Subverting Expectations

You ever see one of those race car lengths on a full track, with everybody is trying to get ahead of their other opponents? And there's more to it all than just slamming your foot on the gas pedal and going faster than everybody else. There's a strategy involved. A little gas here, a little brake there, how you take certain turns, etc. So...you've got somebody ahead of you, and you're trying to find your way around them so you can move up from fourth to third place. And then from third place to second. And then you find yourself fighting for umber one. Well if all of the cars are capable just as fast as you can, what do you do? You've to find a way to fake them out somehow.

The way that you do that is make the person ahead of you think that you're going to go left...and quickly dodge right. Or you make them think you've got a wide opening on the right, but you suddenly shift left. While one driver is compensating for all of the moves that he thinks you're going to make...you play the smart game and do the exact opposite. Basically...you subvert his expectations in order to try to score a win.

And that's the topic for today's article. (Obviously) Subverting expectations in your writing. A couple of do's and don'ts that we can all think about so we can pull this off as effectively as humanly possible. Because, much like that race...trying to take the lead can either lead to sweet maneuver and success...or it can lead to a serious misstep and a massive wreck.

Let's try to avoid that second one as often as possible. K?

So the actual idea of subverting expectations with your writing doesn't just mean a clever plot twist or a surprise character or revealed secret. Sure, those can be parts of it, but I'm approaching this as a way to throw your audience off with your story as a whole. Or at least in a few major scenes that leave your readers a bit uneasy when it comes to trying to predict what's coming next. Not an easy task, but far from being impossible. Especially if you use a few of the techniques that I talk about down below. I'm still learning when it comes to this particular practice, but I've picked up a few breadcrumbs of wisdom here and there over the years. Figured I'd share.

I can remember seeing "Jurassic Park" in the theater for the very first time, and by this time, I was pretty confident in my movie knowledge to figure out the whole 'formula' works. You've got your heroes, you've got your villains, you put them in an isolated, potentially deadly, situation, and then you eat popcorn as you wait for everybody to make it out of there alive.

Then came the T-Rex scene...

And "Jurassic Park" became one of the very FEW movies that actually made me doubt certain elements of everyday storytelling tropes that I had become so used to. I distinctly remember my thoughts going from, "Oooh, this is gonna be good!" to "How the hell are they going to get out of this?" to "Psh! C'mon now! I'm not buying it! Stephen Spielberg isn't going to kill a couple of kids in a PG-13 Summer movie! That's crazy!" To "Wait...he's not really going to KILL a couple of kids in this movie, is he?" Hahaha! Now I'm riveted, because that doesn't seem like it would be possible for a movie to do that...but it also doesn't seem like there's any other way to keep the story moving.

Back to the racing analogy...is he going right, or is he going left? Either way, he might just slip something past me. And I'm loving every last minute of it!

 

Now, of course, this movie did end up sticking to the formula...but the events depicted were getting so bad, and kept getting worse by the second, that for a moment there I actually BELIEVED that they were going to break away from everything that I could have ever expected and start wiping out main characters left and right, kids be damned. Hehehe, can you imagine?

To subvert your audience's expectations is to suddenly yank the rug from underneath the and put them in a state of discomfort where they're lost and become more engaged in the moment and less engaged in how it's all going to end. It's an art to figure out a set up and present it to your readers, only to change gears and send them into a literary freefall where they don't know up from down. At least for a little while. Don't worry...they'll be looking for something else to grab on to as quickly as possible...but imagine how fun it'll be to just have them just drop aimlessly for a little bit. I love being able to do that every now and then when I can figure out how.

It's just this confusing state of, "What NOW???"

For example...when Alfred Hitchock's "Psycho" first hit theaters, Janet Leigh was being billed as the big starlet of the movie. Beautiful, a singer, a dancer, an actress...they put her on the movie poster and a lot of people were going out for a night at the movies just to see her, specifically. And very VERY early on in the movie...well...we all know how that turned out...

 

This was seen an INCREDIBLY bold movie by Hitchcock, killing off the perceived main character of the entire movie so early on in the script. It was absolutely shocking to the audience, and once she was gone, many moviegoers had no idea where their feet were going to land concerning how the rest of the story was going to go. Expectations subverted. Right?

