Red hot writing tip alert!!
How do we feel when a story goes EXACTLY as we EXPECT it to?
How do we feel when a character behaves EXACTLY as we EXPECT them to?
Exactly. We feel BORED.
AND AS WRITERS BEING BORING IS SOMETHING WE WANT TO AVOID AT ALL COSTS.
Now how do you feel when something UNEXPECTED happens in a story?
I’m betting you feel shocked or entertained. Probably interested and intrigued. That’s because when things are UNEXPECTED, it makes us readers ask questions and want to read on to find out the answers.
But how do we create the unexpected? Good question if I don’t say so myself!
I like to play a game I call ‘Flip it Friday’. And I play it on Monday or Tuesday or any day of the week I feel like because I’m wild like that!!
Firstly, In order to create the UNEXPECTED, the most important thing you need to know is ‘What do your readers EXPECT?’
Because we all have expectations when it comes to stories. And characters. And even setting too.
For example:
What do we expect a villain to be?
Correct. Bad. Despicable. Nasty.
What do we expect our heroes to be?
That’s right. We expect them to be heroic and brave.
What do we expect a mother to be?
Caring, kind, loving.
OK…so when you play Flip it Friday – Instead of giving your reader what they expect, you’re going to give them the exact opposite.
Grab a piece of paper. Draw a line down the middle. On one side, write down what your audience expects of that type of character or setting. In the other column, FLIP THEIR EXPECTATIONS ON THEIR HEAD. As in, write the exact opposite.
Okay, I’ll do one so you get the idea.
Say your character is a butterfly.
People expect butterflies to be:
beautiful
fragile
graceful
But your butterfly isn’t graceful. She prefers to walk rather than fly. And she has a goofy walk and is a little on the clumsy side too.
And she’s not fragile at all. She’s super strong. In fact she’s a champion weightlifter!
And instead of being beautiful, she’s horribly ugly.
You getting the idea?
Now you have a crack. Send me some unexpected characters or stories or settings. Just put them in the comments section. Can’t wait to read something unexpected….
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