Story Genius, Lisa Cron
Story Genius, Lisa Cron
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Story Genius
How to Use Brain Science to Go Beyond Outlining and Write a Riveting Novel (Before You Waste Three Years Writing 327 Pages That Go Nowhere)

Author: Lisa Cron

Narrator: Brittany Pressley

Unabridged: 9 hr 36 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 06/02/2020

Synopsis

Following on the heels of Lisa Cron's breakout first book, Wired for Story, this writing guide reveals how to use cognitive storytelling strategies to build a scene-by-scene blueprint for a riveting story.

It’s every novelist’s greatest fear: pouring their blood, sweat, and tears into writing hundreds of pages only to realize that their story has no sense of urgency, no internal logic, and so is a page one rewrite. 

The prevailing wisdom in the writing community is that there are just two ways around this problem: pantsing (winging it) and plotting (focusing on the external plot). Story coach Lisa Cron has spent her career discovering why these methods don’t work and coming up with a powerful alternative, based on the science behind what our brains are wired to crave in every story we read (and it’s not what you think). 

In Story Genius Cron takes you, step-by-step, through the creation of a novel from the first glimmer of an idea, to a complete multilayered blueprint—including fully realized scenes—that evolves into a first draft with the authority, richness, and command of a riveting sixth or seventh draft.

About Lisa Cron

Lisa Cron has worked in publishing at W.W. Norton, as an agent at the Angela Rinaldi Literary Agency, as a producer on shows for Showtime and Court TV, and as a story analyst for Warner Brothers and the William Morris Agency. Since 2006 she has been an instructor in the UCLA Extension Writers' Program, and she is on the faculty of the School of Visual Arts MFA Program in Visual Narrative in New York City. She is a frequent presenter at writers conferences, universities and schools nationwide, and in her work as a story coach Lisa helps novelists, screenwriters, and journalists wrangle the story they want to tell onto the page.

Reviews

Goodreads review by Cindy on July 29, 2022

Hmm, mixed feelings on this one! I did find value in the author’s different take on story structure, which emphasizes character development and purpose to shape the story, rather than the traditional 'Save the Cat' method that can feel like paint-by-numbers plotting sometimes. One of the concepts I'......more

Goodreads review by Dannii on August 14, 2016

I received this on a read to review basis from NetGalley. Thank you to the author, Lisa Cron, and the publisher, Ten Speed Press, for this opportunity. This non-fiction was of unparalleled help whilst writing my own first novel. I assumed this to be a rehashing of well-known and repeated knowledge bu......more

Goodreads review by Abbie on November 23, 2019

4.5 STARS.As always, LOADED WITH INSIGHT AND INSPIRATION. I love Lisa Cron's writing advice because it's not like traditional writing advice— it resonates deep within your soul so you KNOW without having to fly blind into what "experts" think is true — you KNOW it makes sense because something ins......more

Goodreads review by Jo Berry on July 12, 2023

Rounding up to three stars. A story of almost two halves. I enjoyed the first 40 percent of this book and made a handful of notes, but the rest gets lost in a work-through of an imaginary novel in development. It sounds like a terrible novel as well, so it was quite painful to read long passages abo......more

Goodreads review by tappkalina on December 26, 2020

"We don't turn to story to escape reality. We turn to story to navigate reality." Probably will reread several times in the future.......more

Quotes

"Using brain science, Cron busts the myths of good writing to help you find the real story behind all that plot and metaphor."
-- The Writer

"In [Cron's] new book, Story Genius, she picks up the. . . theme. . . that a protagonist’s internal struggle makes the story work, and offers step-by-step advice on how to exploit this truth about neuroscience for richer, deeper, better first drafts. . . .Cron provides exercises and examples to keep writers on track, always highlighting the fact that emotions engage the brain faster than anything else. . . .The concepts are easy to understand and they are certainly important. Even if you can’t go on a retreat, you should try to find time to do the exercises for your own blueprint."
-- PsychologyToday.com

"It’s a simple question: 'How do you write an effective, engaging story?' Ask Lisa Cron. An accomplished author and story coach, she has just published her second book, Story Genius. A manual of sorts, it teaches cognitive storytelling strategies and uses actual brain science to help make its readers into better writers."
-- Creative Screenwriting

"Cron, author of Wired for Story, proposes this new book as the answer to the question, What’s the biggest mistake writers make? She uses psychology and other sciences to explain what makes an utterly compelling story and how to write one. . . .Novice writers looking for a step-by-step guide to how to build—or fix—their novel might find a lot of useful information in here. . ."
-- Publishers Weekly

"Lost in the quagmire of trying to write a novel? Well, forget everything you've ever been told about story, because chances are, it's totally wrong. So where to turn? Story guru Cron not only gives you the skinny on why and how stories work (and why and how we respond to them), she also shows you how to craft a novel step by step, working with author Jenny Nash from the germ of an idea to a living, breathing story. I'd never consider writing a novel without Lisa's input, and neither should you."
-- Caroline Leavitt, New York Times best-selling author of Is This Tomorrow and Pictures of You

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