This isn’t rocket surgery.
Your readers have brains. And the human brain is inscrutable in many ways, but in one thing it’s gloriously predictable: everybody loves a good story.
A story is its own reward. You catch a piece of it, follow the invisible lines of the narrative, make your own predictions about what’ll happen next, feel the tingle of “I knew it!” or the jolt of “never saw that coming”… it’s like your brain’s running loose on a scavenger hunt. And it loves you for it, like a dog loves you for taking it to the park.
Reward, as far as your brain is concerned, involves releasing chemicals that make you feel happy, excited and keen to do it all over again. This is why people get addicted to things that are not typically thought of as addictive: shopping, sex, books, jogging, the Internet.
We call those “psychological addictions”, but they aren’t all in the addict’s mind. They’re all in the brain, part of the nervous system and undeniably physical.
So, your audience has brains and brains can create addictions. Would you like your readers to keep coming back for more of your blog posts? Here’s how to get them hooked on your writing.
Edit Your Reader’s Brain
Reading a story doesn’t merely light up your brain with the electrical activity that accompanies thought.
It changes the connections in your brain, increasing the connectivity of your somatosensory cortex — the part of your brain that handles physical sensation.
When you read a good story, you literally feel it. Neurons in your brain and nervous system fire as if you were taking part in the story. You get excited or sad or angry along with the protagonist because your brain feels echoes of every sensation the character experiences.
So? Give your reader sensations to experience. Which of these two examples would get you more interested in reading further?
I walked home from the party.
or
I limped home barefoot from the party, singing to myself while the rain soothed my blisters.
I prefer the second option. It has more sensory content: limping, being barefoot, singing, rain falling, having blisters, being soothed. And it has more implied narrative: why am I barefoot and blistered? Did I dance all night, or get mugged for my shoes?
You Had Me at “Why”
Brains love patterns. Your brain has evolved to spot patterns and react to them in the way it’s learned works best. It also likes to fill in the backstory and guess at the future. If you see “2, 3, 4, 5, 6” your brain’s already filled in a 1 for the past and a 7 for the next step. It’s automatic.
So? Give your reader’s brain a “why” to fill in, and a little room to make their own predictions about where your post’s going.
Then walk them through it and break with their expectations every once in a while. The reward of “I knew it!” is gratifying, but if your reader can predict everything about your post then they might as well stop reading. Keep them guessing to keep them interested.
Of course, first you have to get them to start reading. But that’s another story for another day…
Win a Copy of “Wired for Story”
Today’s prize is a copy of Wired for Story: The Writer’s Guide to Using Brain Science to Hook Readers from the Very First Sentence by Lisa Cron [aff link]. Not just any copy. My copy.
I love this book so much, I want to pass it on to a Be a Freelance Blogger reader who’s keen to learn more about how story works on the human brain. And I’ll get it delivered to you, anywhere in the world.
For your chance to win, do these two things:
- Share this post on Facebook.
- Use the comments box at the bottom of this page to tell me *your* story in no more than 100 words.
I’ll choose the winner at the end of January 4th. Good luck!
Sorry, this contest is closed.
Brains image: neil conway
Mikhaeyla says
Great post! I have always been interested in evolutionary psychology (my own novel-in-development is somewhat premised on it…) and am fascinated by studies on how the three act structure is something that is almost hardwired to resonate with us as humans. Since committing to finish my novel (unlike the other half-completed stories I have started before), I have been searching out inspiration and advice from everywhere to make it compelling. “Wired for Story” sounds like it would be a great resource to help me along my way!
Daryl says
What a waste.
I turned the corner of the cracking cement road, taking care to avoid the palm fronds that chastened me for getting in their way.
$20,000.
That’s how much my degree cost. I had dreams, dreams that involved financial security and independence for the first time in my life.
Yet here I was, driving a borrowed car, living with my parents, my bank account empty, the same frustrating job, nothing new but another piece of paper.
What a waste.
Suddenly on the radio I heard “Could an online workplace be the answer?”
And so my story began.
Rohi Shetty says
Hi Daryl,
This is stupendous!
Daryl says
Thanks Rohi!
It was hard as heck to get down to 100 words though!
Rohi Shetty says
Yes, I counted and see you have managed to stop at 99! 🙂
Raspal Seni says
Hi Sophie,
What kind of story can we share? Any short story about ourself?
Sophie Lizard says
Yep, any story you want to share about yourself. I’m choosing the winner based on how gripping I find the story – if I end up wanting to know more, you’re on the right track. 😀
Raspal Seni says
Anyway, I wrote about my dislike of composition in school days in the following story. For the normal, longer version, you can read it on my blog here: The Story of How I Started Writing
In school, disliking composition, I would leave those questions unanswered in exams. I loved to read autobiographies, but never wrote one.
One day in 8th class, our class teacher told us to write an autobiography, from home. I didn’t. The next day, the boy sharing my bench, told me to complete the homework or teacher would punish.
I took his homework and started copying, changing the story and adding my ideas. By the end, mine was completely different than his. The last sentence I wrote was, “The milkman rang the bell and I woke up. My dream was shattered.”
Angela says
Nice one Raspal! 🙂
Sofie says
Tickets booked.
Hotel chosen.
