As a Story Mentor who helps people tell their stories on the web, I read a lot of e-newsletters for internet marketers and content publishers. One of my favorites is Mequoda Daily.

The newsletter I received from them yesterday talked about the power of writing something called fascinations. An example they gave is: What you should never eat on an airplane.

The newsletter explains:

Fascinations can be compelling, benefit-driven bullets that motivate the reader to discover the answer to a riddle. Often, fascinations take the form of mini-puzzles that engage the reader and force him to break out of his "trance state." The only essential element is that the fascination must confront the reader with a question, puzzle or mystery. That’s because questions always interrupt the complacency of reportage. Questions literally break the internal mental dialogue of the reader.

How do you begin writing a fascination? With words like how, when, where or why. The article also suggests using words like discover, secrets and amazing.

Fascinations draw on our natural curiosity as human beings, on our love of mystery and our desire to find answers to questions that intrigue us. You can even find this technique in very old folk songs, such as The Riddle Song:

How can there be a cherry without a stone?

How can there be a chicken without a bone?

How can there be a ring without an end?

How can there be a baby with no cryin’?

So the next time you want to get someone’s attention on your blog or online article, try writing a fascination!