Creativity Prompt: Turning the Ordinary into the Unexpected

A Creativity Exercise Inspired by Have You Seen Him by Kimberly Lee

Greetings, creatives!

Last week, I explored Kimberly Lee’s suspense novel Have You Seen Him—first in my review and then in my interview with the author. If you haven't had a chance to check out those posts, you can visit them any time and get caught up!

One of the things that stood out to me most was how Lee took something ordinary—junk mail—and transformed it into the unexpected: a story-launching discovery that changes everything. The main character sees his own face on a missing child ad, and it causes him to question everything he knows.

That creative leap is exactly what we’re focusing on today. In this post, I’ll guide you through a step-by-step writing exercise designed to help you find inspiration in everyday details and transform them into story, poem, or art.

Ready? Let's get creative!

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Step 1: Collect your ordinary

Start by noticing what’s around you.

For this exercise, choose one object or detail that feels utterly ordinary. It could be:

• A flyer in your mailbox

• An overheard snippet of conversation

• receipt in your pocket

• A random item on your desk

Tip: Don’t overthink it. The more mundane, the more common and everyday, the better. This is because the magic comes in the transformation.

Step 2: Ask “what if?”

In Have You Seen Him, the “what if” moment was: What if you spotted your own face in a missing child ad?

Take your chosen detail and ask yourself:

• What if this ordinary thing isn’t what it seems?

• What if it contains a secret, a clue, or a hidden meaning?

• What if it leads to danger, opportunity, or a revelation?

Try writing three different “what if” scenarios for your detail before choosing one to expand.

Step 3: Shift the perspective

Changing perspective helps the ordinary become layered, alive, and unexpected.

So for this step, let's play with perspective:

• How would a child view this object?

• How would a stranger see it?

• How would you see it if you were scared, hopeful, or angry?

For each of the above questions, think about this perspective for a few minutes. Really sink into it and use your senses to capture as much of the new perspective as possible! Jot or sketch your ideas.

Step 4: Write the unfolding

Now choose one perspective and one "what if" moment to develop.

Set a timer for 15–20 minutes. Using your detail + “what if” + chosen perspective, begin to write:

• If you’re a fiction writer, let the object trigger a scene.

• If you’re a poet, let it spark a metaphor or an image.

• If you’re a visual artist, sketch the object reimagined in its new role.

Tip: Don’t censor yourself! Let the ordinary lead you somewhere new.

Bonus tip: Don’t forget to the emotion. Creativity becomes powerful when it ties to human experience.

Ask yourself: what emotions rise from this unexpected twist? How could a character (or even you as the writer) respond to that feeling?

Step 5: Reflect on the transformation

Afterward, look at what you created. Ask yourself:

• How did the ordinary become extraordinary?

• What surprised you in the process?

• How might this spark influence your larger projects?

This reflective step helps train your creative eye to see possibility everywhere.

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Final takeaways: Unexpected creativity

Kimberly Lee’s Have You Seen Him reminds us that creativity often begins with the unexpected. A piece of junk mail becomes the key to identity. An ad becomes the doorway to suspense.

Prefer your prompts in a printable format? Check out the downloadable version here!

So here’s my invitation to you: the next time you stumble across something ordinary, pause and ask yourself, what if? You never know what story, poem, or artwork might emerge.

If you try this exercise, I’d love to hear about it!

Share in the comments, post to me on Facebook, or send me a message. I’m always inspired by how other creatives find sparks in their everyday lives!

Happy creating!