Itinerary all planned out.
Another trip. Another story to tell. Soon.
Vago Damitio says
My eyes burn from five years of working on a 10 inch screen but it is nice to be back in the USA – even if it is #notmyamerica – I’d been delivering messages from the #inventedgod in Africa, Turkey, and Europe and was rewarded with an Arab bride, a Sahara Berber wedding, and the cutest daughter in the world. Much more than just a #microvictory – Now this vagobond has to figure out how to support a family in America – at least until we can get to our moon property
Kate Hendry says
The sun was still high in the sky as a group of friends laughed and played games between me and the water. I wondered how long would I have to wait.
The battery in my phone died; I was now completely alone. Tears streamed down my face as I thought of leaving my brother.
On her way back from the washroom, a woman from the lively group spotted me crying. She abruptly walked over to me, kissed the tears off my face, and demanded I join her and her friends. Bewilderedly, I followed as she took my hand.
Angela says
I had the money and I had the place, all that remained was getting my parents there. Unfortunately ‘there’ wasn’t any place they wanted to go, so I had to resort to trickery to get them into the car.
In the early stages of Alzheimer’s, pulling the wool over Mom’s eyes was, sadly, like stealing candy from a sleeping toddler.
Dad wasn’t as easily fooled, but being wheelchair bound, he too was at a disadvantage.
I’d waited so long for this day, dreamt of it, imagined how I’d feel.
In an instant everything had changed.
And yet it hadn’t.
Williesha Morris says
Instead of enjoying the last night of madness at a sci-Fi convention, I was on the hotel room balcony. Alone. Wiping away quiet tears before I headed to the board game room. I would face the dude who rejected me and try to enjoy myself.
After making my way through a sea of costumers, I arrived. Well, hello. There he was. The guy I gamed and flirted with last year.
The flirting resumed. Against all dating advice and still stinging from the hurt. I passed along my contact info to the gamer who would become my husband two years later.
Lauren Tharp, BAFB Community Helper says
Wow. I didn’t want to comment on individual posts because this one isn’t my contest to judge, but you guys have got some great stories. Really impressed with some — won’t say whose! — of the entries here. 🙂
Aisha Shehu says
This is awesome. I am in the middle of a big blog writing job. The client has agreed for me to write 250 blog posts at the rate of $1000 per post. The posts cover a lot of areas and I can’t get all the work done. I have spent hours already and my deadline is fast approaching. I need other blogger I can hire to help me finish my work. I will ask Sophie Lizard to recommend some great blog writers for me. They need to be able to keep the audience engaged and write well researched and informative posts.
That is what I want my story to be Have a pleasant day.
Shauna L Bowling says
Looking out the window she saw her dreams outlined in the distance. The billowy clouds and the last remnants of snow were the sign she was looking for. The mountaintops reached for the sky as clearly as her dreams reached for the stars. The blues and greens of the terrain as the backdrop to the white clouds and blue skies begged her to add all the glorious colors Mother Nature provides, as she was so adept at doing with her pen.
It was time; time to paint the landscape with the beauty of her heartfelt words.
Lynn Silva says
Waves of nausea enveloped me with every slight movement. Another day in bed.
The Voice (in my head) “Get up. Do something.”
Like what? Puke again? Go to another treatment? No more!
The Voice, “You’re not done.”
The words infiltrated my entire being. I got up. Puked. Bathed. Puked again…
Every day after these words, I got up…read…then I started writing…anything.
6 weeks later I heard the words ‘remission.’
I kept getting up. No more puking. Reading. Writing.
Physical, emotional & financial healing set in. I kept writing.
Until finally…
Rohi Shetty says
Great story, Lynn!
Rohi Shetty says
When I saw my first article published in the Pune Herald, my body turned hot, then cold. My head dissolved into a mass of exquisite vibrations.
And I had this silent conversation with my anti-muse:
“You have lost, anti-muse. Now I know what it means to be published. Like the footballer who scores his first goal, it has given me a confidence that is irreplaceable.”
Then I went to my table and started writing.
For the first time, in the past twenty months, the words flowed without any pause from my pen onto paper, line after line, page after page.
Sophie Lizard says
OK, this contest is now closed and the winner is Daryl George! Daryl, please email me your postal address so I can get my copy of Wired for Story delivered to you. 🙂
For everyone else: your stories were fantastic. I’m impressed by your ability to compress such big stories into so few words, and by your individual voices. Be proud of yourselves.
And if you’d like your own copy of Wired for Story: The Writer’s Guide to Using Brain Science to Hook Readers from the Very First Sentence, it costs only $13.49 on Amazon right now (or $9.29 for the Kindle edition).
Raspal Seni says
Congrats Daryl!
Sophie – would this copy of the book be autographed by you?
Daryl says
WOHOOOOO!
Thanks Sophie!
I’m gonna say, I really LOVED reading what you guys put here – Raspal, Sofie, Vago, Kate, Angela, Willesha, Shauna, Lynn, Rohi, and everybody else – really great gripping stuff! I’m glad I didn’t have to judge this one!
Angela says
Well done Darry…I really enjoyed reading your story! 🙂
augustin ndikuriyo says
A worth reading article full of useful tips . Thanks for sharing this!