Writers in the Storm

by Ellen Buikema

A powerful tool in the writer’s toolchest is the ability to gift the readers with shock and surprise. Unexpected twists and turns, can ramp up a narrative and leave a long-lasting impression.

Whether you’re working on a thriller or comedy, the ability to surprise your audience can making your story memorable and difficult to put down.

Doing this requires more than adding a plot twist just the sake of shock. Instead, craft a narrative that feels real and save space for the unexpected. Surprising moments can give insights into the world you’ve created and the characters lurking within.

The Power of Crafting the Unpredictable

Why is surprise such a powerful element? At its center, surprise catches the reader off guard, forcing them to rethink the story and its characters, and heightens the emotions. Unpredictability hooks the readers.

Shock and surprise come in many forms. Here are a few examples:

• Sudden death – Johnny Cade in The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton
• Plot twist – A fantastic plot twist takes place for the child psychologist in The Sixth Sense
• A character’s unexpected actions – Scout confronts Bob Ewell in Harper Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird

All of these can disrupt the story’s flow and/or alter the readers’ paradigm. However, the best surprises are those that are carefully set up so they don’t feel forced. They should make sense in the story, not plopped in—just because.

Try creating clues throughout the story that hint at a plot twist through foreshadowing. Drop subtle hints that something doesn’t feel right. This way, the readers can connect the puzzle pieces together. This technique creates suspense and keeps the reader guessing until the twist is revealed.

The Harry Potter series uses many plot twists. J.K. Rowling makes great use of foreshadowing to create tension and suspense. By investing readers in the characters and their journeys, she makes the stories unforgettable.

In horror, mystery and thriller genres, surprise keeps readers wondering what happens next. In comedy, surprise can bring moments of delightful ludicrousness. No matter the genre, surprise can make the story feel alive with possibilities.

Foreshadowing to Create Suspense

The best surprises can be those that feel certain to happen, looking back. By foreshadowing character motivations or future events, you can set up the surprise such that it feels earned.

When using a foreshadowing technique, it’s important to weave the hints into the story in a way that feels right, natural. When the surprise happens, readers can think back and see how the twist was hinted at through the story.

Agatha Christie often features a shocking reveal at the end of her mysteries. Looking back, readers see that she provided clues along the way—in descriptions, and character interactions—that spring the surprise.

In And Then There Were None, Christie uses the characters’ pasts and personalities to foreshadow the twists and deaths that occur later. Each person’s fate is implied through tiny details in their dialogue or actions, still allowing the final reveal to be shocking.

Character Development to Set Up Surprises

Characters are often used to deliver shocking moments in a story. By making characters seem reliable, you can set up a surprising turn of events. When characters act against their expected nature, the surprise packs a bigger punch.

You can do this by creating characters who appear to be one thing but really aren’t. An easy-going character might truly have dark impulses. A harsh, rebellious character could unexpectedly show sensitivity or kindness. These surprises feel real because they are seen through character development.

An excellent example of this is in the character of Walter White in Breaking Bad. Throughout the series, Walter gradually devolves from a high school science teacher into a heartless drug kingpin. Small events within his character development led to a massive change in behavior.

When using character development to create surprise, be careful to make the revelation feel like a natural progression. The unpredictability comes from their internal struggles.

Avoid Valueless Trauma

Writing to shock and surprise is quite effective, but it’s important not to rely on overused schemes. Creating an unpredictable tale, with surprise twists that feel natural, will keep your readers intrigued. A sudden death, that was “only a dream,” or a plot twist that feels engineered can cheapen your story and let your readers down.

Be sure that whatever method of shock you use in the story feels natural and organic, otherwise it won’t resonate with the characters and will fall flat. Each surprise should deepen the emotional impact or advance the plot.

The shocking twist at the end of Shutter Island by Dennis Lehane calls into question the nature of guilt, identity, and reality. This surprise builds organically and gives the readers a better feel for the protagonist.

Final Thoughts

Writing to shock and surprise needs planning and attention to detail. The best surprises are those that catch readers off guard while staying true to the character arcs and story’s themes.

As you create your stories, consider the power of surprise. Break the boundaries of what your readers expect. You can craft a tale that will leave your readers startled, thinking about your story well after they’ve reached the story’s end.

Do you use foreshadowing in your writing? What is your favorite plot twist?

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About Ellen

Author, speaker, and former teacher, Ellen L. Buikema has written non-fiction for parents, and The Adventures of Charlie Chameleon chapter book series with stories encouraging the development of empathy—sprinkling humor wherever possible. Her Works in Progress are The Hobo Code, YA historical fiction and The Crystal Key, MG Magical Realism/ Sci-Fi, a glaze of time travel.

Find her at https://ellenbuikema.com or on Amazon.

Top Image by Alana Jordan from Pixabay

Writers in the Storm would not exist without you! So, no matter what you're celebrating today, we wish you "Merry Everything!"

We won't have an official post today (although Ellen has a great one coming to you on Friday). However, if you feel like sharing your favorite holiday tradition(s) with us in the comments, we'd love to hear them!

