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Mslexia, the magazine for women who write | www.mslexia.co.uk

Writer's tip

Study your market. Read stories in your target publication and summarise them in a few sentences. Get a feel for its tone and readership (likes, dislikes, hobbies) by studying features and ads. Write for these readers, not for yourself.
Send an SAE for a copy of the publication's submission guidelines and stick to them. Keep up to date.
Aim to amaze. The success of a twist-ender rides on the surprise in the final paragraph. The skill comes in taking your reader along one path and revealing a different, parallel path, at the end that turns the story on its head.
Keep it pacy: there is little room for description (stories are usually about 1,000 words). Think action, and build tension. Dialogue should work hard and move the plot along.
Write believable, consistent characters that carry the story and get the reader hooked. Bear in mind that women's magazines often look for likeable characters that readers can relate to.

Veer off-genre. What sort of story does the magazine publish? A ghost story, a revenge tale and a romance are poles apart. Don't write a dark gothic tale when a bright, breezy modern one is required. Stick to the guidelines and don't be gratuitous, or sexually explicit, unless the publication demands it.
Con the reader. Avoid 'jack-in-the-box' finales- endings should be coherent with the tone of the story and characters' behaviour. While readers shouldn't see it coming, the ending should proceed logically from what has come before- at least in retrospect.
Be predictable. Avoid endings that are done to death: 'And then I woke up'; twins; lottery stories; characters who turn out to be cats, dogs or ghosts; murdering the spouse; cinderella stories.
Give away too much, too soon. The twist should come as close to the end as possible- the final paragraph, or the last line.