And there have been a lot of movies that have used this tactic to truly throw their audience a curve ball when they least expected one. (No spoilers) Movies like "The Sixth Sense", "The Usual Suspects", "Hereditary", "Fight Club", "The Green Mile", "Se7en"...and even the original "Scream" by Wes Craven, where Drew Barrymore was displayed proudly on posters and all of the promotional material, only to end up paying homage to the original "Psycho" in the movie's opening scene.

The idea is to have a very solid red herring from the very beginning, and to stick to it. A faked sense of importance that will be strong enough to be perceived as 'plot armor' for that character or situation. You have to have your author's poker face in place, not showing your hand until it's too late for the readers to start figuring things out for themselves. This is how you get around the savvy nature of your audience. Find a certain consistency that is leading them in a somewhat 'predictable' direction...and then holler, "NOPE!!!" And switch things up on them. And be sure to do it fast! Blindside them with it and keep the story moving as if that's what you meant to do all along. Because...well...that's what you meant to do all along.

A few things that make for a great red herring in my opinion...

1 - Don't spend too much time on foreshadowing. I'm not saying that you shouldn't do any foreshadowing...but if you do add it earlier on in your story, I find that it's best to treat it as an afterthought, personally. A few lines of dialogue here and there, a couple of actions that may seem a bit out of character, stuff like that. Say...you have your main character getting into his car to drive in the mountains, and suddenly the brakes don't work. The car flings itself off of a cliff, and your protagonist jumps free just in time to survive the impending crash. Maybe you can add a friendly conversation between him and his best friend earlier on in the story, and he just happens to be sharing a laugh with him...while he's wiping his hands off on a rag and has obviously been working under the car. Focus on their civil dialogue to the point where nobody finds it weird that he was working on the car at all. Unexpected, maybe even unwarranted, betrayal makes for a good red herring.

2 - Build up a secondary character as though they were meant to be the main focus of the story. This can be very effective when trying to subvert expectations. I've seen in this in movies, books, video games as well...but I won't name any as they give away the best part of the story. But imagine how shocking it would be for your readers to have them learn all about one character, their backstory, their motivations...and then have something terrible happen to them where their major involvement is completely taken off of the table, and now it's time for that secondary character to step up and take the role of protagonist. This is one of those techniques that takes a little finesse to pull off, but done right...it makes for a really cool shift in the story's original theme and tone. Maybe that first character was righteous and noble and pure of heart...and it gets them severely hurt, or even killed. And your secondary character was a total loose cannon, and now he has to find a way to change and adapt and mellow out in order to get the job done in his partner's place. Whatever the plot may be, give it a try some time. See how you.

I've done this with a few of my own stories in the past, and I'd love to do it again now that I have a bit more experience with the idea. In those earlier stories I focused on one character, or one love interest, and then came the reveal that they weren't meant to be the focus of the story at all. And since it's really obvious, I can tell you that one of those stories (Completed) was a miniseries called "Between The Lines". And it begins with a college boy making love to his very first boyfriend, and early on it becomes clear that they're having a few problems connecting in a relationship that seemed to be more of a chore than a mutual bonding. From most of the other stories that I had written up to that point, it seemed like the focus would be on these two finding a way enhance and express their love and run off to live happily ever after. But the protagonist's boyfriend gets pushed into the background as a new potential love interest shows up in one of his elective classes. Someone with common interests, and a sense of humor, and a sense of caring and kindness that shows him how effortless love and romance could be, if given the chance to blossom and is shared with a more compatible partner. I invite you guys to check it out some time when you get a chance. Just remember that I wrote this one many years ago, so...hehehe, so don't judge me TOO harshly.

