JuliePgh
I've made it through writing the entire novel, including the ending, have revised a few thousand times and want to put my story down to gain perspective except I can't because something in the back of my mind says I need to do the unexpected, the twist, in my ending.
My two characters started out as enemies, struggle through adversity, beat the bad guy, (I know it's cliche, but I've still had fun writing it and think it's well done) and are now willing, able and expected (by the reader) to come together in the end. I think the only right and satisfying ending is for them to come together. To do otherwise, would be shocking, and I believe make the reader mad, although I could keep them apart and justify it.
Does incorporating a twist mean doing opposite of what the reader expects, such as keeping my characters apart? Or do I forgo the notion and concentrate on bringing the main characters together for the typical "happy" and expected conclusion? Or do I add a last minute shocker (not a new plot or problem, but use of an old one), make it appear as if they're not coming together and in the last three or four lines, show that they do?
My two characters started out as enemies, struggle through adversity, beat the bad guy, (I know it's cliche, but I've still had fun writing it and think it's well done) and are now willing, able and expected (by the reader) to come together in the end. I think the only right and satisfying ending is for them to come together. To do otherwise, would be shocking, and I believe make the reader mad, although I could keep them apart and justify it.
Does incorporating a twist mean doing opposite of what the reader expects, such as keeping my characters apart? Or do I forgo the notion and concentrate on bringing the main characters together for the typical "happy" and expected conclusion? Or do I add a last minute shocker (not a new plot or problem, but use of an old one), make it appear as if they're not coming together and in the last three or four lines, show that they do?