Plot Twist: Life, Craft, and the Messy First Draft

 

 Plot Twist

by Harlan Coben
Hachette Book Group
Sept 2026
 

It's no secret that I am a huge fan of Harlan Coben's books. I think I've read every single one of them so far, though not in any particular order. 
I want to meet Myron, not under any dire circumstance that he can get me out of but just as a friend of a friend. I want to observe Win from afar, just a fly on the wall... 

One of these days, I hope to post about his books that I enjoyed.


But today, I wanted to write down what resonated with me in his most recent book, Plot Twist, a memoir of sorts peppered with his thoughts on writing and crafting stories. 

In his inimitable style that feels like he is sitting across from you, talking to you, regaling you with incidents from his life that seem normal in some sense but soon get elevated to captivating anecdotes thanks to his storytelling skills, the book is another can't put me down. Some of the advice on writing are irreverent and yet brilliant. For instance, it is true that one must know the rules, but one must also know when and how to break those rules when telling a compelling story. Does the protagonist need to start with a flaw and through the 3-act story arc somehow learn a lesson and grow as a result? Not always. Coben makes a good case for how real people rarely change that much. They have core values, they have hopes and dreams, and they have boundaries they won't want to cross. Flaws they had before an excruciating experience probably would still remain afterwards. But, the experience a character goes through does change how they behave, not necessarily so as to 'fix' their flaws, but a more believable kind of change where they are marked in some specific way. A character who ends the book with the same heart but moves through the world in a different way will stay with a reader even without a stark moral transformation.

As to writing advice, Coben freely shares what has worked well for him so far. A handy backpack packed with laptop, legal pad, pens etc. so he cannot make excuses for not writing when inspiration hits, an Ideas File to squirrel away news items and notes from people-watching, and a wild routine of finding odd places to write including at the back of a ride-share cab. Along with SFDs as noted by Anne Lamot, Coben urges us to just sit down and write. Don't procrastinate. Don't expect to craft perfect sentences. Just put down words on paper, no matter how messy they are the first time. He also shares many quotes and philosophies of other famous writers, along with his take on their thoughts. For instance:

Raymond Bradbury said, "Live as if you'd drop dead in ten seconds." No, Ray, sorry, let me be. I don't need that kind of negativity and pressure and neither do you.

The anecdotes about his friends and acquaintances is a compendium of who's-who in pop culture. For instance, sixth to ninth grade Coben attended school productions featuring this kid Jay Greenspan, who was always the star of the show. Greenspan graduated from Livingston High and guess what? Everyone knows him now as George Costanza in Seinfeld show. Just about every writer we know and love seems to have gone to Amherst College. Years after Amherst College, when Coben had moderate success, an editor reached out to ask if Coben would read and blurb his frat brother's upcoming book. The author of that book was Dan Brown and the book was Da Vinci Code.

One of the best advice:

They say that writing is 1 percent inspiration and 99 percent perspiration. That's also nonsense If that 1 percent is no good then you're wasting time with the 99 percent. Work hard and smart. Don't sweat out a bad idea. Step back sometimes. Toss it away. Find a better one. Be creative. Be humble. Be flexible.

The last couple of chapters about his personal loss ought to break anybody's heart. The care with which it is shared and the depth of love that shines through is gut-wrenching.

We all want our hearts to soar or break as we close the book. I want that here.

Sure enough, you got it Mr. Coben. When I closed the book after the last page, I was holding back tears without even realizing it.