes onto the empire state building.
Each point above represents a twist in the storyline, something we couldn’t anticipate. (This is actually a simplified synopsis of the story btw. There are more twists than this).
Dahl holds our attention because his tale twists unexpectedly.
Now that I’m aware of the twist design pattern, I see it in every great story, not just the ones for children. Take the Cohen Brothers incredible movie, No Country For Old Men.
- While hunting, Llewelyn finds a bunch of dead guys and some money. One guy is still barely alive. Llewyn leaves with the money.
- Llewelyn returns to the scene later that night (to finish off the barely alive guy?).
- Suddenly, two men show up and start chasing Llewyn. Llewyn barely escapes, leaving his truck at the scene.
- A hitman comes after Lleweyn, who goes on the run.
- There is an electronic tracking device in the money. The hitman finds Llewyn in a roadside hotel.
This is just the beginning of the film and the tale is already twisting unexpectedly! We don’t want to hear stories that plod along in a straight line.
A good story has more than just twists of course - lush descriptions, humor, vivid characters and so forth. The overall twisting contour is what ties all these sub-elements together and keeps us along for the ride.
Do you have ideas? Consider weaving them together with twists the next time you seek someone’s attention.
We love to be entertained and we love twists.
published .
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