Let's talk about the psychology behind making audiences more addicted to your stories than cats are to cardboard boxes. My 6 cats (yes, I know, I had 8 but now have 6) love cardboard boxes and end up shredding them, but back to what film schools teach about binge-worthy stories...
You see, film schools don't just teach you how to yell "action!" convincingly or wear berets at jaunty angles. They're secretly training grounds for legal drug dealers – except the drug is emotions, and the delivery method is storytelling.
What Film Schools Teach About Audience Engagement
Here's what those fancy professors know that they're teaching to wide-eyed film students:
The Zeigarnik Effect (AKA "The Netflix Cliffhanger Syndrome") Named after Russian psychologist Bluma Zeigarnik (who clearly never binge-watched anything because Netflix didn't exist yet), this effect shows that people remember unfinished tasks better than completed ones. In other words, cliffhangers work because our brains are basically that friend who can't stand not knowing how the story ends.
Parasocial Relationships (AKA "Why You Think TV Characters Are Your Friends") This is the psychological phenomenon where audiences develop one-sided relationships with fictional characters. Yes, it's totally normal that you cried harder when your favorite character died than when your houseplant did.
The Peak-End Rule (AKA "Why Bad Endings Ruin Everything") Discovered by Nobel laureate Daniel Kahneman (fancy!), this rule states that people judge experiences based on how they felt at the peak and the end. This is why you can write 299 amazing pages, but if page 300 stinks, readers will tell their friends your book was "meh." No pressure!
Emotional Contagion (AKA "Feelings Are Contagious, Like Yawns But More Profitable") When your character feels something strongly, your readers catch those feelings like they're emotional flu germs. This is why we ugly-cry during sad scenes even though we KNOW it's just words on a page. Our mirror neurons are such drama queens! Like someone in my family - no names mentioned!
Variable Reward Schedules (AKA "The Slot Machine Effect") Borrowed from casino psychology (because writers and casino owners are basically in the same business), this principle shows that unpredictable rewards keep people hooked. Sometimes your reader gets an amazing plot twist, sometimes a beautiful character moment, sometimes just more questions. Keep 'em guessing!
How to Use Psychological Elements to Make Your Books Bingeable
And how to have your readers miss their bus or train or forget to feed their 6 cats!
In Bingeable Books, we apply these psychological principles to create, and we take these psychological principles and turn them into practical tools. Because knowing the theory is great, but being able to apply it to make readers miss their subway stop because they couldn't stop reading? That's the real magic.
These aren't dirty tricks – they're time-tested psychological principles that explain why humans love stories in the first place. We're not manipulating; we're speaking the ancient language of human emotion that our ancestors used around campfires (except our campfires are Kindle screens, and our mammoths are usually metaphorical).,
So the next time someone asks why your readers can't put your books down, just smile mysteriously and say, "It's psychology, darling." Then walk away in slow motion while something explodes behind you. (The explosion is optional but highly recommended for dramatic effect.)
Stay tuned. We're going to dive deep into making your readers emotionally dependent on your writing. In a totally ethical, non-creepy way, of course!