How Knowledge in the Field of Psychology Can Improve Your Writing
Credit: Pexels
Writers come from various backgrounds, heavily influencing their styles and techniques. However, the goal of writing remains the same: to connect to an audience. It requires more than just literary proficiency to achieve this; writers also need to have empathy and an understanding of people’s psychological states and motivations. This is especially true when reaching out to today’s audiences who are more in tune with their mental health and its implications.
While having a psychological background is not required to be an effective writer, there are many ways that the field of psychology can elevate your writing:
It can make you a better researcher
Plenty of research is required for writing, whether you’re composing a short story or a blog piece for your website. Psychologists often identify gaps in current research and review similar studies, which can be compared to how writers draw new insights from existing articles or stories to create something new. A review conducted by North-West University discusses various methods of conducting research heavily utilized in psychology. These can teach writers how to better conduct in-depth research and investigations on any given topic or issue. Whether you’re making observations or surveying others for information, knowing how to do it systematically can help you become a more effective writer.
It teaches you about interpersonal relationships
Human development is a complex branch of psychology that deals with social interactions and their effects on thoughts and behaviors. Psychology experts emphasize the huge impact of human, social, and cognitive growth on interpersonal and group relationships. As a SymptomFind write-up on empathy explains, writers can use this knowledge to better demonstrate emotions and their impact on people. As you grasp how characters might feel depending on their development and background, you can learn how to empathize with them as an author or writer. By looking at these relationships within the right context, writers can better produce work that captures aspects of behavior and the human experience. The result is more informed writing that resonates with its intended audience and achieves the desired objective, whether it’s to move, inform, persuade, or otherwise.
It can help you conduct better interviews
Occasionally, part of your research might involve having to conduct one-on-one interviews to collect data for your pieces. These are commonly utilized in psychology as well. It can be as easy as asking carefully chosen questions, but it is also important to have a clear objective so you can get the best responses possible. This will make your writing all the more effective if the interview is part of your process.
It’s best to first assess where the gaps in your knowledge are after reviewing the necessary literature, especially for nonfiction writers. That way, you can frame your questions to encourage responses that will fill those gaps at a more in-depth level. You can then gain more insight and meaning by creating additional questions that can lead to other ideas and points of discussion related to the topic. This can give your writing depth and nuance, which can make your story, article, or blog post all the more informed and effective. Author Nancy Castaldo’s books, for instance, show how effective research and analytical thinking can make a difference in good literature. Employing these skills post-interview can help you draw better conclusions and produce more effective pieces.
Submitted by Heaven Martel
Heaven Martel is a blogger with a passion for writing. She likes to explore the creative process behind writers and hopes her articles give her readers tips on how to be better writers themselves. In her free time, she loves to hike and read.
