Write the Unexpected

One of the many bonuses about having a puppy is enforced morning exercise. There's no way I'd get up at 6:30 a.m. to bound out my front door and clip out a fast-paced 2 mile walk if it weren't for a certain 15 pound boxer.

But that's what I do. Day in and day out. It's a great excuse to eat doughnuts guilt free.

My usual route is past an old cemetery, old as in some of the tombstones date back to the mid-1800's. Needless to say, the place is a little run-down. For the most part, though, it's pretty nondescript, but since I walk past it every day, I notice things. Like the fence. In a few places, the chain link is bowed. Not a big deal, except for one bulge. Near the corner. Where it swells out from the cemetery to the sidewalk side.

Like someone was trying to make a quick escape from the inside out.
Creep city.

What does this have to do with writing? Good question. The thing is that I never expected to see the fence looking like a corpse was trying to barrel through into the land of the living. It made me stop and wonder. . . and that's exactly what you want to do with your story, article, devotional, or whatever it is that you're writing. Do the unexpected and your writing will be memorable.