Personal Narrative: A Place In Non-Creative Writing
Years ago, when I started niche blogging, I used to keep my storytelling skills confined to the 'creative writing' label and I used nothing but cold, objective, descriptive words in my first articles.
The mere thought of writing for a niche gave me shivers. It made me anxious. I didn't like that ice-cold sensation writing descriptive paragraphs gave me. The storyteller in me itched to take the lead and turn that boring piece of copy into joyful writing that would make my readers smile, laugh, frown and cry.
You know, move from lifeless to life-filled copy.
Things started to change for me when I finally gave the storyteller in me free rein and realized that YES, storytelling has a place in non-creative writing, too!
That's why I wrote this …show more content…
guide - to teach you 7 storytelling techniques that will suck your readers in and involve them not only at a cognitive level (they're reading your content to learn something new, right?) but also at 'gut' level (because we humans are nothing without our emotions).
Nothing primes storytelling when it comes to connecting to other human beings wholly.
Read on, because I will tell you why.
The Power of Storytelling
The power of storytelling
Photo: Storytelling, Concord Library by Local Studies NSW (cc)
Alex Limberg wrote an amazing post on storytelling at BoostBlogTraffic.com that kept me hooked 'till the last line, and guess what - to write his post about storytelling, Alex used... storytelling!
He told of the tale of Scheherazade from One Thousand and One Nights to create interest in the reader and managed wisely to keep that interest alive:
(...)
And every night, the king spared her life for just one more day.
But for how long could she continue this dangerous game?
You’ll have to wait to find out. But first, let’s take a look at the powerful trick Scheherazade employed.
Why a 30,000-Year-Old Trick Still Works Today
As long as humans have existed, we have been hardwired to satisfy one urge. (No, it’s not what you think.) I’m talking about storytelling.
Some 30,000 years ago, when our ancestors carved the thrilling tale of their last mammoth hunt into rock walls, their scraggly-haired friends must have consumed these stories eagerly.
That’s because the need for stories is rooted deeply inside our brains.
(...)
Alex then went on and on to explain how you can marry storytelling and blogging before he told the reader, in the last paragraphs of his post, how Scheherazade's story ended.
I'm kidding not - his post received 93 enthusiastic comments!
You see, life itself is about stories. Everything we learn, think and do is surrounded by a story - the story of our life that lead to that exact moment:
You learned how to use your old sewing machine? There's the story of you attending that sewing course you thought would be so boring but that actually opened a bunch of new creative doors for you.
You made a lot of money selling soup cooking ebooks? There's the story of how you developed an interest in soups over the years and the success you began to collect when people praised your creative recipes.
And as Alex says in his post, the Web is filled with stories - all you need is a search engine to find those (real or fictional) you will need for your posts - as well as people with interesting backgrounds you can interview to add a real, credible and relatable story to your post (readers love interview-based posts).
Could you just taste the power of storytelling?
Good. That said, on with the 7 storytelling techniques you are here for.
7 Storytelling Techniques To Hook Your Readers
1. Start with an image
Start with an image, like a painter
Depict a person.
An object. A place. Use words that speak to the five senses and help the reader "see" the story you're about to tell.
A leading paragraph that creates a mental image lures the reader to go on, read more and follow your points better. No flowery language to distract the reader, but a scene that sucks him in and fills not just his mind, but his whole self.
Example (topic is 'flowery fragrances'):
My nose tingled as I stepped into the grocery shop.
Scent of roses and gardenia enlightened my moods and I stopped to breath it in. Then I looked around the place, expecting to see the flowers, but I saw none.
The shop keeper looked at me and chuckled. "It's not real flowers, just this home fragrance from ABC Brand," she said.
I held my breath in surprise. "What fragrance?"
Tips:
If the right image doesn't come to you, or you need more inspiration, think of movies, short stories and even TV ads. Watch and read some and take note, trying to use words that match the images.
Another technique I use often is to find an image using Compfight or Pixabay (or just using a search engine's image tab) and use it to help my senses to connect with my brain to come up with the right words, or I may just describe what I see using sensory …show more content…
words.
2. Show the human, not just the topic
Put human experience before the topic twist at hand if you want to hook the reader and keep them on page from start to finish.
When you tell a story, the focus shouldn't be on the topic you're trying to get the reader into - if you do that, the copy will turn out boring and descriptive, and readers will run away. Instead, tell them about the human in the story, use anecdotes, make the human shine through while dealing with the topic at hand.
Your topic is the tool and the environment, but the human is protagonist. If you want readers to get an interest in what you're trying to say or to convince them to buy, help them find themselves in the human of your story - it will be easier for them to start to think about using the tool or topic just like your copy hero did.
Example (topic is 'assessing and solving community issues'):
My blogging partner was not entirely convinced we could make the whole online community work. Too much drama, too little effort by the most open-minded members to bring real value to the boards.
But while I focused on learning new strategies and tricks to improve our web community, my partner didn't spare herself in the efforts to make the community work - she went through dozens of threads and posts to observe member behavior, she messaged members one by one, asking them questions and learning from them - directly - what they really wanted to see on our forums.
