How To: Write a Good Plot Twist (Chekhov's Gun & Red Herrings)

A good plot twist is the stuff of legends. An unexpected turn in a story, well placed, is one of the most thrilling and satisfying reader experiences. A great plot twist requires careful planning and execution. The ability to do this well is a gift. However, it is also a science, and in that way, it can be studied. The principles behind how some of the best plot twists, both in literature and film, are constructed are what I'll be discussing in this post.

What is a Plot Twist?

A plot twist is a literary technique that introduces a sudden and dramatic change to the expected plot beats/ outline. It's an interruption to the natural flow of events. A plot twist can be introduced at any point in the story, but it is most associated with the ending, where (if executed well) it has the most effect.

What makes a Plot Twist Work?

For a plot twist to work, it has to be integral to the story. It can't be something that you think of as you're wrapping up your first draft that you then try to weave through. That is unless you're a complete master in which case I have nothing for you here, and please teach me. For the rest of us, a plot twist needs to be adequately foreshadowed or thoroughly set up, and then resolved to achieve the satisfaction we associate with the very best ones.

Different Kinds of Plot Twists

Just as a plot twist can be introduced at any point in the story, the type of twist can also vary. Here we will look at a few of the most common.

Classic Twist

A classic twist is one in which the answer was right in front of us the whole time, we just couldn't see it. For this reason, this twist requires excellent planning and execution. It has to be hidden well enough that the audience doesn't suspect a thing on the first pass, but also clear enough that it seems obvious in retrospect.

An example of this classic twist is the movie The Prestige by Christopher Nolan. Borden, one of two competing magicians, dazzles and angers the other by performing a 'Transported Man' trick that sees him appear at two places at once, a trick the other one (Angier) simply cannot figure out.

The twist- there were two Bordens all along, he performed the trick with his twin brother. It's a simple twist that was foreshadowed earlier on in the story.

Mid Twist

A mid twist is a twist that occurs in the middle of a story. It is used, because of where it appears in the story, to either change the direction or the perspective of the plot. In this way, a mid twist has the effect of feeling like the 'real' start of the story, or at least a tangible deepening of the original tale. It's where someone describing the story would pause to say, 'and then things got interesting...'

An example of a mid twist is the book (and movie) Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn. In this mystery, we are introduced to a married couple Nick and Amy, and from the onset, we get the sense that both of them are not telling us the whole story. Still, we are led to believe that Nick could have been responsible for Amy's disappearance.

The mid twist reveals that we have been lied to by both of them. Nick has not been faithful like he claimed, and Amy has hardly said a single true thing- and she's trying to frame Nick for her death.

Because of where it's placed, a mid twist needs to be well executed otherwise the entire story falls flat if the plot is so simple that the reader can guess what happens. In that case, there are no stakes and there is no tension. When done well, it's incredibly exciting because it allows the reader to be a part of the mystery and raises tension.

Double Twist

This is a story with two plot twists, where the first one was a setup for the second. It is extremely difficult to plan and execute (one twist is hard enough), which is why there aren't too many great examples to discuss but, for the same reason, the ones that are done well truly stand out.

An example of a double twist can be found in the movie, The Usual Suspects. The plot centers around uncovering the mystery identity of notorious gangster, Keyser Soze, as well as his pursuit.

First Twist: In the end, we're led to believe that Keaton, a character integral to the plot, could have been Keyser. This is a major twist that changes the perspective of the entire story.

...only this doesn't quite seem to add up.

Second Twist: We then learn that a different character, Verbal, is actually Keyser. Verbal fabricated the entire story using details from the agent's office.

It's difficult to explain, and since it's worth watching- I suggest you do. In the end, everything adds up and there are no frayed ends. The Usual Suspects is a lesson in plot twist execution.

Devices for Plot Twists

There are certain dramatic elements and principles that are particularly useful in setting up and executing a plot twist. Let's look at two of them in detail.

Chekhov's Gun

'Chekhov's gun' is a dramatic principle coined by Russian playwright and author, Anton Chekhov, that explains the concept of setup and payoff.

It states that if a gun is seen in the first act, then it must be fired in the third act (this assumes a traditional story with a three-act structure). The inverse is also true, so if a gun goes off in the third act, then it must have been introduced in the first act. A setup without payoff is called an unfired Chekhov's gun.

