At some point in your life, you’ve experienced magic.
It might have appeared as a sudden spark of unexplainable
creativity, the lyrics of a deeply moving poem, the chemistry between two
individuals meeting for the first time, the notes of a concert, the dedicated synchronization
of a routine, the innovative strokes of an artist’s brush…
An overwhelming sense of connection bound you in the moment.
You felt inspired, thrilled, advanced, even enlightened. You feel nostalgic
each time emotions of this memory are triggered by a sound, a word, an image, a
touch, or a smell. The experience of this moment cannot be put any other way:
it is pure magic.
As writers, we strive to create this inexplicable magic
through words, with the ultimate goal of connecting with our readers. In giving
our readers this sensation of “magic,” we instill a feeling of nostalgia within
them that they will carry for the rest of their lives.
In this article, I’ll be discussing a unique, psychological-based
approach to creating this connection, built on collected research from noted
organizational expert and psychologist Ori & Rom Brafman. Read on to learn
five ways in which you can make your book and characters “click” with your
readers.
1. The Power of
Vulnerability
No, that title is not an oxymoron. There is power in
vulnerability, specifically as it relates to the way we humans communicate with
each other. This same power can be transcribed into your writing as the first
step in achieving that magical connection with your readers.
There are two forms of communication—transactional language
and connective language. Transactional language ranges from informal speaking
rituals (“Hi there. Good morning. How are you?”), to small talk, to discussing things
of everyday importance (hobbies, favorite foods, sports team, etc.). Connective
language is a much more intimate kind of communication that involves the
relating of experiences, thoughts, feelings, and beliefs that are deeply
personal to the speaker.
While both types of language are essential in your writing,
it is connective language that will create the strongest bonds between your
readers and your characters. This is because humans are most likely to respond
to an individual’s most personal thoughts (vulnerability) with their own most
personal thoughts. When entrusted with another’s private words, humans not only
tend to respond in kind but also begin to form a deeper relationship with the
individual they are sharing thoughts with. The deeper the exchange of thoughts,
the stronger this bond becomes.
One experiment on connective language involved college
students responding to a computer’s pre-determined chat questions. Computers using
transactional language would ask students simplistic, impersonal questions (“What
is your favorite color?” “What classes are you taking now?”), with the
experimental question being “Have you ever done anything you are ashamed of?”
When faced with this question, almost every student responded vaguely (“Yeah, I
guess I have.”) or chose not to answer the question.
However, something interesting occurred in the connective
language testing group. In this group, the computer would instead say to the students
(paraphrased here), “This computer does not always operate as it should.
Sometimes it shuts down before students can save their work and the work is
lost. Sometimes it loads programs slowly and cannot connect to the internet.
Have you ever done anything you are ashamed of?” Even though the question was
the same, the connective language made students empathize with the computer and
connect with it on a deeper level. Students began answering the question in
very personal ways, listing things they had done to disappoint their parents,
harmful addictions, failures at school, and other deep, emotive feelings.
When you write characters, particularly those with whom you
want your readers to connect the most, keep in mind the power of vulnerability.
The more that your character “tells” the reader (either through thoughts,
first-person narrative, or even intimately to other characters) about their
personal life, beliefs, values, struggles, and feelings, the more likely the
reader is going to empathize and feel attached to this character.
2. Proximity Brings Characters
Closer
Study after study has shown that people who live close to
each other, sit next to each other in class, and work in the same department
are most likely to befriend or “click” with each other (negative factors
notwithstanding). This is not due to convenience of proximity, but because of the
consistent appearance of the other individual.
A study on this phenomenon selected four women of nearly
identical size, weight, and physical attractiveness to attend a regular college
course at a local university. One woman attended every day of class, one
attended half, one attended only a third, and one attended none at all. The
women were instructed to sit at the front of the class and to enter and exit
the class without speaking to, or interacting with, any of the other students.
At the end of the semester, students were shown pictures of all four women and
asked if they recognized them. Most students claimed that they did not remember
ever seeing the women (the class had hundreds of students), with the rest of
the class claiming that the women looked familiar but they could not place
where exactly they had seen them. A survey was then administered to the class,
asking students to rate the women on different levels (“How friendly does this
woman seem?” “How likely would you be to befriend this woman?”).
