Here is some writing advice from Thom Merrilin, a storytelling character from A Memory of Light, book 14 of The Wheel of Time series by Robert Jordan and Brandon Sanderson.
If you use the words people expect, they grow bored. A great ballad needs to be unexpected.
Never be expected.
When people start to expect you—when they start to anticipate your flourishes, to look for the ball you had hidden through sleight of hand, or to smile before you reached the twist line of your tale—it is time to pack up your cloak, bow once for good measure, and stroll away.
After all, that was what they'd least expect you to do when all was going well.
Source: Writing Advice from The Wheel of Time Series: https://bookmarketingbestsellers.com/writing-advice-from-the-wheel-of-time-series
