They need encouragement, and you know what to say because you once needed to hear those words yourself. They need patience, and you remember what it felt like when nobody was patient with you. They need someone to believe in them, and suddenly you realize you have become the person you once prayed would show up for you.

The strongest twists grow out of character. They emerge from somebody’s desires, fears, secrets, loyalties, wounds, beliefs, or decisions. Once the truth is revealed, readers should be able to mentally travel backward through the story and recognize that the clues were there all along. That is why today’s quote matters so much: “The best twists are the ones that feel inevitable in hindsight.”

You may be happy for them and hurting for yourself at the same time. That does not automatically make you a bad person. It makes you human. But what you do with that feeling matters, because comparison can quickly turn somebody else’s harvest into evidence against your own future.