The results were astounding. The woman who had attended all
of the classes scored the highest in all factors, with each subsequent woman’s attendance
rate directly affecting her scores. Even though the students could not mentally
recall seeing these women, their subconscious had registered the women’s
appearances. The mere fact that one specific woman appeared in class more than
the other three (even without her ever speaking to the other students) made
students more likely to “like” her and perceive her positively.
Of course, your characters will have certain negative and
positive characteristics that will affect your reader’s perception of them. But
from the perspective of mere face value, your readers are most likely to feel
attached to characters who get the most “page time.” This can especially be
seen with minor, background characters. Those that are given the most action
and most roles in the story are the ones who the reader will most likely
connect with (whether on a positive or negative level). It works for
antagonists, too. A villain or minion who is given a larger page count than the
others is the one that readers are most likely to revere as a character.
3. Resonance Builds
Relationships
Unlike vulnerability and proximity, resonance is a magic
that must be cultivated internally before it can be effective externally. The
key to resonance is “presence”—the ability to passionately portray something so
that others are “caught up” by it.
One of the easiest ways to create resonance through your
writing is to simply write passionately.
I know that it isn’t always easy to sit in a chair for three hours and beat
away at a keyboard, but when you love your topic and your story, that love will
seep into your words no matter what. To quote English writer Samuel Johnson, “What
is written without effort is in general read without pleasure.” Let your
passion for your writing flow through you. Simply enjoy putting words on the
page, and this passion will manifest itself to your readers—through your sentence
structure, your imagery, even the phonetics of the words you choose. These all
blend together to showcase your passion, and if there’s one thing you should
know about passion, it’s this: passion is contagious.
A second way to generate resonance on the page is to use
your personal experiences to flavor your scenes and characters. If you have
been through an accident, a birth, a trauma, a wedding, a battle, or a disease,
you are more likely to write about these things with passion. This is also the
key to writing nostalgia. Reach back in your mind to sensations and thoughts
that carry a nostalgic flavor and put them into words. Nostalgia is one of the
more powerful emotions at the writer’s disposal because it creates an inner
sense of longing, bliss, and “magic” in the reader.
The third way to create resonance through writing is to dive
into your character’s emotions and feelings. When you detail the agonizing pain
(or the euphoric happiness) that your character is facing, you force the reader
to feel these emotions, too. Studies have shown that when individuals are
exposed to images of others in pain, their own brains’ pain sensors are
activated (as though they themselves were experiencing the pain). Humans are
very empathetic creatures. As writers, we can use this in-born empathy to our
advantage when creating emotional attachment and interest in our characters.
4. Similarity:
Quantity Trumps Quality
It’s no surprise that we are most interested and apt to
favor other people who have things in common with us. Perhaps what is more shocking is that (according to
psychology) it’s the quantity of these things, rather than the quality, that
counts.
A research team gave a Q&A form to a group of student
test subjects. On the form, the subjects answered questions of interest,
ranging from “What is your favorite fast food?” to “What is your religion?”
After these forms were accepted and processed, the researchers gave a second form
to each student, which they claimed was “from another student.” Some of these
forms matched the student’s interests 100%, while others agreed on only major
issues and others on only minor issues. The students were then asked to evaluate
the other person based on the form they received: Were they likely to befriend
this person? Was this person cool? Fun? Unique? And so on.
Results showed (not surprisingly), that the forms that
matched the individual student’s preferences 100% were most highly regarded.
The interesting discovery came when researchers evaluated those forms in which
only the student’s major or minor issues were matched. The result revealed that
there was no difference. Regardless of how major the issue was (religion,
political stance, etc.) or how minor it was (favorite fast food restaurant, eye
color, favorite music, etc.), it was the number of things students had in
common (and not the quality of them) that determined their favor of the other
like-minded “student.”
