A great writer does a lot of things that a good writer doesn’t. They constantly practice and experiment. And they bring emotions to their writing.

Why is emotion such an important aspect of writing? It is the part that brings people in and makes them feel something. And it is what makes your audience remember your writing. In marketing and just about every other industry, people remembering what you said and how that made them feel is the key to making business happen.

So how can you bring your own emotions to writing?

Practice when you don’t need it

This is something I do regularly to prepare myself for when I need an emotion or when I need to deal with the emotion. I take an emotion and focus on something that brings it up. That can be a memory, an image, a song or just about anything else that can possibly bring it up.

And then I work through it, either by trying to hold the opposite emotion at the same time or by dealing with it more directly. Whatever will best put water on the fire before it spreads. That varies from emotion to emotion.

It’s a good practice to make sure that a big emotion doesn’t overtake me in a way that I can’t continue to function. But it’s also great so I can bring up an authentic emotion when I need it for a piece of writing. An emotion that comes from an authentic place is more likely to permeate the writing and the writing can then connect better with the audience. And connecting better means that it’s much more likely they’ll do business with you.

Use it when it’s there

There are times that I’ve been in the middle of a workday and a big emotion has taken over me. I have two options at the at point: Stuff it down or work through it. If I have a piece of writing that needs that particular emotion, there is no question about what I am going to do. I take that emotion and work it into that piece of writing. In fact, that piece of writing gets prioritized unless I have something that absolutely has to be done.

The good thing about this is that the writing lets me work through the emotion, and I can move on with my day pretty quickly after doing this. So I don’t even have to take time out of my day to bring up the emotion or get rid of it. It’s a huge win-win for productivity.

Don’t force emotions

If you don’t have access to the emotions you need in either of those two ways, the worst thing you can possibly do is try to force something that’s not there. Your writing will start to read as inauthentic and may end up being a turn off to your audience.

So what do you do in this instance when you’re on deadline? Walk away and clear your head. Work through that emotion you’re currently in, so you can get to that emotion you need. Or, if possible, see if another piece can be used for the deadline that uses the emotion you’re currently in. Any one or some combination of them can help you get to what you need. And they can stop you from writing something that’s just not going to work.

Emotions are seriously one of your biggest writing allies, as long as you use them honestly without forcing them. When you do, your audience will respond and create more business for you in very unexpected ways. Just give it a try and see what happens.

Have you used emotions in your writing? Has it helped your business?