Surprise Plot Twists: Early or Later?

[ToxicRamen]

When it comes to big plot twists for stories, do you prefer having a long & slow build up or just have the twist revealed early on in the story?

I have this idea for a plot that I wanna use but for some reason I don’t feel having a huge build up but just reveal it in the early chapters. I guess it could be because the story structure for my webcomic is more like an anthology that has different small but still connecting stories. (Kinda like what comics were from between the 60s-90s in which the issues would be a “one-shot” story though there some story arcs that would cover 2-5 issues OR like the manga HunterxHunter since its story structure isn't focus on just one character)

[Aleksei]

IMHO, the best way to tell the story is the way that you want to tell it.

Go for it.

Make us proud!

[Dei]

As a reader, I prefer building suspense before dropping the big reveal for linear, one sided, works.
Sometimes this isn't the case. If the story is gripping enough from the start, revealing the twist early on can be just as compelling. Early twist reveals could have the potential to turn the direction of a story from its initial plot and then create branches, or side quests, from the main story line like most big manga/comic titles. Some works tend to limit it and keep the story in line so it won't create a lot of confusion and plot holes though (like what Hajime Isayama did with AOT manga. Very compelling start, but when they learned the truth, it just kinda spiraled downward for me, especially the conclusion - this is subjective of course).

But don't let this opinion limit your, or anyone's, creativity!

[BoomerZ]

I am of the thinking you should have lots of little reveals that lead up to the big plot twist. That way they can look back and see it coming. I would advise against a twist as your entire story. People don't generally like that. Specially if you hit them out of left field with it.

[morganicfoods]

I guess this is why I really like your comic. Whenever these writing advice threads show up, you take the words right out of my mouth lol

Foreshadowing and building up to the big plot twist usually is a good idea. If you lay the groundwork, the twist won't feel off-putting and can make re-reading and catching all the hints and clues rewarding.
A later twist often hits better, as the readers will have had time to connect to your characters.

[darthmongoose]

You can reveal a plot twist at any time where it feels natural...but if you reveal your twist, there needs to be some other source of narrative tension to take over.

It's the same as with a romance. You can have the leads get together at any time, but if it was a Romance, and the only tension in the comic was "will they get together?" and you have them get together, it's like... okay, why is the story still going?

In chosen one type stories, like Lego Movie, or The Matrix, it's revealed very early that our lead is special and might be the chosen one, and they have remarkable capacity to learn and do things, so that's an example of an early twist. "You thought you were a boring, average guy, but you're actually super special!" but that doesn't end the story because it doesn't resolve the tension of the baddies doing bad stuff and needing to be stopped.

Or as a Romance version. Romeo and Juliet isn't a Romance story, because it keeps going once Romeo and Juliet get together, because them getting together doesn't resolve the family feud. They concoct a plan to escape from it... which goes wrong, ends in tragedy, but in a twist, that tragedy does end the family feud, relieving the tension, albeit in a really sad way.

In other words, if you resolve the twist early, you're telling the audience, "we're not done yet", but you'd better obviously have some unfinished business that's either clearly ongoing, or have something happen pretty much immediately to undermine the relief and finality of the twist and make it feel like it's still unfinished, or the audience won't have a reason to keep reading to get resolution.

[cherrystark]

While I think that plot twists should be well-timed, I think it's more important to have well-executed plot twists. For example, Vader's revelation that he was Luke's father helps final out his story arc and gives context to his actions at the end of the original trilogy. It's a good plot twist. But if your plot twist, for example, is that your plain Jane female is secretly a fairy princess because her human mother shagged the fairy king and therefore has superpowers and is more powerful than full-blood fairies or that she's a demigoddess because your world's diety decides she likes the MC for some reason - those aren't good plot twists. They're boring and predictable.

[maskscomic]

Whatever works best honestly. Some plots are awesome when having little hints because maybe they end up being accurate or maybe they just mislead, and it was still fun. Other twists come out of nowhere and surprise the readers and characters in the story. You can also disguise the bigger plot twist with smaller plot twists of other characters or situations.

[Innocynce]

The best plot twist I've done was have the secret blatantly in your face; the villains literally say it but (unless you take those characters seriously/pay more attention to them than the hero and main characters..) it's not something people would expect to be true, and even if they did; not on that scale...

Though when reading, watching, ect.. I kinda be expecting a plot twist. The only way to enjoy it is by a slow build up and even then: expectations have to be wrong..

I should do fast examples or this will be a novel by itself:

In Tokyo Ghoul and Parasite, they quickly shift focus from "be afraid of these things" to "the protagonist IS one of these things" ...I don't know if that was suppose to be a plot twist, but I kinda expected both and was neutral to everything after that...

Something else I watched had hints everywhere that something was up, but it waited until the end to slowly show you that nearly everything you saw was wrong and messed up. And that was fun.. Not for the characters though...

Lastly I'm watching something now that acts like it has a huge plot twist coming, but the characters are constantly distracted by immensely stupid conversations and jokes. I don't know if it's a slow build-up, or the serious writing is only support for the jokes and nothing will happen; either way I'd be surprised if it's purely a comedy or not​

Um later plot twist; unless you hide it SUPER well.. It has to be later!!

[TheLemmaLlama]

I feel like the later the twist is, the higher the standard I'm going to hold it to; whereas it's easier to 'get' me with an early twist and make me feel it was amazing and twisty But then you'd have to come up with something else to do for the rest of the story XD