This is one reason why it’s important to have variety among
your characters. In making each character unique, with different flaws,
interests, skills, appearances, and fears, you are increasing the odds that you
appeal to a specific type of reader in your audience. This is why many writers
stress the importance of having a relatable, interesting, and audience-specific
main character. In writing for the young adult audience, for example, you will
want your main character (and supporting characters) to speak specifically to
that demographic. Your main character should have similar struggles, dreams,
fears, and thoughts to that of your target audience. This does not mean that
your characters can’t have variety outside of your target audience, but it does
mean that each character should fill a specific “social role” and speak to a
specific part of your readership as a result. Your protagonist should—ideally—speak
to your target audience the most.
5. Shared Adversity
is the Strongest Bond
There’s a reason why franchises such as The Walking Dead and Attack
on Titan have become so popular—these series showcase a struggle against insurmountable
odds; even more importantly, they portray shared adversity among an “inner
group.” Not surprisingly, this is the fifth and final step in achieving the “click”
between your readers and your book of characters.
I recently discussed the need for human belongingness and the importance of using factions as a part of building your franchise’s fanbase. Having a shared adversity among your characters grows from a similar
root.
A shared adversity is any struggle (the badder, the better)
that your characters face together as a part of an “inner group.” An inner
group is also known as a framed community—a
small gathering of individuals whose stance and struggles segregate them from
the outside world. This creates an “us VS them” mentality among the group,
which draws members of the group closer together, boosting individual vulnerability
and proximity, and as a result, resonance and similarity. In The Walking Dead, survivors of the
zombie apocalypse (the shared adversity) represent this “inner group.” In Attack on Titan, the inner group is the Survey
Corps—an elite rank of soldiers who fight against brutal titans (the shared
adversity).
The greater the shared adversity is—the more intimidating
and powerful it is—the stronger your bond among the inner group (and between
the reader and the characters) will become. Stories of survival thrill the
human heart because these stories create a spark—a click, if you would—within the reader. The reader feels the comradeship,
the struggle, and the need to belong, and it excites them.
Shared adversity can also be used to connect directly to the
reader. For example, if you are targeting a specific demographic—let’s say young
adults again—then you could try to choose a shared adversity that would connect
with the reader, thus including him or her in the “inner group” with your
character(s). You may choose the shared adversity of “fitting in at school” or
of “being forever alone,” for example. These can be very effective in pulling
your reader into your book and emotionally investing them in your characters.
However, simply showcasing an inner group and shared adversity among your
fictional cast is often more than enough to do the trick. Remember when I said that
passion is contagious? Well, so it a shared struggle when it’s well-portrayed.
Readers want to resonate with characters. Give them a good, solid reason to,
and you can bet they will.
Tying it Together
Seek ways to make your characters vulnerable. Let readers
see their hearts and souls. Let readers know what your characters love and hate
and believe—what they live and fight and die for, what they fear, what they feel. Use proximity to your advantage.
Give your characters well-proportioned time on the page, especially if they are
minor characters you wish to bring out. Showcase your resonance by writing with
passion and by using your personal experiences to bring a sense of realism to
your characters. Use similarity to your advantage by crafting a unique cast
where each character has a social role in appealing to your audience types.
Lastly—perhaps most importantly—remember the power of shared adversity among
the inner group.
Vulnerability, proximity, resonance, similarity, and shared
adversity—it is possible to use any single one of these things in your novel to
great effect. But use all of them together and you will have begun to
intimately connect—to click—with your
reader. And once you have clicked with them, they will never forget the magic
your words created in their minds.
For additional
research and further reading, check out Sway and Click written by Ori & Rom Brafman.
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Really cool post. ^ ^ Definitely applying this to my writing. :)
ReplyDeleteStori Tori's Blog
Thanks for reading, Victoria! I'm glad you found it helpful :) I'm sure you have a lot of "shared adversity" in your novels already. The premise certainly seems to suggest that.
DeleteIt was a great read. ^ ^ Oh yes lots. Now I know what to call it lol. I didn't know what I was doing but I now know what to call what I didn't know what I was doing. Have fun saying that out loud. ;)
DeleteExcellent article! I'll definitely be putting these ideas to use when I get back to revising. Thank you!
ReplyDeleteThank you for reading, Lily, and I'm glad that you found the tips useful :) If you would like to get more updates from me, consider subscribing to my blog via your Google+ account.
DeleteBest wishes revising! I hope that these tips are helpful to you. Keep moving forward!