Tip #339: Revelations & twists

When... critical information is woven into the story in a way that feels like it’s doing something else in the story, readers, in general, both miss it and remember it when you reveal that it was actually important. If you just mention it without it appearing to do something important, readers wonder why it’s included and are more likely to remember it.

http://www.aisteach.com/blog/?p=1127

What makes the revelation so effective is not that we’ve been waiting for it, but that we never actually suspected it was there to begin with (although of course it was carefully set up for us from nearly the beginning of the film*).

http://www.annleckie.com/2013/09/05/basis-suspense/

Tip #324: Foreshadowing through myth

if you are writing a novel and creating your own world... consider whether to include your own legendary beasts and monsters, things that aren’t real but which some of your characters could conceivably believe in. ... A culture’s myths and legends... [can] serve... to warn the reader that they would encounter many a strange thing

 http://www.davidfarland.com/writing_tips/?a=254

Myths & legends can also be a great way to make info-dumps interesting, influence character behaviour, or highlight clues and red herrings while adding flavour to the world.

Tip #313: The opening

instead of (or in addition to) killing yourselves trying to concoct a great first line... how about giving some thought to what your opening scene looks like? It takes a lot of the pressure off that first page anxiety — because you're focused on conveying a powerful image that will intrigue and entice the reader into the book.

What do we see? How does it make us feel? How might it even be a miniature code of what the whole story is about?

Given example:

One of my favorite opening images/sequences is the credits scene of The Shining. I don’t think there’s a creepier opening to be found anywhere in film. It’s all aerial camerawork of those vast, foreboding mountains as that tiny little car drives up, up, up toward what turns out to be the Overlook Hotel. It’s vertiginous, it’s ominous, it emphasizes the utter isolation of the hotel and the circumstances, and somehow, through the music and the visuals and the constant movement, Kubrick establishes a sense of huge, vast, and malevolent natural forces.

Extra tip-bit:

The opening image will sometimes —often — set up a location that will return in the final battle scene or in the resolution scene of the story — only at the end there will be a big visual contrast to show how much the hero/ine has changed.

http://www.screenwritingtricks.com/2013/02/key-story-elements-opening-image.html

Tip #301: Info-dump via character reaction

How your character reacts to something gives your reader valuable clues as to how they should be reacting, what they should be learning from whatever just transpired, and how significant it is to the overall story.

Given example:

a character is staring out the window at night when, suddenly, she sees a firefly turn into a fairy princess out on the lawn. What is her reaction? If she thinks “Oh, no! Not again! That means dad will make me go out there first thing tomorrow and wash the fairy dust off the grass…” then that tells the reader that fairies are common in this world, and a bit of a nuisance. Not only do we get the character’s attitude about the firefly fairy, but we get valuable worldbuilding information (especially if this is the first time we see that this world has magic/fantasy elements to it). If she thinks “WHAT THE F*** IS THAT?!?!?!?!?!” and runs screaming from the room, we may take that as our cue that firefly fairies are not the norm and that something truly odd is going on.

http://kidlit.com/2012/09/19/the-power-of-reaction/

Tip #299: Best use of rules

when characters {the readers} care about get into a situation where the rules dictate they're going to get killed, that's where they start to get really worried

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CYqx3nwcpQ0&feature=plcp

Tip #296: Meaningful deaths

{the} reader cared about these various character deaths because their deaths left an impact...

http://avajae.blogspot.co.uk/2012/10/how-to-kill-characters-with-impact.html

because of how their subsequent absence will change the story, especially for the protagonist.

Tip #266: The ordinary world

You almost always start out with a hero who is in some kind of environment where he or she is not completely comfortable and they know something is wrong...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SB_Q1gFsvIw

Tip #262: Grounding

grounding is the fine art of letting the reader know what is going on. You need to focus on some basics: Who is in a scene? Where does it take place? What is the major conflict?

