Write With Passion: 4 Steps To Emotionally Charge A Nonfiction Article


You have just completed a draft of an article. It seemsflat, even to you. It needs some spunk. Needs to be morealive. Possibly you're at a loss on how to spruce it up sothat it creates an emotional connection with the readers.

A flat fiction character is easier to fix with emotionallanguage than a nonfiction article. Especially if thenonfiction article doesn't include a character or anemotional story. Keep in mind that if you have written thearticle from a personal experience perspective, then thereis a chance you have already included some emotionallycharge language. Then all you need to do is ask, "Does thearticle have enough emotionally charged language to touch myreaders, to pull them in, to keep them reading, to move themto action or possibly a conclusion?"

Why would you even want to add emotion to a nonfictionarticle? It's sure easier not too. Adding emotion to yourwriting, any type of writing, fuels the reader's attention,helps them connect with the action. It gives the reader anexperience. Experience is why people go to the movies orwatch TV. More importantly, it keeps them reading.

"What does emotionally charge mean exactly?" Emotionallycharged means using language that stirs the reader in someform. Not to sound flippy, but when and how frequentlyemotions need to occur depends on what the subject, tone,and angle. Yes, even tone matters in a nonfiction article.Is it to be terse, confident, or are you talking as anexpert? Maybe it's a learning tone? From a previousstudent now teacher. An informing tone, usually overused innonfiction, turns off readers if used consistently, like ina column, or multiple articles, on your web site, or in anewsletter.

Step 1: Find the Emotion

Begin by defining what main emotion you want the reader tofeel or to understand. Were you peeved about something andit set off the writing of this article? Maybe you see awrong and want to set the record straight, or to convey adifferent truth, a truth from your perspective. Is itcompassion oriented or spiritually based? Maybe you want toconvey an inspirational or motivating tone. Is it love thatyou want to convey? Love for a topic. Love for a hobby orsomething you're passionate about. Your love, someoneelse's, the world's, who's, and how much love do you want tosend out?

You can limit the number of emotions according to the wordcount. Here's a common calculation: