Humans are overly emotional beings. Our emotions affect our thoughts, actions, and eventually our habits. As with all other spheres of life, our emotions affect our writing. Being aware of this fact, we can exploit it as a strength rather than our weakness. We can harness the power emotions bring to play, the ideas we intend to convey in our writing. Emotions are an integral part of our very existence, and sometimes it is paramount to ride the wave of experiences, feelings, and thoughts.
Importance of Writing with Emotion
A study by Scientific America showed that the articles that were most shared were the ones that elicited strong emotion. Suppose you want to create a story that leaves a lasting impact. The core of your writing does not need to be emotional, but you can leverage emotions as a tool to convey your message. As Lauren Bradshaw stated, “Awakening emotion is the highest level of human art.”
Below are some ways emotions affect our writing.
Different Ways Emotions Affect Our Writing
The human brain is trained to pay more attention to stories. One way of introducing emotion in your writing is by using stories and examples. Let us take up things a notch higher and see how it exactly affects our writing.
Emotions help us move from abstract to concrete
It is hard for people to remember abstract concepts. However, stories make concepts relatable and real. For instance, instead of saying how your father loved you, you can express the same by describing how he bought you a flowery satin dress for prom. This relieves the abstraction overload in your essay and gets people heavily invested in your article. If your story feels dull, check for any abstraction overload, and give the reader something to hold on to.
Emotions set the tone of writing.
The same story written in different tones gives an entirely different reading experience. Articles with the lowest readership are the ones written in an emotionless and matter-of-fact manner. Of course, there are circumstances where flat-tone writing is warranted. Including emojis in scientific research or sarcasm in merit, citations would be out of place. You can use wordplay to convey messages and uplift your reader’s mood. You can check out CustomWritings for the best professional essay writers to set the best perspective for your essays. Emotions add a good tonal layer to the writing process.
Know the things you need to shy away from
As much as there are many ways you can channel emotions to a deeper level and connect with your reader, there is a downside. Writing things with the wrong emotion can make you communicate an unintended issue. It can end up reflecting poorly on your character. Anger is not the best emotion while writing a memo; sadness is not the best emotion for drafting a blog, and of course, a happy mood is awkward when writing an obituary. Some sensitive topics either make you feel vulnerable or make your reader shy away from you. Do not overwhelm your reader, and know when to distance yourself from sensitive topics.
Build up intense emotions for a more significant impact
Just as in public speaking, deeper emotions leave a lasting impact compared to shallow emotions. Fleeting happiness disappears faster compared to unbridled joy. Readers relate to their emotional state. The primary emotions that human beings connect with our love, fear, greed, and duty. Love covers the entire umbrella of friendship, loyalty, and romance. We do not want to be alone. The other emotion is greed; we want to win the lottery, want the fastest cars, and retire early. We all share the same fears. Fears of losing a loved one, fears of getting laid off, or our employers pushing us around. The fear of failure keeps us going. And, of course, the ultimate emotion is the call of duty. We feel bound by honor to our spouses, families, countries, or companies. It boils down to something that will give the reader peace.
Look for where you have enthusiasm
By including emotion in your writing, it does not necessarily limit you to your personal experiences. Your emotional levels or lack thereof show up in your writing. It is hard to see enthusiasm in your writing. The best way is to read out aloud your essay. Your spirit manifests itself louder physically than mentally. As you read it out aloud, you can see the red flags and portions that need tweaking. It is the same when choosing a topic. Please make a list of all the possible issues and read them out aloud. If the topics excite you, you will feel it; if it deadens you, don’t write it.
The interchange between high and low emotions
Emotions in themselves are not inherently good or bad. Your readership has people in different emotional extremes. You can harness the impact of your writing by capturing the various charges. The best way to do this is by putting contrasting emotions together. You can place grief and exhilaration together. It will drastically make the reader heavily invested in your article.
Just How Much Emotion is Enough?
Sometimes we might end up injecting more than necessary emotion in our writing. The best way to know when it is enough is by proofreading your work. Always trust your gut, as it will tell you when it is enough. Not every piece needs heightened emotion. The most important thing is to ensure your writing sticks and leaves a lasting impact. Follow the energy your writing demands from you and find the charge necessary for your writing.
Conclusion
It is now your turn to put emotional writing into practice. Check out your articles and see where emotion is missing. You can also use the services of professional essay writers to help you craft the best pieces. Always dissect your content and see if it is relatable and gives the promise of teaching something new. Note all the words and phrases that give you a reaction and the kind of connection you want from your audience. No one is perfect in writing, but one can smoothen out the edges and develop good literary pieces with practice.
