Telling Stories Makes for Vivid Writing

What stories do you remember from childhood?

A fairytale? The Wizard of Oz? Star Wars*? Harry Potter?

Chances are, you can easily picture a few stories and their characters because you identified with them — you imagined yourself into the story as you were learning how the world works.

I can still picture myself as poor Cinderella, scrubbing the floor all by myself while my evil stepsisters went to the ball.

We can conjure up these childhood stories because, as humans, we are hard-wired for story. Stories provide context and meaning — they help us understand the world around us.

Every time we hear a story, we create a special mental map. That means we’ll remember a well-told story much more accurately than dry facts and figures.

That’s why storytelling techniques can make your writing more vivid and memorable.

So, how do you tell stories with your writing?

Start by identifying the problem you’re writing about. Every story has conflict, and most business writing does, too. Otherwise, why would you be writing?

What is the problem you are writing about? What is your advice to solve this conflict?

Then, ask yourself: Who are the characters in your story?

As humans, we are most interested in other humans.

Sure, you’re probably not dealing with the Wicked Witch of the East. But who are the people involved? How might this affect other people?

These are your characters. Your reader is looking for characters to identify with.

Finally, do you have the right amount of detail?

Have you established the important facts? Have you used enough detail to set the scene and provide context?

Or — are you throwing in confusing details that don’t add to the story you’re trying to tell?

Whatever you’re writing, identify the conflict, the characters, and the right details.

These storytelling techniques will help your writing come alive for the reader.

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*Somehow, I still think the ultimate hairstyle would be giant Princess Leia buns over my ears. Thanks, Star Wars.