The principle behind it can be summarized as that every element in a story must be necessary, and all those that are irrelevant must be removed. Correct use of Chekhov's gun and the principle behind it is a good way to create a clean and neat story that doesn't have any loose ends.

Let's consider J.K Rowling's Harry Potter series as a great example of Checkhov's gun. In the first book, Harry Potter and the Philosopher Stone, the bezoar is briefly mentioned in one of Harry's potion classes (gun introduced/ setup). It isn't until the sixth book, Harry Potter and The Half Blood Prince that the same bezoar is used to save Ron after he accidentally drinks a poisoned drink meant for Dumbledore (gun fired/ payoff). This is a very long time to wait for the payoff, but the principle still holds. One might even argue it's a greater payoff because of how long the gun took to fire, so to speak.

Red Herrings

A red herring can be described as a subversion of 'Chekhov's gun'. It is a misleading clue designed to lead an audience to a false conclusion.

Red herrings are a great device for keeping an audience engaged and guessing. By introducing a clue that insinuates a different set of events, the reader will naturally fill in those details. This makes it more interesting when they discover they were following a cold trail all along.

Red herrings are a natural fit for mysteries where the misdirection works as an element to stop the audience from correctly guessing the identity of the killer (for example), which would spoil all the fun.

Examples of Red Herrings

In Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, Sirius Black is set up as the murderous villain who has escaped Azkaban and is coming to kill Harry. By the end of the book (or movie) however, we know that he is actually not trying to harm Harry at all, and in fact, he has come to Hogwarts to protect him from the real villain Peter Pettigrew, whom no one suspected.

In HBO's hit series Game of Thrones, the first Targaryen that we're introduced to is Viserys, son of the Mad King. In those first episodes, we are led to believe that he is a powerful player, with a real claim to the throne- however, he doesn't make it past the first season. We quickly learn that his sister, Daenerys Targaryen, who is first introduced as a powerless lesser character, is the real threat.

Conclusion

A plot twist is a great writing device to disrupt an otherwise formulaic story arc. The secret of a great plot twist lies in careful planning and high-level execution. It requires a solid plot that can then be reexamined for twist points. It requires the right setup with enough tension maintained until the payoff. The twist, depending on its type, then needs to be expertly interwoven while making use of just the right amount of foreshadowing to maintain a cohesive story without giving anything away.

When done well, it is gripping and exciting. It engages the reader and makes them afraid to miss a single word in case that's the word that will make everything click into place. It creates real tension. It blows minds.

A great plot twist is not an easy thing to achieve, so when a writer does- it really is remarkable.

Please tell me what some of your favorite plot twist stories are, I'd love to know.

Happy plotting,

Nonjabulo

How To: Sell More Digital Products Online

Recently, I wrote a post on how I created my first printable to list and sell on Etsy. I then wrote this post on how to make a low content book to sell on Amazon. Having created both these digital products and having done a great deal of research on related topics, I thought I'd organize my thoughts to share what I've learned.

This post will discuss the elements that are necessary to make your digital product one that people actually want to buy, download, and use.

What Makes a Good Digital Product? Quality, Usability, Marketing, and a Library. Now let's talk about it.

What is a Digital Product?

A digital product is any item that can be sold as a soft copy, i.e. in digital format. Another way to think of it is any product that can be downloaded. So, this could be an eBook, a printable calendar, etc.

Why Would you Want to Make a Digital Product?

There is a great market for digital content. I don't know if you know this, but the world is a pretty digital place. Since the advent of the computer, the move toward online learning and working has always been there and it sped up drastically with the emergence of the smartphone. Then, cut to 2020 when a global pandemic hit, and that gradual move became a landslide. For better or worse, we now live a lot of our lives in a digital format.

This digital life requires content and products to keep us engaged and functioning. That's where digital products come in.

Another reason that creators would want to make digital content/ products is that they have an uncapped potential for returns. If you create a digital product, like a printable for example, you just have to labor once to create it and then you can sell it indefinitely as long as the platform where you host it is still online and active.

So, the same product can continue to generate income for you indefinitely. That's a pretty great perk. Theoretically, if you can create enough of these, you can create a stable passive income empire. Really. People are doing it.

But to do it, you need to create a digital product that stands out and sells well. From my research, I think these four factors make all the difference.

What Makes a Good Digital Product?

In my opinion, the four factors you need for digital product success are quality, usability, marketing, and a library.