While I approached the problem from the most 'technical' side, she went straight to face the real problem we had - not a platform problem, but a people problem.
This is exactly how she turned out community from a drama zone to a place for personal growth and collaboration: (...)
Tips:
Don't just describe the person's actions in your story, but place major focus on their motivations and the ideas or business philosophy that led them to do what they did.
You want your readers to wear your story person's shoes, to think and feel what they feel until each action taken and each tip given in the post appears as a logical consequence to the reader - in other words, you want to create a connection at a cognitive level in addition to an emotional level.
3. Start with a video that tells a story - then proceed to connect points of the story with your topic
The video doesn't have to be yours, but it has to convey your point and introduce your story. It can be a music video, an intro video, a spot or movie excerpt (if you have the rights or the movie is in the public domain - you can consult Archive.org for this).
Take each important scene or message in the video and turn it into a subhead of your post -- connect the story to your topic and the advice you give your readers.
For example, this post by Will Blunt at BloggerSidekick.com, right after the intro section, connects a music video by the Beatles ("With A Little Help from My Friends") and its message with traffic generation and blog post promotion advice for bloggers, and Will Blunt introduces it with a very intriguing paragraph:
Are you ready?
Before we dive into it: I want you to click play on this video and listen to the music by the Beatles as you read the post… It captures the essence of the promotion process.
Your video might tell a story or it might 'storify' a message - like a TV ad or a music video - but the format doesn't matter; what matters is that the video itself gives push and then complements the topic tackled in your blog post.
Example (topic is 'a blogger's uniqueness should shine through'):
Can your readers see you as a firework?
You may feel like a dark place, without a light of your own, because everyone else's light shuts down your every effort to sparkle.
But you are not destined to stay a dark object forever.
See what Katy Perry sings about it:
http://youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QGJuMBdaqIw
You are a firework, you are unique, so make the best of you shines through.
Let nobody dictate who you should be.
How can you turn your dark, timid, fearful blogger image to a lively, original, sparkling personality your readers love (and that really reflects you)?
Here are 6 tips for you: (...)
Tips:
You can either use a video-first approach or a message-first approach when you decide to use a video as a storytelling device in your blog post.
Will Blunt used the Beatles' music video with a message-first approach - the message in the video matches the message he conveys in his post and complements it, but the post stands alone even without the video.
The example I wrote above uses Katy Perry's videoclip with a video-first approach - the video introduces the topic and gives an overview of the core message of the post, then the post itself builds upon the story told in the video.
The choice of the approach is yours and it depends on the types of hook your audience reacts more favorably
to.
The mere thought of writing for a niche gave me shivers. It made me anxious. I didn't like that ice-cold sensation writing descriptive paragraphs gave me. The storyteller in me itched to take the lead and turn that boring piece of copy into joyful writing that would make my readers smile, laugh, frown and cry.
You know, move from lifeless to life-filled copy.
Things started to change for me when I finally gave the storyteller in me free rein and realized that YES, storytelling has a place in non-creative writing, too!
That's why I wrote this …show more content…
guide - to teach you 7 storytelling techniques that will suck your readers in and involve them not only at a cognitive level (they're reading your content to learn something new, right?) but also at 'gut' level (because we humans are nothing without our emotions).
Nothing primes storytelling when it comes to connecting to other human beings wholly.
Read on, because I will tell you why.
The Power of Storytelling
The power of storytelling
Photo: Storytelling, Concord Library by Local Studies NSW (cc)
Alex Limberg wrote an amazing post on storytelling at BoostBlogTraffic.com that kept me hooked 'till the last line, and guess what - to write his post about storytelling, Alex used... storytelling!
He told of the tale of Scheherazade from One Thousand and One Nights to create interest in the reader and managed wisely to keep that interest alive:
(...)
And every night, the king spared her life for just one more day.
But for how long could she continue this dangerous game?
You’ll have to wait to find out. But first, let’s take a look at the powerful trick Scheherazade employed.
Why a 30,000-Year-Old Trick Still Works Today
As long as humans have existed, we have been hardwired to satisfy one urge. (No, it’s not what you think.) I’m talking about storytelling.
Some 30,000 years ago, when our ancestors carved the thrilling tale of their last mammoth hunt into rock walls, their scraggly-haired friends must have consumed these stories eagerly.
That’s because the need for stories is rooted deeply inside our brains.
(...)
Alex then went on and on to explain how you can marry storytelling and blogging before he told the reader, in the last paragraphs of his post, how Scheherazade's story ended.
I'm kidding not - his post received 93 enthusiastic comments!
You see, life itself is about stories. Everything we learn, think and do is surrounded by a story - the story of our life that lead to that exact moment:
You learned how to use your old sewing machine? There's the story of you attending that sewing course you thought would be so boring but that actually opened a bunch of new creative doors for you.
You made a lot of money selling soup cooking ebooks? There's the story of how you developed an interest in soups over the years and the success you began to collect when people praised your creative recipes.
