Charm is a product of the unexpected. — José Martí
Often it’s an oddity that catches our eye or forces us to rethink all that we thought we knew about someone, someplace, or something. If, for example, you came to pick up your car and heard your gruff, heavily tattooed mechanic singing your grandfather’s favorite Italian aria while he works, it would probably catch you somewhere between nostalgia and stereotypes.
Prompt: During a long, boring road trip, four friends stop for lunch at a roadside gas station/restaurant in the middle of nowhere. Pushing open the door, they are surprised to find that the entire restaurant is decorated in… what? How do they react, individually and as a group? Do they play it cool or explode in emotion? Is there an outlier among the group? If so, why? If not, why not?
Look at your manuscript, is there an opportunity to have something unexpected happen to your character? If you twist an expectation, would it produce a positive or negative experience?
Choose a scene where your character meets someone for the first time. What is unexpected about that person or the characters’ interaction?