How can I make an in-universe random event feel like it was really random instead of just RNJesus' will?

Question

Some stories feature random events that bring about drastic change either to the characters or to the setting.A lottery draw, some gotcha that grants a special skill.Most of the times I find one of these in a story, they seem fake. Instead of feeling random, it feels tailored for the story: The random ability was just right to solve problem X, etc.I am not talking about stories where the outcome of the event is the driving force of the plot as in a story about a lottery winner's life after they won the prize.**How can I weave a random event into the story and make the reader feel like it was really random, instead of just some convenient manipulation for the sake of plot?**-----------------------RNJesus (or RNGod) are terms coined from the computation acronym RNG (Random Number Generator) is when randomness feels fake and convenient. More on that: https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/RNGesus

Answer 1

Hello, I will use for an example what happened in the John Travolta movie, Phenomenom, as one of the random events you are speaking about that grant a special skill. See Wikipedia if not familiar wtih the movie.

I personnally feel what works better is when you have what initally seem to be random facts or background information or events happen to a specific character and then as things progress the readers discover that another character was actually present when that happened, which makes it more like a foreshadowing of things that were to come and less a plot invention. It can also be a way to show the person has had more impact than he/she realized. Just a suggestion! Happy writing.