And as Alex says in his post, the Web is filled with stories - all you need is a search engine to find those (real or fictional) you will need for your posts - as well as people with interesting backgrounds you can interview to add a real, credible and relatable story to your post (readers love interview-based posts).
Could you just taste the power of storytelling?
Good. That said, on with the 7 storytelling techniques you are here for.
7 Storytelling Techniques To Hook Your Readers
1. Start with an image
Start with an image, like a painter
Depict a person.
An object. A place. Use words that speak to the five senses and help the reader "see" the story you're about to tell.
A leading paragraph that creates a mental image lures the reader to go on, read more and follow your points better. No flowery language to distract the reader, but a scene that sucks him in and fills not just his mind, but his whole self.
Example (topic is 'flowery fragrances'):
My nose tingled as I stepped into the grocery shop.
Scent of roses and gardenia enlightened my moods and I stopped to breath it in. Then I looked around the place, expecting to see the flowers, but I saw none.
The shop keeper looked at me and chuckled. "It's not real flowers, just this home fragrance from ABC Brand," she said.
I held my breath in surprise. "What fragrance?"
Tips:
If the right image doesn't come to you, or you need more inspiration, think of movies, short stories and even TV ads. Watch and read some and take note, trying to use words that match the images.
Another technique I use often is to find an image using Compfight or Pixabay (or just using a search engine's image tab) and use it to help my senses to connect with my brain to come up with the right words, or I may just describe what I see using sensory …show more content…
words.
2. Show the human, not just the topic
Put human experience before the topic twist at hand if you want to hook the reader and keep them on page from start to finish.
When you tell a story, the focus shouldn't be on the topic you're trying to get the reader into - if you do that, the copy will turn out boring and descriptive, and readers will run away. Instead, tell them about the human in the story, use anecdotes, make the human shine through while dealing with the topic at hand.
Your topic is the tool and the environment, but the human is protagonist. If you want readers to get an interest in what you're trying to say or to convince them to buy, help them find themselves in the human of your story - it will be easier for them to start to think about using the tool or topic just like your copy hero did.
Example (topic is 'assessing and solving community issues'):
My blogging partner was not entirely convinced we could make the whole online community work. Too much drama, too little effort by the most open-minded members to bring real value to the boards.
But while I focused on learning new strategies and tricks to improve our web community, my partner didn't spare herself in the efforts to make the community work - she went through dozens of threads and posts to observe member behavior, she messaged members one by one, asking them questions and learning from them - directly - what they really wanted to see on our forums.
While I approached the problem from the most 'technical' side, she went straight to face the real problem we had - not a platform problem, but a people problem.
This is exactly how she turned out community from a drama zone to a place for personal growth and collaboration: (...)
Tips:
Don't just describe the person's actions in your story, but place major focus on their motivations and the ideas or business philosophy that led them to do what they did.
You want your readers to wear your story person's shoes, to think and feel what they feel until each action taken and each tip given in the post appears as a logical consequence to the reader - in other words, you want to create a connection at a cognitive level in addition to an emotional level.
3. Start with a video that tells a story - then proceed to connect points of the story with your topic
The video doesn't have to be yours, but it has to convey your point and introduce your story. It can be a music video, an intro video, a spot or movie excerpt (if you have the rights or the movie is in the public domain - you can consult Archive.org for this).
Take each important scene or message in the video and turn it into a subhead of your post -- connect the story to your topic and the advice you give your readers.
For example, this post by Will Blunt at BloggerSidekick.com, right after the intro section, connects a music video by the Beatles ("With A Little Help from My Friends") and its message with traffic generation and blog post promotion advice for bloggers, and Will Blunt introduces it with a very intriguing paragraph:
Are you ready?
Before we dive into it: I want you to click play on this video and listen to the music by the Beatles as you read the post… It captures the essence of the promotion process.
Your video might tell a story or it might 'storify' a message - like a TV ad or a music video - but the format doesn't matter; what matters is that the video itself gives push and then complements the topic tackled in your blog post.
Example (topic is 'a blogger's uniqueness should shine through'):
Can your readers see you as a firework?
You may feel like a dark place, without a light of your own, because everyone else's light shuts down your every effort to sparkle.
But you are not destined to stay a dark object forever.
See what Katy Perry sings about it:
http://youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QGJuMBdaqIw
You are a firework, you are unique, so make the best of you shines through.
Let nobody dictate who you should be.
How can you turn your dark, timid, fearful blogger image to a lively, original, sparkling personality your readers love (and that really reflects you)?
Here are 6 tips for you: (...)
Tips:
You can either use a video-first approach or a message-first approach when you decide to use a video as a storytelling device in your blog post.
Will Blunt used the Beatles' music video with a message-first approach - the message in the video matches the message he conveys in his post and complements it, but the post stands alone even without the video.
The example I wrote above uses Katy Perry's videoclip with a video-first approach - the video introduces the topic and gives an overview of the core message of the post, then the post itself builds upon the story told in the video.
The choice of the approach is yours and it depends on the types of hook your audience reacts more favorably
to.