Do you need a plot twist or a
writing prompt? Hopefully this will
help. It’s based on something my
favorite Dungeon Master would do.
Shuffle a deck of cards and pick one.
Each card causes something different to happen to your character. It could be as simple as a slight change in
health points or as drastic as a sex change.
So I’ve come up with 53 potential plot twists (some are admittedly
similar.) Most of them apply to any character in your story; major, minor, or
main. So grab a deck of cards (or pick a number) and choose three (in case one doesn’t
work at all) and find a way to weave it into your story. Enjoy!
P.S. If you’re choosing three numbers, I don’t recommend choosing
numbers that are close together. For
example choosing 21, 22, and 23 won’t give you a wide variety of choices.
1. Joker: Main Character gets humiliated
2. A♠: Someone dies
3. K♠: Hospitalized or
equivalent (i.e. bedridden, sickbay, ect.)
4. Q♠: Experience
Amputation (simple as an ear or serious as a limb)
5. J♠: Poisoned
6. 10♠: Tortured
7. 9♠: Vandalized
8. 8♠: Meet a unique/odd
individual
9. 7♠: Get in a fight
10. 6♠: Incarcerated
or equivalent (for children’s/YA stories detention)
11. 5♠: Arrested (may
or may not be followed by incarceration)
12. 4♠: Minor illness
(cold, flu, ect.)
13. 3♠: Someone gets pregnant
14. 2♠: New baby (surprise
birth, baby on doorstep, or inherit an older kid)
15. A♣: Sustain
violent injury (shooting, explosion, ect.)
16. K♣: Sustain psychological
trauma
17. Q♣: Brain
injury/Amnesia
18. J♣: Loose partial
or full eyesight (temporary or permanent)
19. 10♣: Loose
partial or full hearing (temporary or permanent)
20. 9♣: Experience natural disaster (Flood, Tornado,
ect.)
21. 8♣: Experience unnatural
disaster (Car/Plane crash, bombing, ect.)
22. 7♣: Lose hair
(natural balding or hair removal cream in the shampoo)
23. 6♣: Acquire a new
weapon (anything from a squirt gun to the Death Star)
24. 5♣: Experience
culture shock
25. 4♣: Get eerily
personal fortune/prophesy (you decide if it comes true)
26. 3♣: Flashback
27. 2♣: Acquire a new skill
28. A♦: Acquire a
large sum of money (legally)
29. K♦: Get promoted
or equivalent
30. Q♦: New job/career
31. J♦: Get demoted
or equivalent
32. 10♦: New car or new
form of transportation
33. 9♦: Receive a
rather generous gift
34. 8♦: Acquire an inheritance
(the size is up to you)
35. 7♦: New defensive
mechanism/new armor
36. 6♦: Enter/play a
game
37. 5♦: Accusation of
stealing/robbery
38. 4♦: Win a bet
39. 3♦: Lose a bet
40. 2♦: Lose a large
sum of money
41. A♥: Experience
love at first sight
42. K♥:
Accused/caught in infidelity
43. Q♥: Get married
44. J♥:
Surprise/unexpected marriage proposal
45. 10♥: Get asked on
a date
46. 9♥: Experience
gender identity crisis or something similar (i.e. Boy has to wear tights)
47. 8♥: Romantic
encounter
48. 7♥: Get a new
look/haircut and it looks better
49. 6♥: Get a new
look/haircut and it looks terrible
50. 5♥: Receive a
gift from someone special
51. 4♥: Get kissed
(the reaction is up to you)
52. 3♥: Cultural/Family
identity crisis (i.e. finding out about adoption, or disagrees with a newly
learned cultural norm)
53. 2♥: Experience heartbreak
