Minor 2-5-1 lick with #4 intervals

The #4 interval is tense, but it is my favorite to use.  It sparks interest in your phrase because it is a wider interval than the major or minor third interval you play when outlining arpeggios, or the half or whole step you get when playing scales.  To unlock this sound, you need to study each scale and see where there is an intrinsic #4 interval.  In dominant, this is between the major 3 and b7.  In dorian, it's between the b3 and major 6.  These intervals make up several other scales, such as harmonic minor, and you could play it in major if you go for a lydian sound.  Here are some examples over  minor 2-5-1s which emphasize this interval.

In this example, you get two #4 intervals, one from the 5 to the b9, the other from the b7 to the 3.  Note that this is just a 7b9 arpeggio that has been broken up, called "octave displacement."  It is quite common, especially in gypsy jazz, to play diminished arpeggio runs, which are built on stacked minor 3rds.  An alternative approach to cover the same distance is to break up the diminished chord arpeggio, which do have intrinsic #4 intervals but sound out only m3 intervals, into two #4 intervals as seem here.  This gives a less predictable, more angular sound.

Now going in the opposite direction...

Now we'll mix up the direction.  Note that this very clearly outlines and voice leads the basic guide tone movement of Em7b5 to A7.  There's also a #4 interval in the Dm7, implying dorian.