Those questions need to be answered quickly with every scene in a book or story... You could do worse than to start a story with all three elements in the very first sentence: “Johann did not want to die on the moon, but when the asteroid struck the dome above Callisto Crater, it looked as if he didn’t have any other options.”

http://davidfarland.net/writing_tips/?a=93

Tip #240: Intriguing stories

A good story should always be raising questions — not asking them directly, but instead forcing the reader to ask them. “Wait, what’s that weird symbol they keep seeing on the walls? What was that sound? Something’s up with that top hat-wearing fox that keeps following them, too. Where the crap are they going?” This is why too much exposition is a story-squasher

http://www.sfwa.org/2012/01/guest-post-25-reasons-readers-will-keep-reading-your-story/

I don't think this is one of those tips you should take as gospel - it has certain uses, and won't always be appropriate.

Tip #237: Trivial details

Readers love it when some early, trivial detail plays a part in the finale.

http://www.writersdigest.com/whats-new/the-dos-and-donts-of-novel-endings?et_mid=546238&rid=3202455

Tip #224: Using Deus ex Machina

THE SUCCESS OF DEUS EX MACHINA NEVER LIES IN THE DELIVERY, BUT IN THE SET-UP AND IT’S IMPORTANCE TO THE CHARACTER

http://filmcrithulk.wordpress.com/2011/10/06/hulk-explains-why-we-should-stop-it-with-the-hero-journey-shit/

Tip #202: Twist ending

Ultimately, what makes this plot twist so unexpected was... The possibility just doesn't occur to people. Because the revelation was so unexpected, Stead was able to cram the beginning with all sorts of clues without having readers make that final leap.

http://blog.liviablackburne.com/2009/12/how-to-pull-off-amazing-plot-twist-when.html

Tip #192: Deus ex machina

deus ex machina is just a failure to properly foreshadow things.

http://www.writingexcuses.com/2011/12/25/writing-excuses-6-30-help-i-cant-end-my-book/#comments

Tip #155: Building tension

Building up to a big bad something?
Try using foreboding: build tension by dropping hints that not all is well (what are the symptoms of your big bad?) and allow your characters to worry just a little tiny bit.
Consider heightening the emotional build-up by combining the big bad suspense arc with that of something your character is anticipating.

H. R. Filmore's Reminders to Self, July 2011.

Tip #152: Don't waste the reader's time

Each character, scene, and bit of backstory should matter
I don't know exactly how and why all these details are important, but I know they are. This author does not waste the reader's time.

http://juliemusil.blogspot.com/2011/07/when-readers-trust-author.html

Tip #98: Beginning words

Anything you introduce in the Beginning (1/4), the savvy reader knows on some level is important to the overall story.
Therefore, be careful about every word you use. If you use dark and ominous words in the Beginning, the reader expects the story overall will be dark and ominous. If you introduce a gun, the reader knows violence is coming, likely even death by gunshot. If you introduce sweetness and light, the reader expects the story to reflect the same.

http://plotwhisperer.blogspot.com/2010/03/opposite-of-foreshadowing.html

Tip #77: Tension

Tension comes from uncertainty.

http://samsykes.com/2010/10/how-to-be-a-boring-wizard/

Tip #49: Characters in denial

Readers want to follow a character who is smart and perceptive... putting a character in obvious denial so that you can layer in Something That We All Know Will Be Important Later is not the way you’ll earn sympathy and respect for your fictional people. Readers see right through that.
here’s an idea: don’t call the character’s attention to it in such an obvious way.

The art of fiction is the act of making the implausible seem plausible and relatable to readers.

http://kidlit.com/2011/01/24/characters-in-denial/

Tip #48: Should they be yawning?

Do an emotional pass… not for the protagonist, but for the audience. Go through each scene in your script and ask, “What do I want the audience to feel?”. If you can’t answer, the scene’s probably either muddled or unnecessary.

http://screenwritingtips.tumblr.com/ #507

Tip #16: The Smoking Gun

If you fire a gun in Act III, it must be seen on the wall in Act I; and if you show a gun on the wall in Act I, it must be fired in Act III.

Chekhov’s major principals of the Smoking Gun.


Also see: Tip #9: Foreshadowing