Surprise- Volta

Surprise in poetry is the use of unexpected shifts, imagery, or structural turns—often called a volta—to disrupt predictable patterns and engage the reader, preventing boring, linear narratives. It acts as a “gentle shock,” fostering discovery by breaking conventions through off-rhymes, strange ideas, or sudden thematic reversals.

Shakespeare uses Volta in his sonnets:

My mistress’ eyes are nothing like the sun;

Coral is far more red than her lips’ red;

If snow be white, why then her breasts are dun;

If hairs be wires, black wires grow on her head.

Strive for the unexpected in prose as well.

Shakespeare’s sonnet also flips the trope. Instead of describing his love with flowery words, he does the opposite. Yet it is still a love poem. Eventually we get to

And yet, by heaven, I think my love as rare

As any she belied with false compare.

Not only is it a love poem,it is better and more real because he is loves her for how she is. He loves her though she is not perfect and he is aware of them.

Surprise is more than just a turn of surprise. In prose, it is a twist that keeps the reader reading.

You want to write something the reader was not expecting.

Genres have tropes and readers expect them. Want them. Think of the reluctant hero. The damsel in distress used to be a trope. As society changed, many stories then had a damsel saves herself and the male character. It has become a trope. And again I am not bashing tropes. Readers want them.

But shouldn’t we also try to write something unique. Change up what the reader might expect.

In the TV Show, Serenity, a space western, Captain Malcolm Reynolds flips an action trope on its head, when he says to his first officer,

“Zoe, ship is yours. Remember, if anything happens to me, or you don’t hear from me within the hour… you take this ship and you come and you rescue me.”

People are expecting “If you don’t hear from me for an hour, you save yourself. Go on without me.” It surprises and it also fits the show. Zoe was a badass and Mal knows it.

In fact she quips.

“What? And risk my ship?”

On a more serious tone:

In the Movie What’s Eating Gilbert Grape, Gilbert is sacrificing his life and feels trapped so that he can care for his brother Arnie who has an intellectual disability. His character has him put Arnie first to protect him. But at a certain point, he hits Arnie. He even says afterwards that the one thing you never do is hurt Arnie. But the writer has to have him do something he would never do. So, we can see how far he is pushed. It creates tension and takes the audience on a ride.

It does not negate Gilbert’s dedication. It deepens it. He is trying so hard that eventually he loses control.

It becomes the turning point.

It raises the stakes. It is a complication that makes it harder for the main character to attain his goal. It makes him more human and thus more relatable.

Donald Maas in his book, How to Write a Breakout Novel, has an exercise where you insert at least three times in your manuscript a scene where your main character

-Does something she would never do

-Say something she would never say

-Thinks something she would never think

The result most likely will actually deepen their character. This will surprise your reader, and your creativity will come up with why it makes sense that the character does this incongruous thing.

Not only will your readers more likely remember your characters by being more than one way, it will spur on your creativity and add layers to your story.