3 - The corruption route. If you want to surprise readers and subvert expectations...corruption is also an option that you have at your fingertips. Literally. The idea that they can truly get an idea for your protagonist, follow them on their journey, through good times and bad...only to have them slowly steer their lives out of control and change into someone completely different along the way...it can be devastating. Someone that they were once cheering for has now become the very thing that he hates. I can tell you, I had absolutely NO idea how many people were reading my very first gay teen romance story until one of them fell into temptation and ended up breaking up with the main love interest. Suddenly I was being yelled at by people I had never even heard from before! LOL! What the...? Who are you again? Another big example from my own experience was one of the books of "Billy Chase", when he completely went off the rails and went through a phase of simply not giving a shit anymore. It got to the point where the whole Comicality Library was full of reader 'wars' taking one side or another. Anger and sadness and threats to rage quit if the story kept going in that direction...it's a powerful tool in your tool belt. Believe me. (More on the real reason why I did that in a future article, "Venting Machine"...but that's for another weekend discussion!) The thing about corruption, temptation, severe loss and depression...a lot of people can relate to it. But it can be frightening to see it on display in a story, because we all have a need to feel that we'd be better than that. All that aside, we kind of want to know what happens if Luke Skywalker were to turn to the darkside. Hehehe, all of "Star Wars" could have been a very different story today if he had. But the idea is intriguing, isn't it?

These are all methods of deflecting your readers' focus away from your real intentions, while still giving them a good story in the process. Subverting expectations can be awesome, exciting, surprising...

...But don't forget...there's always that possibility for a massive wreck, lying in wait right ahead of you. So you'd better be prepared for it.

And that brings us to our three tips on what not to do if you're going to try to pull this off. Ease up off the gas for a bit...and use your brain, not your speed.

1 - DON'T pull a bait and switch on your audience! I, personally, have a lot more patience with the written word than I do with movies...but for movies? I want to see something that comes 'as advertised'. If you billed this as a horror movie with ghosts and demons and boogeymen under the bed...don't give me a super slow gothic romance with hardly any horror elements at all except for what I saw in the trailer. If you're trying to sell me on a comedy, don't exchange it with a heart wrenching drama that just happens to have a few elements of comedy thrown in...jokes that you showed me in the trailer. Please don't do that. If you're writing a romance, but add some deeper philosophical elements to it? Then cool! GREAT! But at least the people get a taste of what they came for. You can only enhance the flavor by putting in a little bit extra.

I remember getting all hyped up for a new "Godzilla" movie some years back! Hehehe, and I came for two things! Bryan Cranston! And Godzilla kicking ass and destroying shit! Well...spoiler alert...both of those big draws put together adds up to about fifteen minutes of a two hour movie. Well...expectations subverted...just in a bad way. I'm not saying I hated it...just...ugh, if I had known, I wouldn't have left the theater so frustrated. So whatever it is that you're trying to do with your story...if you're promoting it as one thing...then give your readers that one thing! Please! Even if you change stuff around and decide to subvert expectations later on, at least have the initial draw to your story laced throughout the entire project in some cohesive way.

2 - If you're going to do an ensemble cast, or decide to switch the secondary character to the main protagonist...do what you can to make both characters equally as interesting. So when you pull off the big surprise, fans of your work won't feel slighted or cheated out of a great story, and are now being sold on the idea of accepting the 'second best'. I think it's cool for them to have different, and maybe even conflicting, ideologies on how to handle things...but, as writers, we always have to reember that the 'Back Button' is our worst enemy. If you kill off their favorite character and switch the focus to someone that they don't know or have no emotional investment in...they'll stop writing. Even if you have an AMAZING story planned that will end up being rewarding in the end...some readers don't get to the end. So even though you're building one person up as the main character, and decide to divvy up that focus further along in the story...make sure that you invest as much time and effort into all of the characters that you plan to have take the reigns when you pull the switch. K? This is something that I'm experimenting with a lot in my "Gone From Daylight", vampire themed, story, "GFD: Dead Language", where both parties have a strong and abrasive conflict with one one another, but may have to end up getting past their differences to work together and get the job done. What begins as a fight between two people who have sworn to never get along, no matter what...will eventually create a conflict within the readers as well. (Or so I'm hoping, hehehe!) And even if I were to switch one character out for another, I would hope that the other could continue on to the end of the story, and that that conflict and that loss be a part of their personal story arc. So that's something else to think about. Don't kill off your best asset, or somehow take them out of the picture, unless the character that will be taking their place is equally as interesting.

