“Emotions aren’t always immediately subject to reason, but they are always immediately subject to action”. When conducting my writing, I often remember this quote and like to write by William James’ suggestion.

Quite often, people tend to write about copy and print. They fall into the feeling of what is comfortable and what they know. Writers who focus primarily on hard content and scientific statistics, may get drawn into the land of blah, as I like to call it.

Readers don’t want to only read the hard facts and fall asleep from boredom. They long for vibrant and colorful language and lyrical words to keep their attention drawn to the subject. While the importance of reliable resources is inevitably needed, reaching out to human feeling and emotion is also a necessity.

One way to attain attention emotionally is to relate anecdotes. History has been told over and over through the form of story, so it is no wonder that people strive and enjoy storytelling.

Another method to consider is sense of humor. People don’t enjoy reading dry and repetitive content, rather, they can better relate to a piece of writing when a joke is made, or the author uses a slight sarcastic voice, all while trying to lighten the message within the content.

People also enjoy reading content that is truthful to their situations. It’s a good idea to write with the noun ‘you’ rather then ‘I’. Through an author’s words, readers can see that they are trying to connect with their audience more if they refer directly to readers in their writing.

So, when attempting to gain new readers, try switching your writing style up and playing around with language. People better relate to pieces of writing with stories, a sense of humor, and word choice. Experimenting will these options will both keep your readers’ attention on your writing, as well as strengthen your skills as a writer.