This should be the only trend that people go for. It is proving worthwhile for industries, authors, and other media for success. The MCU, T.V. series are imploding, and even the latest Joker movie is cashing in on this.
So what is it about risk? The definition of risk is a situation involving exposure to danger. So why would you be exposed to danger? The answer is not to danger but to not holding anything back when writing. Do not hold back on what your characters can do. What your story can become. No matter what you write, not everybody is going to like it. Not everybody will understand it. Just write something that you will love. Something that you might read. But do not hold back.
Audiences know when you are holding back and thus will stop reading your piece or stop watching a series, movie. Of course, you got to take into consideration that the story must have sense. Be connected. Let’s say you have a character with superpowers and don’t show all its powers capability. You are holding back. But if you show all those characters power, you’ll destroy the Earth? Well, that will be good because you could explore all the natures as a pro or a con in your story. Maybe that will be a twist. Perhaps that will be the climax when a good superhero could not control his rage and could eventually explode the Earth he or she was defending.
Do you want examples? How about Game of Thrones? You had a series where nobody knew who will be in the Iron Thrown till the end, although that is not the most critical part. Characters that you were invested in died. You felt like something was taken from you, and now you had to choose between letting the book and or T.V. series go or spend your time on another character.
Dark Matter from Blake Crouch took some doppelganger twist on the Main Character’s marriage. I do not want to spoil anything because the book is excellent. But maybe he could have gone a safe route and not touch the children and wife. But he would have held back.
What can you do to take risks? Ask yourself, what is more important, a character, or your story? If it is the story, you can kill off a character (depending on the genre) or cut a limb or destroy his hideout. Mess the character psychologically. Throw him challenging obstacles that eventually will oblige this character to change and or become more powerful to defeat the antagonist. Find the courage to ask the love interest out. But take a risk when you are writing.