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THE TWIST IN THE TALE
by Debi Orton

You may not know this, but I read every single submission that comes in to flashquake before it is rejected or passed on to our editors for their review.

I'm also the one who processes our editors' reviews and compiles all the comments. And lately, it seems as if one of the most frequent comments is a variation on this: "This is more of a joke than a story."

I thought about this trend a lot, and the only conclusion I've been able to draw is that some writers are confusing the twist often seen in flash literature with the punchline of a joke. That said, I thought I'd try to define the difference.

A twist works best when the author has gently led the reader in a specific direction, allowing the reader to make assumptions which will later prove false.

A punchline is really the point in a joke. The story leading to the punchline is just a setup to demonstrate cleverness. A twist is a surprise, but doesn't relegate the rest of the story to the status of setup.

One good example of the twist can be found in Wayne Scheer's story "Boy Meets Girl." In this story, the main character ends up sleeping with a woman who, he learns afterward, was once a man. That's the first twist in this story. There is another, but since I don't want to ruin the story for anyone who has not yet read it, I'll leave it for you to discover.

Neither of the twists in this story are humorous in any way. But they are very effective in making the reader question his or her assumptions.

On the other hand, twists and humor are not mutually exclusive, either. Another example of an effective twist comes in "Rules of Disengagement" by Jeffrey F. Haines, a story that editor David Shapiro chose as his pick for this issue. In this case, the twist does incorporate some humor.

A twist is a powerful tool in the hands of a skillful writer. Whether humorous or not, a twist challenges the reader's assumption about what has happened or what will happen next.

Art imitates life. Almost always.

Copyright 2003 by Debi Orton

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