“I love it when characters surprise you, just like real people. When I write a scene I just try to make the characters behave in a way that feels natural to them. Sometimes that means they make a left turn and do something unexpected. Those are always the best scenes in my opinion.” PeopleWayFeelsWritingTryingMeanRealSometimesCharacterTurnsLeftNaturalOpinionSceneSurpriseBehaveUnexpectedSomething Unexpected Author:Brad Falchuk
“In war the chief incalculable is the human will, which manifests itself in resistance, which in turn lies in the province of tactics. Strategy has not to overcome resistance, except from nature. Its purpose is to diminish the possibility of resistance, and it seeks to fulfil this purpose by exploiting the elements of movement and surprise.” HumansWarLyingPurposeTurnsMilitaryMovementPossibilityElementsOvercomingStrategySurpriseResistanceChiefsDiminishTacticsProvincesHuman Will Author:B. H. Liddell Hart
“Nonsense prevails, modesty fails Grace and virtue turn into stupidity While the calendar fades almost all barricades to a pale compromise And our leaders have feasts on the backsides of beasts They still think they're the gods of antiquity If something you missed didn't even exist It was just an ideal is it such a surprise?” IfsThinkingStillsTurnsLeaderVirtueGraceFailingIdealsSurpriseStupidityCompromiseBeastNonsenseFadesModestyPaleAntiquityCalendarsBarricadesBacksides Author:Elvis Costello
“Commonplace people have an answer for everything and nothing ever surprises them. They try to look as though they knew what you were about to say better than you did yourself, and when it is their turn to speak, they repeat with great assurance something that they have heard other people say, as though it were their own invention.” PeopleTryingLooksTurnsSpeakAnswersHeardSurpriseInventionRepeatsAssuranceCommonplaceBetter Than You Author:Eugene Delacroix
“Cumulative errors depend largely on the big surprises, the big opportunities. Not only do economic, financial, and political predictors miss them, but they are quite ashamed to say anything outlandish to their clients and yet events, it turns out, are almost always outlandish.” BigsPoliticalTurnsOpportunityEconomicMissingEventsDependsErrorsSurpriseFinancialAshamedClientsSay AnythingCumulativeOutlandishBig Surprises Book:The Black Swan: Second Edition: The Impact of the Highly Improbable Fragility Source: The Black Swan: Second Edition: The Impact of the Highly Improbable Fragility
“I DECLARE that God has a great plan for my life. He is directing my steps. And even though I may not always understand how, I know my situation is not a surprise to God. He will work out every detail to my advantage. In His perfect timing, everything will turn out right. This is my declaration.” KnowsMayTurnsPerfectSituationStepsPlansAdvantageSurpriseDetailsWork OutTimingDeclarationPerfect Timing Author:Joel Osteen
“But the English do not know what surprise is. No one ever turns his head to look at anyone else in the street.” KnowsLooksTurnsStreetsEnglandSurprise Book:The Little Virtues Source: The Little Virtues
“The only place where you can really surprise or shock the reader, or make someone laugh, is on the lower righthand corner - the very last panel - so as you turn the page, the payoff is in the upper lefthand panel. To pace every story so that there's a setup and a payoff at the page turn was a huge challenge; it's a part of the medium and you really have to learn what can be done in the medium.” DoneStoriesLastsTurnsChallengesLaughingHugeReaderPagesSurpriseCornersMediumsShockPacePayoffSetupsMake Someone Laugh Author:Chuck Palahniuk
“Heather A. Slomski's stories are downright addictive. I kept promising myself to turn off the light after just one more, and then breaking that promise, beguiled by her cool, measured prose and by the surprises, tensions, and uncanny encounters simmering beneath its elegant surface.” StoriesLightTurnsPromiseSurpriseSurfaceTensionEncountersJust OneProseElegantTurn OffUncannyHeathers Author:Sarah Shun-lien Bynum
“Limited points of view let the writer dispense - and the reader gather - information from various corners of the story. It all becomes a kind of dance, with the writer guiding the reader through the various twists and turns. The challenge is keeping readers in step, while still managing to surprise.” KindStillsStoriesTurnsChallengesViewsStepsInformationReaderSurpriseVariousCornersPoint Of ViewTwistsTwists And Turns Author:Jonathan Evison