1. Quality

This refers to how good the materials used in the construction of your product are. In the case of a purely digital product, this refers to the actual design. Is it well-formatted?

Is the picture quality high?

Are the fonts clear and appropriate?

Do the colors harmonize well? Etc.

If the product has a hardcopy option, like in the case of a print-on-demand book, then this refers to the quality of that physical product. If it's a book, are the words and graphics printed clearly? Is the book constructed sturdily? If it's a T-shirt, is the print good quality? Is the graphic centered correctly (if it's supposed to be)? Etc.

2. Usability

This refers to how user-friendly your product is. The best products are straightforward and intuitive and, importantly, they fulfill the requirement. If you design a sketch notebook- it should have blank sketch pages. It can have other elements like a sketch timeline, practice outlines, prompts, etc. But those can't substitute for the blank pages because that's what makes it a sketchbook.

Insider/ Expert Insight

This refers to how much added-value a product has, and a quick way to find this out is by seeing who designed it. An expert or at the very least, someone who is very active within a particular niche will know exactly what issues other people who are searching for that product have and will design solutions for them. That's why moms with twins like to buy products recommended by other moms with twins- they are the only other people who understand their exact set of circumstances and challenges.

To better understand this, let's consider our earlier example of a sketch notebook.

I do not sketch. If I designed it, I would design a great cover and make the inside fully blank. It would be a good product that does everything it's supposed to.

Now, let's say a third-year fine art student designed one. They obviously sketch, and I'm sure they even do it well. By actually being knowledgeable in the thing they're designing, they would be far better equipped to add elements that will elevate the experience of the person buying the sketchbook. They might add sketch challenges that gradually train the user to practice different strokes. They might add notes that teach a particular skill or new way of approaching a sketch subject. All of these things would add value and make their notebook superior to mine.

3. Marketing

Once you've created the best possible product, you need to get it in front of the right people. That is, your target market, and that's where marketing comes in. The trick to marketing is to remember that most people don't like being sold to directly. Nobody wants to feel like a dollar bill that some greedy ad agency is trying to grab. So being overly ‘salesy‘ is often a quick way to turn people off.

However, most people love a good recommendation from a person they trust, even if they trust them a (very) little bit. Think of how you act in your own life. If you're at a family gathering and your cousin is going on and on about a new smoothie place she just found and loves (that happens to be relatively close to you)- you're likely to try it the next you're craving a smoothie.

Now, imagine your cousin brought a friend and the friend says, 'No way, I prefer the smoothie place across the street to that one. It’s so much better.' You're likely to try that place too, even though you don't know your cousin's friend. The way that they suggested a product to you is such that it promotes trust.

Why?

The reason is twofold. Firstly, and most importantly, it's from a trusted source. Well, it is in the case of your cousin. In the case of your cousin's friend, it's from a 'trusted by association' source. The connection to someone you trust makes your cousin someone you're willing to lend trust and give the benefit of the doubt.

Secondly, let's discuss how these recommendations are made, and why they don't matter. Consider that your cousin is super excited and rather insistent on the smoothie place they like. On the other hand, your cousin's friend makes a casual suggestion. The result is the same- you're willing to try them both.

How Does This Relate To Marketing Your Product?

In marketing, it's less important how your product is marketed, as long as it's endorsed by a trusted source. Think of how a celebrity can casually mention a product in a 30-second story (or just be seen standing next to it) and it sells out. This is the power of influencers. This is why you need them to talk about your product. Their audience already trusts them and you get to leverage that trust.

How To Contact Influencers

In my last job, one of my responsibilities was influencer management. I was responsible for researching the ideal influencers for various products, outreach, and nurturing the relationship so we could work with them in the future. It's not hard. Just be a real person and remember that they are too.

Scout to find a natural fit- Make sure that the influencer you're looking to contact reviews the kind of product you make. Can you picture your product on their page? Don't ask a beauty influencer to review your line of marbles. Build a list of at least 10 potential great fits to start.

Reach out and ask- It's that simple. Create a template so you can do this in batches and quickly, but ultimately you're saying hi, introducing yourself, and asking if they'd be open to collaborating in X way. X can be a product for a review exchange, or you can discuss a fee for this service if the influencer says they only do paid collabs and it's within your budget.

Set clear terms- this is important when working with influencers or any other kind of collaborator. Be clear on what you expect, when, in what format, and what you're giving in return. Sometimes paying for a collaboration is more straightforward as it forces everyone to show unprofessionally.

