Stories that are too predictable are boring unless they are written for a little kid. Children find the repetition, the expected end result, comforting in a way that teens and adults might find downright unsatisfactory.

When you’re crafting a story, watch your endings. It’s okay if the good woman wins, but along the way there should be unexpected twists that throw the reader off.

For example, you know the woman will fall in love with the account executive, but put some angst in the story. Maybe they disagree over something huge, like how to behave at a party or how to dress for a day at the beach. The woman overdresses while the man underdresses.

That’s probably not big enough to cause angst. What if a former girlfriend shows up? Imagine the problems that would create. The man looks at her with a sparkle in his eye. Maybe he touches her in a way that implies their former romance. The current girlfriend sees it, becomes enraged and stomps away.

Maybe the woman loves the man, but he has no intentions of leaving his home while she’s been offered a job in New York City. The job is almost too big to pass up as it’s the job she’s always wanted. Maybe the city where the man lives is so tiny that the woman can’t find a comparable job within commuting distance.

How do they reconcile the differences?

Readers will want to know, and so will read on.

Your task is to pull up an old story of yours. Reread it looking for the surprise twist. If there is none, what can you add to ratchet up the tension?

If there is, how long did you string the tension along before resolving the issue? Make sure that there is sufficient angst to make readers edgy.

Have fun with this one!