According to story consultant Lisa Cron, author of Wired For Story, our brains are actually hardwired to pay attention to well told tales. Great stories, according to research, are able to activate Dopamine, Oxytocin, and Cortisol secretion in our brains.
No wonder our favorite stories are so immersive!
Famous fantasy writer Alan Moore recently stated in a BBC Maestro class that he believes no virtual reality technology will ever come close to the total immersion of the brain into a story world.
And yeah, I can kinda see that, Alan.
In your own writing, for business or pleasure (preferably both), here's how you can use story elements to chemically engage your readers brain.
Dopamine: A pleasure and reward molecule. It's the brain's way of rewarding us for seeking crucial information. It’s incited during moments of surprise. Every good story is full of surprising twists and turns. We get our fix of dopamine by staying put until we found out what happens next!
Cortisol: Great stories always involve moments where characters have to make tough choices. The tougher, the more interesting. Because our experience as readers most closely mirrors our protagonist, we tend to experience the same anxiety that they're feeling in their most intense moments of despair. This can cause a spike in cortisol - a stress hormone - in our brain (followed by relief, once we get there).
Oxytocin: Known as "the love molecule." Any story expert will tell you that there has to be SOME REASON that we feel empathy for the main character. Otherwise... well, we wouldn't care about them (and we'd throw the book over our shoulder). When we relate to the protagonist, when we watch their inner world open up, when we see them in their most vulnerable states - that's when we get a little kick of Oxytocin. We empathize. Hence the reason we can "fall in love" with fictional characters!
Print these out. Tape them to your office walls.
Lisa (along with nearly ever other story scientist) believes that the hook of a great story lies within the characters themselves.
Remember to surprise your main character, show us their vulnerabilities, and put them in stressful situations!
Thanks for reading.
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