(That's not the plot or plans for "GFD: Dead Language", but if it had been...I'd like to think that I could pull that off after years worth of writing practice.)

3 - If you're going to subvert expectations, especially within the same story...don't attempt to do it without the proper build up. Now, I realize that I said you shouldn't do too much foreshadowing, and that you should blindside your audience with the big reveal when the whole story changes over to an entirely different theme and tone from what it was before...but that doesn't free you from the burden of a proper build up. When the change happens, no matter how shocking or crazy it may seem...during that reader freefall they should be able to have some idea as to who, what, where, when, and why. They don't need to know all of the answers all at once...but you can't just have things happen for no reason. Well...I take that back. You CAN...but it can sometimes come off as clunky and confusing. It creates a stumbling block in the minds of your audience, and the goal is to have your writing flow as smoothly as you can possibly manage it to be. Think of it like the difference between a popcorn kernel and a blossoming flower. If you planted a garden, and all of your roses or tulips or whatever just 'pop, pop, pop, popped' open instantaneously all at once...that would be freaky and weird. Hehehe! But if you see the blossom growing, day by day, and then it changes color, and then it slowly begins to spread...it's a little bit more comforting. I hope that makes sense.

This is where the idea of 'balance' is really important. You want to hide your intentions, and make them obvious at the same time. There's a scale that's difficult to navigate, depending on the story...but you guys can do this. It's not as hard as you may think. You just need to practice until you find yourself in a comfortable place with the idea.

So, all of that being said, I'd like to suggest a movie where almost all of these methods come into play all within a ninety minute space, and that I thoroughly enjoyed MUCH more than I ever could have guessed that I would. And that movie is...

..."Coyote Ugly"!

Hehehe, surprised? Well, whenever you get a chance, wherever you can find it...give this one a chance. I gave it a try years ago, still in 'college boy' mode...and I watched the trailer which was full of beautiful women and liquor and dancing on bar tops...why not, right? (I hope that doesn't sound sexist! I didn't mean for it to.) But I thought that was all I was in for. Some laughs, some dancing, some booty shaking, and that was it. But what I got from this movie was sooooo much more!

I don't want to say too much...but I was thinking of a small town girl who's moving to the big evil city for the first time, trying to blend in, and having to work as a sexy dancing bartender to make ends meet. Just like with "Jurassic Park", I was pretty confident that I knew the formula ahead of time. However...the movie is actually about a young songwriter that is following her passion and trying to pursue her passion and her career, but deals with a bad case of stage fright. The job at the bar helps her pay the rent, but ends up helping her get over that stage fright and find a way to let loose and truly understand what it is to live without restrictions like she did before. And the other ladies she works with become more than just her friends, they become her family. It's got music, it's got drama, it's romance...it gives you everything that it promised, and then it becomes bold enough to give you SO much more on top of it. HIGHLY underrated movie, in my opinion! And that's just what I'm talking about.

It subverts expectations (by going beyond them), it gives you everything as advertised without a bait and switch, it has a subtle yet effective build up throughout the whole movie, it sets up a few events without too much foreshadowing, it has conflicts that are clearly defined and all have a payoff, and the story that I thought was going to have this one female lead be the star of the show turn out to be a part of a family by having all of the other characters be strong and standouts in their own rights, while still letting you know where the spotlight i supposed to be. I LOVE this movie! So check it out!

 

Anyway, I hope this helps! These aren't things that any of you aspiring writers HAVE to do or even try if it's not your thing. But if you're ever looking to expand your talents or attempt to write something a little bit different, if for no other reason than you want to truly surprise your growing fanbase, or perhaps catch the attention of a brand new fanbase to add to the one you already have...this can be a valuable exercise when it comes to changing things up a little bit.

I've, quite literally, written hundreds of stories all my own at this point...and nobody is going to stick around to watch me write the same 'boy meets boy' story over and over again, one hundred times in a row. I'm constantly changing up the formula, the situations, the characters, the tone, the themes...and attempting to create something new. If you ever feel the need, I think you can too.

Take care! And I'll seezya soon!