How to Take Advantage of Human Psychology in Your Writing

There’s a good article posted on Wired discussing how usage of the Internet has rewired our brains.  Namely, while Internet usage does lead to increased visual-spatial ability, it also leads to shallower learning.  After all, just think how many times you’ve only skimmed an article on the Internet rather than read it as thoroughly as you would if it were on paper.  Why, I bet you’re skimming this now!

So that’s all well and good, but how does it apply to you?  Well, the article got me thinking how you could take advantage of human psychology in your writing.

Tip #1: Remove Distractions

One of the points about the Wired article is that while using a computer, our brains get flooded with information leading to cognitive overload.  Since our brain can only take in so much information at a time, we either slow down or we simply skim whatever we’re reading.

So in your writing, the goal is clear: get rid of meaningless distractions.  That means phrases that aren’t necessary, descriptions that wander off, and explanations to dialogue that are merely redundant.

From a technical viewpoint, it also means not resorting to bolded words or italics in your writing.  It especially means not to resort to “artistic” grammatical styles, or unusual words.

Tip #2: Short Paragraphs

When people skim a page, they’re usually skipping from paragraph to paragraph.  Take advantage of this by keeping your paragraphs short.

However, it is okay to have the occasional long paragraph.  Length indicates importance, so any long paragraph should be something vitally important to read.

Tip #3: Don’t do anything unexpected

In the Wired article, Nicholas Carr shares a study where people were given something to read.  In the first group, they were able to go to the next page by pressing “Next” at the end of the page.   In the second group, they were able to to to the next page by clicking on a hyperlink in the text of the page.

The result?  The second group felt the piece they were reading was more confusing and harder to understand.

So, if you want to improve comprehension of your work, stick to standard grammar.  And if you’re posting a novel online and you wish to include a link to the next chapter, label the link “Next Chapter”.

Tip #4: Use Visual Cues

The one thing the Internet really helps with is our visual-spatial capacity.  You can take advantage of this by being clear when you’re switching scenes in a story (such as a line between the two sections).  And as I said before, only make important paragraphs long.  Otherwise, keep the paragraphs short.

Also, look at the way this article is written.  The meat of the article, the tips, is clearly spelled out.

That’s it for now.