How Stories Alter Brain Chemistry

A good story, said Leo Tolstoy, is like “an infection.”

More than a century later, neuroscience is proving him right.

Stories have the power to alter brain chemistry, writes Jonathan Gottschall in The Storytelling Animal: How Stories Make Us Human. A good story tugs the brain from its default daydream state and floods it with high doses of naturally created oxytocin, the feel-good “empathy chemical.”

In this story-induced altered state of consciousness, a person is more receptive to the needs of others and more suggestible to calls for change or action.

What are the hallmarks of a good story? And why does some content fall flat while other messaging “sings”?

Creating captivating content is both an art and a craft, combining both the principles of good storytelling and good writing.