A pickpocket's favourite writing technique.

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“When you’re in love, it’s the most glorious two and a half days of your life.”

That's comedian Richard Lewis demonstrating the art of...

The Misdirect

It's the writing equivalent of a pickpocket.

The pickpocket artist knows most unsuspecting brains can only concentrate on one thing at a time. And so they create a distraction and the next thing you know, you’re on the horn with VISA, cancelling your credit card.

It’s similar when writing.

You lead your reader to think things are going one way and then you hit their unsuspecting brain with the good stuff.

Classic setup/punchline stuff.

A lot of writers deceive audiences by misdirecting with tones. They start with a formal tone and then wham-o.

That one☝️starts more technical before switching to something sillier.

Our brains are obsessive pattern completers. Even when we know a joke is coming we can be blind to the twist because our brain's default setting is to predict more logical conclusions.

When you hear February 14th, what's the first thing you think of?

Below is an oft-copied campaign. It made the rounds years ago and is still being "replicated" by other brands today.

In the example below, the design helps with the Misdirect. Our eyes are drawn to the big headline and then compelled to read the twist underneath.

Her smirk☝️ tips us off a wee bit but we don't notice it because our brains are focused on the distraction.

Here's a handful more.

This next one 👇, "is hands down the funniest YouTube comment of all time".

Here's another...

I love the shift in tone with☝️ tweet. Our poor brains didn't stand a chance.

And last but not least...

Tips for writing Misdirects

You can't just open up a blank page and think, "I'm gonna write some Misdirects."

But you can sharpen your radar for spotting sentences that are ripe for a twist.

Write all the straight, expected and cliche things you can think of related to your message. Then comb over those suckers to see if you can add an unexpected.
Pay attention when you’re writing. When you feel your brain writing something “correctly” aka the way everyone does it, stop, say, “Muah-haha, Muahahahahaha” and then twist that sucker.
Mess around with tone. Think about how you want the reader to feel at the end of the line, then start with the opposite. If you’re writing for a rebellious brand, start out wholesome. If you're writing for a playful brand, start scientific. If your endpoint is simplistic, start out overly technical.
Mess around with your target audience. If you’re appealing to meat eaters, start by pretending how much you care about sentient beings. Then smash their unsuspecting brains with your evil twist.
Make sure your twists or punchlines come at the end of the sentence, like the very end.

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Have a confident and creative week,

Dan

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