Some famous stories that have trick or twist endings are O. Henry’s “The Gift of the Magi,” Shirley Jackson’s “Charles,” and Ambrose Bierce’s “An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge.”
People love it when stories trick them.
Or do they?
Sometimes when people read stories that have a trick ending, they get mad. They feel like they’ve been cheated. Why?
Here are some rules to think about when you are tempted to write a trick ending:
#1: A trick ending has to be justified by what comes before
What does that mean? If your trick ending comes out of nowhere, people will get mad. They want you to sprinkle clues throughout the story so that when they get to the trick ending, they feel like they were somewhat prepared for it.
#2: A trick ending can’t be obviously coming
If people know it’s coming, it’s not a good trick ending and they will probably just be annoyed. You have to walk that line between giving them enough information and giving them too much.
#3: A trick ending should mean something
A good trick ending gives the reader a deeper understanding of what really happened in the story:
- In O. Henry’s story, the trick ending shows us that people don’t always think of the consequences of making sacrifices for others.
- In Bierce’s story, we learn how fierce the will to live can be, even when it’s clear that all is lost.
- Jackson tells us the most about the mother narrating the story in the last short line than she did in the rest of the story.
Try it yourself!
Trick endings can be really fun to write, but don’t be discouraged if your readers tell you that you didn’t get it right the first time. To write a really effective trick ending, writers often rework the story over and over until they get it just right!
I agree. Sometimes I would get mad if I read a story with a trick ending. I think I would want to try to write a story with a trick ending.
Also, I noted that in In Your Hat from Shelf Life the hint is that Ariel says she can’t find the book, and when Denis asks her to find it later, she says she’s busy.
Lincoln, You’re right! “In Your Hat” does have clues, which is why it’s a good trick ending. You don’t get mad at the writer at the end because your brain was already prepared for something to happen. (For those of you not in my writing class, Shelf Life is a great story collection edited by Gary Paulsen that we are reading. I highly recommend it!)
I love twist endings, whether there are clues or not!
-JB
The movie “Zootopia” had a pretty surprising twist ending!!
-JB
I haven’t seen it! Don’t tell anyone what it is here, in case they want to see it. There’s nothing worse than when someone gives away a trick ending! 🙂
Well, it does leave clues. Watch for a sticky note on Mayor Bellwether’s desk in the traffic cam scene… Hope that doesn’t spoil it…
I do like a good trick ending, since I like to be surprised by what I’m reading, watching, or listening to. The same reason I like sudden beat drops. It’s unexpected and that makes it all the more fun.