Good faith agreements can sometimes create an 'I'll get to it when I get to it' vibe from the influencer's point of view, and since they don't owe you anything- you can't blame them. That said, just remember it's a numbers game. I've had plenty of success with unpaid collabs, so it's worth making the effort at the very least.

Consider paid newsletter mentions- An influencer with a large and engaged email list can do wonders for your marketing efforts. This will most likely be paid because of the value they know they are providing. Email marketing still has the greatest ROI, so it's well worth it. Just make sure you sign on to be on the right newsletter for what you're advertising.

Tip: Join the newsletter first to see what kind of content they promote and if you like the way they do it. If you do, reach out and find out how your product can make it to their 'top products' or other similar roundup lists.

4. Library

This refers to a collection of works that work to build your authority, which in turn builds trust. This goes for your digital products in your online store, your blog, and your Instagram posts- it's better to have more than just one. Having several products gives your buyer the chance to browse your catalog and increases your opportunities of convincing them to buy. It also makes them more comfortable that they're buying from an established seller and not someone who might not be there tomorrow.

Reviews are also excellent if you can get them. Don't sweat this part too much though, it will come with time. Just make it a point to actively work on building your library over time.

Conclusion

There is a great market for selling digital products, but it's also a very competitive market because of the sheer number of products that already exist and are being produced daily. Still, it's possible to find establish your corner of the internet where you can successfully sell your digital products- but you have to work at it.

Over and above the SEO and content creation that will keep you ranking on search engines, you need to create great products that are user-friendly and that you market through the most trusted voices within your niche. I hope this post helps show where to get started with that.

Let me know what else you do to make sure your products stand out.

Happy selling,

Nonjabulo

How To: Make a Low Content Book to Sell on Amazon KDP

Continuing with my theme of ‘trying everything’ to grow and monetize my blog this year, I thought I’d create my first low content book. A few weeks ago, I started my journey into the diversification of products I can sell online by creating my first Etsy printable, a digital product. This time, I’m trying my hand at a book meant solely for physical print- a pregnancy journal. This post will detail how I went about it.

What is a Low Content Book?

As the name suggests, these are books with very little content inside, where content refers to writing and/or images. Examples of low content books include journals, planners, coloring books, prayer or gratitude books, etc. These are books where the buyer does most of the writing, not the author.

Why Create a Low Content Book?

It’s a quick and easy way to make a sellable book product. A few hours or, at the most, days on Canva and Word, and you will have a completed journal that you can then list and start to sell.

There is a Great Market for Low Content Books

People love journals. People love products that promise to (and hopefully actually do) help them to be more productive, organized, mindful, grateful-you name it, there’s probably already a journal for it. So, it’s creating a product that you know that people want and are actively searching online for daily (if you choose the correct niche).

From an author's point of view, this is miraculous because writing fiction books tends to work in the opposite way. You write the story that’s most wanting to be expressed out of you, and then you work to market it and hope people will resonate with it enough to give it a buy and, fingers crossed, a read.

So going into product design with an active marketplace searching for the very product you’re making feels a little like cheating the system. In actuality, it's just clever. At the very least, it’s worth giving a try.

How to make a Low Content Book

These are the exact steps that I took to make my ‘Since You Were Born’ Pregnancy Journal.

Choose What Kind of Low Content Book You want to Make

It's important to have a clear direction. By knowing what kind of low content book you want to make, you'll know what type of design to create (which is important for Canva, if that's what you're using). You'll also know what to search for when studying the competition to get an idea of what's currently out there and working.

Pick a niche

As with most things, it’s usually better to specialize in one thing or one area. This increases your chances of being seen as an expert by your customer, as well as actually becoming an expert since working in one specific niche will naturally lead you to dive deeper and develop a greater understanding of whatever topic you choose to explore- which you can then pass onto your audience and/or customer. You can also be more productive because you can batch your work together, which can increase your sales potential because it allows you to bundle your products.

Do some research

Do keyword research to find out what keywords (read: products that real customers are searching for to buy) you can rank for. Ideally, you want keywords that have a high traffic volume but low competition. This puts your product in a good position to show up in search engines when people go to Google to look for that kind of product.

