The Beauty Nobody Expected Prompt
Key techniques to develop in this session
1. Embracing the imperfect and unplanned in drafting, allowing the story to reveal its own shape and beauty instead of forcing a predetermined ideal.
2. Letting narrative voice emerge from authentic sensibility, resisting the urge to imitate an imagined literary lineage.
3. Discovering beauty through specificity, finding vivid, particular details that feel true to the story’s world even if they do not match preconceived notions of beautiful writing.
Writing prompt (500 words)
Write a short scene set in a moment of interruption. A planned event, conversation, or ritual is derailed by something unexpected. Your protagonist begins the scene anticipating it will go a certain way, with a certain tone, but the disruption forces a shift in what they notice, feel, and value. The disruption can be mundane or startling, but it must push the protagonist toward an unplanned moment of beauty, whether tender, strange, absurd, or bittersweet. Allow the beauty to arrive indirectly, almost as a byproduct of the interruption, and resist making it neatly poetic. The scene should unfold in real time with close attention to sensory detail, the cadence of thought, and the protagonist’s unfiltered reactions. Spend 90 minutes drafting the scene and 30 minutes refining it for clarity and resonance.
Evaluation criteria
– The disruption shifts the emotional trajectory of the scene in a way that feels earned, not manufactured.
– The voice reflects the writer’s natural rhythms and perspective rather than a forced imitation.
– The beauty arises organically from specific, concrete details rather than abstract description.
– The pacing allows the reader to feel the moment’s shift rather than being told it occurred.
Follow-up questions for workshopping and revision
– Where in the scene does the first crack appear in the character’s expectations, and can it be heightened earlier without losing subtlety
– Does the beauty feel discovered or imposed, and would removing a line or image make it more surprising
– Are the sensory details serving the character’s perspective, or are they decorative
– What happens to the rhythm of the sentences when the disruption occurs, and does it mirror the emotional change
Recommended reading
Excerpt from Sonny’s Blues by James Baldwin, especially the scene in the nightclub where the narrator finally begins to understand his brother
Strong response example
The protagonist rehearses a formal speech for a retirement party, but a power outage forces them to light candles and improvise in the dark. The flickering light throws shadows on faces, loosening guarded expressions. Someone hums a tune and laughter breaks through. The beauty is not in the speech but in the momentary intimacy the darkness allows.
Weak response example
The protagonist gives the planned speech without disruption, and beauty is described through generic adjectives such as wonderful or majestic. The moment feels designed to impress rather than to reveal something the writer did not expect.
AI Disclosure Statement:
This writing prompt was created in collaboration with ChatGPT, an AI model by OpenAI, to support creative practice. ChatGPT assisted with idea generation and drafting; the final text was edited by the author. The illustration was created using Google Gemini.
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