Re: Flash Fog TVTropes entry. · 10:52pm Mar 28th, 2014
Okay, I'm posting this here on the assumption that anyone who bothers to edit the TVTropes entry for Flash Fog has probably also put the story in their favorites list. It's in regards to the recent addition of the "Obvious Plot Twist" entry. Besides the fact that that isn't the name of a trope (I think the troper in question may have been thinking of "Captain Obvious Reveal"), I think it's a bit presumptuous to assume that the situation described therein is meant to be thought of as a plot twist by my readers.
Predictable plot development does not make for a bad story; I don't know anyone who started reading Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows with any expectation that Voldemort would emerge victorious. It's obvious that he's going to lose, and more to the point, you can tell that his loss will be a result of his own character flaws. It's the question of how Moldybutt is going to lose (and how many good guys he'll take out before going down) that makes the novel interesting, not any suspense about whether good will triumph over evil.
Seems to me it's also a bit presumptuous to put in a "trope" over an event that hasn't even happened yet. Tropes are all about what has happened already, not what might happen later.
I can't see how that would be a twist. It'd be more of a twist if they didn't end up in the fog at this point.
Yeahhhhh. That's not really a legitimate entry on the trope page. I'd bring it up in the discussion or edit it out myself, but due to stupidity on my part I'm no longer allowed to edit the wiki.
1962489
Well, except for the ones that are about what might happen later.
....really? I'm ashamed of TVtropes now.
'Sides, it still might go somewhere different. I mean, yes, that would be the most obvious direction, but what would be a real plot twist would be, for example, if there actually DO turn out to be humans in the fog or something.
1962635
You don't have to to be ashamed of the whole site, just the one jerk who put that entry in.
I have the same attitude about pony episodes, actually. The conclusion is generally foregone. The journey there is the interesting part.
1962543
Isn't that one of the purposes of a Wild Mass Guessing page? You know, aside from being a nursery for Epileptic Trees.
Hmm, I'm not sure there is a trope for "plot development we all saw coming". I'll see if I can find an appropriate trope and fix the page.
1962660 - Oh, that person isn't a jerk. He or she put a lot of good stuff on there, according to the page's history.
I wish more people realized this.
Yes, Voldermort losing wasn't a plot twist. Harry Potter dying was. Nobody saw that coming, and while it don't change the obvious plot development of Voldermort loosing, it id change the why and how of it significantly.
1963083 One of the hallmarks of amature writing is to use "plot twists" for the sake of twists, with no clues or build up, or even contradictory information showing up earlier in the story. Usually because the twist wasn't planned out from the beginning.
1962971
My mistake then. I apologize.
1963211
The problem comes when people then praise these arbitrary twists for being original, or for adding (often unnecessary) drama. Which then only encourages people to do it more.
1963211
Actually, I knew quite a few people who saw Harry's death coming, it was the fact he was a Horcrux that took everyone by surprise.
1963492 Such praise usually comes from other amature writers reinforcing each other (thank you Internet). This is why you need to plot things out in advance, so if you are going to do a twist you can set it up in advance. Like with my most recent story.