Plot Twist Story Prompts: Character Off

Every good story needs a nice (or not so nice) turn or two to keep it interesting. This week, have a character act differently after they return from something.

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, Imagined Event, here.

Plot Twist Story Prompts: Character Off

For today’s prompt, have a character act differently after returning from something. What are they returning from? Maybe they went on a long trip. Or they were in a coma. Or maybe they were held hostage and have now returned from that experience.

(How to Create a Character Profile to Write Believable Characters.)

Whatever the reason for the character “leaving” everyone, they’re now acting slightly (or radically) different. If they were nice and carefree, they’re now easily agitated or fearful. The jerk is suddenly a very nice person. The brainiac is slow to process information. The character is just different.

As the writer, you get to investigate why they’re different. Are they traumatized? Have they grown as a person? Are they an actual different person in disguise? Could they be under a spell or mind control? Maybe they feel everyone else is different.

So have a character act differently after returning from something, and see what happens next.

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Have you hit a wall on your work-in-progress? Maybe you know where you want your characters to end up, but don’t know how to get them there. Or, the story feels a little stale but you still believe in it. Adding a plot twist might be just the solution.

Click to continue.