When a meal, a painting, a movie or an ad seems a little flat and boring, the likely culprit is insufficient divergence. Most creators, whether chefs, artists, cinematographers or ad writers, instinctively add what “feels right” throughout the creative process. And this is why average things are average.
“Feels right,” you see, is just another way of saying “predictable.”
The secret is to add what's widely divergent from anything that would be expected.
The success of The Sopranos was built upon the divergent identity of Tony Soprano, a mobster who must contend with his crazy family, his senile mother and the occasional PTA meeting. Since this is not the sort of behavior we expect from a mobster, it makes the show richer and far more exciting.
Am I contending that the secret of great creators is that they add what doesn't fit? No. If a thing truly doesn't fit, the result can only be confusion and disappointment. The secret of great creators is that they add a thing that shouldn't fit, but does*. And this is true not only of ad writers, painters, chefs and cinematographers, but it's the secret of great musicians as well.
Put it to the test. Listen to a major hit song and break it down to its constituent components in your mind. Listen separately to the rhythm, melody, countermelody and “interruptive bursts” (also called accents) and you'll hear things you never noticed before: things that don't belong, but somehow do. It's one of the distinctive marks of every hit.
So the next time you've created a thing that's good but falls a little short of “magic,” ask yourself, “What would be the very last thing that anyone would expect?” Then add it. If it can't be made to fit, then remove it and add something equally unexpected. When you've finally found “what shouldn't fit, but does,” chances are you'll have created a breakaway success that will take you straight to the top.
Hang on, Amigo. It's going to be a wild ride.
Roy H. Williams
*Graduates of the Magical Worlds curriculum at Wizard Academy will recognize today's memo as a gross oversimplification of the effects of a third gravitating body. I would also like to have explained compression, transition, convergence and dimensional realities, but as you know, that would have taken 2.5 hours and required extensive audio and visual aids. And maybe even a few bottles of good, red wine.