Design a Cover

In the world of online shopping, where customers can’t even pick up and thumb through your book, it’s critical to have a great cover. First to catch people’s attention, and then to convince them to buy your product. Your cover needs to be beautiful, sure, but it more importantly needs to communicate what it is, and what it’s promising the buyer if they purchase it. Create a cover that stands out, but is also true to what it is and what it's for. I designed mine on Canva (of course) and I wrote this post a few weeks ago about how to achieve this.

Design the Interior

I also used Canva for this because it’s a great tool that’s easy to use, and with their countless templates, it’s easy to draw inspiration and design something beautiful. This is going to be the most time-consuming part, but this is the true value of your book, so take the time to do a great job. Format correctly, use great design elements that add value and make your work unique, and above all else- make sure the product is useful. Make it a product you would love to use and would pay money for.

Upload Your Book to KDP

I chose Amazon KDP because it’s where I have my novel (my other physical book) listed, so, I already have an account with them. Amazon KDP is affiliated with Amazon (clearly). So, if you have an Amazon account, you can create a KDP account. It’s super easy and can be done in a few minutes.

That said, all I wanted was a company that could fulfill my print-on-demand needs. KDP is certainly not the only one, and if you’d rather work with a different provider, you can. This is something I will research and try out in the future, particularly for creative books like journals which a different company might handle better. Just do some research to see what else is out there- Ingram Sparks, Book Baby, and Blurb come to mind- and chose the one that aligns with you.

What is Amazon KDP?

KDP is Amazon’s print-on-demand service provider. With KDP, you can leverage Amazon's marketplace to publish and distribute your eBook, paperback, and hardcover books to customers all over the world. Listing products is free, you just pay Amazon a commission on every sale. I know it works great for novels, and I'm looking forward to seeing how it works for a journal.

Add your Book Information, List, and Publish

You’ll need to add the book’s title, author, and/or contributor information. For example, if you hired a graphic designer to create beautiful graphics then this is where you would credit them if this is what the two of you agreed to. This is also where you set the sale price and the territories that you want your book to be available in.

Amazon is great at guiding you through this, they are the world's largest marketplace after all, and they know what price points are optimal. Just make sure you’re pricing your book high enough to make a profit. Remember, with a physical book there will be production costs (which Amazon will calculate for you), so account for that to make sure your book actually makes money!

ISBN

This is a book’s unique bar code. It's used by the seller to keep track of inventory. You will need one for your book. You can either buy your own from online vendors (just do a quick search) or Amazon will provide a free one for you. I purchased my own, so I can have peace of mind knowing I can use it on any platform as I chose, and I'll be listed as the publisher, not Amazon. Do some research, weigh the options, and choose what works best for you.

Note: Each format of your book will need a different ISBN. So, if your book is going to be available as a paperback and a hardcover- you'll need 2 ISBNs.

Voila- you’re done!

You will have to wait for KDP to confirm that your book is live. Sometimes, they might contact you with an issue preventing them from listing your book. If they do, they will be very detailed and clearly explain what you need to fix. If you have no issues, then they will contact you to congratulate you on your new book as well as give you a link to it on Amazon.

Order Author Copies

Amazon is unique in that it sells copies to you, as the author, at a discounted price (which is great!) so take advantage of this. It’s vital that you buy the first copy so you can inspect it. Things sometimes (read: always) go funky when a book goes into publishing. You may be using different software to format your book that KDP doesn’t recognize or can’t read properly and that can cause the printed book to look like something out of a kid’s art class- just not in a cute way.

Or, everything will be formatted correctly but you’ll feel like the book should be shorter, or longer, or the cover doesn’t quite work. You may just catch a typo or missing word as you read through it, and nobody wants that. The point is, you won't know if anything needs to change until you hold the book in your hand and look through it. So, go ahead and order it.

Author Copies for Marketing

Once you've ironed out all issues and you’re happy that your book is perfect, it’s a good idea to print a few copies to give away for marketing purposes. If there are influential bloggers in the niche that your book is targeted for, having those people review your book could give you great exposure to your target market.

Tell Your Friends

You did a thing. You started, you sweated, you finished. Now tell everyone about it. Use your new handy link to tell everyone about your new book and where they can go to buy it! Ask for reviews because that will be just the thing to get other people to also buy your book, and so on.

Conclusion

I hope this post has helped guide you through how to create a low content book on Amazon. It's doable, and it can even be quite fun. Plus, if you market successfully and it sells well, it can be a great passive income stream. So, I think it's worth a try.

Let me know what you think.

Happy creating,

Nonjabulo