With love and gratitude,
The WITS Team

p.s. Have you subscribed to WITS yet? We'd love it if you did. :-)

Featured photo created from ChatGPT.

by Lisa Norman

Welcome to the holiday season, when thankfulness and belief mingle with the season’s magic, whether you’re in the cold, snowy, magical northern hemisphere or the warm southern sun.

Like the little girl in Miracle on 34th Street, we may allow our hearts to hope and dream of the new year. And in that moment, everything changes.

Creativity is an act of belief. Every story, painting, or project begins with that quiet leap, the decision to trust in something unseen. To believe that our work has meaning before there’s proof that anyone will care.

The Difference Belief Makes

Once upon a time, I worked on a group project that mattered deeply to me. I’d poured months of heart and planning into it. Despite months of planning and promo, only a few of us were generating interest. As the event neared, it became clear one person didn’t really believe in it. Their contributions were late, their communication distant. Their promo material hadn’t generated any involvement despite them supposedly being an influencer.

And then they said the words that destroyed me. “I’m only doing this to help your little project.”

Little?

The person did not know about the work others had invested or the quiet attention that project had garnered from some big names in the industry. We had people waiting to see the quality of our materials, the same materials that were suffering from late contributions.

Help?

As if the project depended on them? When so many of us had already poured our hearts into it?

It wasn’t malice. They were simply showing up out of a sense of duty, not conviction. And that, I realized, was the real problem. Creative work, like belief, can’t thrive where the heart isn’t present.

Helping with the project they didn’t actually believe in was distracting this person from other projects. Because, while they weren’t doing a lot, they were carrying guilt and stress about not meeting commitments.

That was the energy that was pouring out to their followers: guilt and stress. They were hurting their own brand in the process of unintentionally destroying ours.

Our creative energy is like a pitcher. Every project we take on is a glass we choose to fill, and there are always more glasses than there is energy.

If we pour our creativity into something we don’t believe in, we’re taking it from projects that we DO believe in!

When We Help Without Believing

I’ve been thinking about this lately. How often have I done the same?

Have I said yes to something because it felt polite, or because someone needed me, even when my heart wasn’t in it?

Helping without belief feels noble at first. But it quietly drains both giver and receiver. The energy doesn’t multiply; it flattens. It’s like trying to light a candle with a damp match. The intent is kind, but the spark won’t catch.

And yet, when we show up for others with belief, when we’re invested in the possibility of a project’s success, that potential transforms everything. It fills the work with joy. It tells the people around us, “I see what we’re building, and I believe it’s worth the effort.”

If you know the story of Elisha and the widow, it has a lesson for us all: if we pour out our creative energy, it will expand. Suddenly our pitcher miraculously contains more energy than we could ever imagine. It goes farther. Our creative capacity grows exponentially.

The Creative Kind of Faith

In Miracle on 34th Street, belief doesn’t come from proof. It creates the proof. That’s how it works in creative life, too.

When we write, paint, or collaborate from joy and conviction, people can feel it, even if they can’t name it. Joy leaves fingerprints. So does obligation. Readers can sense the difference between a story written from delight and one forced out of duty. So can collaborators.

It shows up in our marketing, too. I’m so guilty of this, I feel bad writing it, but I’m going to tell you. If we just repost something someone’s posted—without a note, just “signal boosting”--maybe people read it, maybe they see it. But they can feel our lack of enthusiasm.

If we post something with a note, adding a bit of a personal comment about how excited we are for the project, people can feel THAT energy, too. And no, you can’t lie. I am a firm believer that emotions and our hearts show, even when filtered through the cold screens of social media.

Belief is contagious. It’s what keeps writers revising after rejections, artists painting after criticism, and musicians practicing when no one’s listening. It’s the gentle breeze that fills our creative sails.

Start Believing Instead of Helping

I used to think the best way to support another creative was to help, to fix things, to offer advice, to make it easier. Now, I think the best help is belief. Oh, helping is good too! But belief? That’s where the magic happens.

When we say, “I know you can do this,” we’re giving someone courage. That kind of honest faith changes everything.

Maybe that’s the real miracle of creative life: that we get to believe in one another even when the world doesn’t yet see the magic we see.

A December Blessing

So this December, I’m choosing to believe: in my work, in my fellow creatives, in the quiet miracles that happen when we show up with joy.

Belief isn’t just a holiday sentiment. It’s creative potential energy.

And when we share it, when we dare to say, “I believe in you,” we just might give another writer the energy to finish that project they’ve been putting off. The energy to try that marketing experiment or to send out one more query.

I want to encourage you: as you move into 2026, pour your energy into projects that bring you joy.

What examples of the power of belief (or lack of it) in a creative individual can you share?

About Lisa

Lisa Norman's passion has been writing since she could hold a pencil. While that is a cliché, she is unique in that her first novel was written on gum wrappers. As a young woman, she learned to program and discovered she has a talent for helping people and computers learn to work together and play nice. When she's not playing with her daughter, writing, or designing for the web, she can be found wandering the local beaches.

Lisa writes as Deleyna Marr and is the owner of No Stress Writing Academy. She also runs Heart Ally Books, LLC, an indie publishing firm.

Interested in learning more from Lisa? Sign up for her newsletter or check out her school, No Stress Writing Academy, where she teaches social media, organization, technical skills, and marketing for authors!

Top image by Deleyna via Midjourney.