Wired for Story, Lisa Cron
Wired for Story, Lisa Cron
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Wired for Story
The Writer's Guide to Using Brain Science to Hook Readers from the Very First Sentence

Author: Lisa Cron

Narrator: Brittany Pressley

Unabridged: 7 hr 59 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 01/31/2023

Synopsis

This guide reveals how writers can utilize cognitive storytelling strategies to craft stories that ignite readers’ brains and captivate them through each plot element.

Imagine knowing what the brain craves from every tale it encounters, what fuels the success of any great story, and what keeps readers transfixed. Wired for Story reveals these cognitive secrets—and it’s a game-changer for anyone who has ever set pen to paper.

The vast majority of writing advice focuses on “writing well” as if it were the same as telling a great story. This is exactly where many aspiring writers fail—they strive for beautiful metaphors, authentic dialogue, and interesting characters, losing sight of the one thing that every engaging story must do: ignite the brain’s hardwired desire to learn what happens next. When writers tap into the evolutionary purpose of story and electrify our curiosity, it triggers a delicious dopamine rush that tells us to pay attention. Without it, even the most perfect prose won’t hold anyone’s interest.

Backed by recent breakthroughs in neuroscience as well as examples from novels, screenplays, and short stories, Wired for Story offers a revolutionary look at story as the brain experiences it. Each chapter zeroes in on an aspect of the brain, its corresponding revelation about story, and the way to apply it to your storytelling right now.

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 Mignon on March 25, 2013

By the fourth page I had dug my highlighter out of my purse, and by page 10 I was dog-earring pages. I had started reading it while waiting for a doctor's appointment, and I was actually disappointed when the doctor finally showed up because I had to stop reading. Lisa's insights about what makes a g......more

Goodreads review by Abbie on November 23, 2019

If you know me at all, you know that I strongly disagree with most "writing advice." Not because I think authors are wrong in the way they write -- but as part of human nature, we will always transfer information that is relevant to us and us alone. For instance, if you pick up a book called "How To......more

Goodreads review by Jasmine on August 07, 2012

If you can only buy one book on the craft of writing, let it be this one. I read it in a handful of days and there was so much stellar information I know I'll be reading it several times and making copious notes. If you're looking for a handbook that tells you about not using adverbs and avoiding dr......more

Goodreads review by Bradley on August 30, 2012

This could have been the best book on story writing that I've read that wasn't written specifically for screenwriters if it wasn't for the poor writing. It's as if the author has done little of it over the years and the book only got a proofreader rather than an editor. Because of that, I found it d......more

Goodreads review by Dmitry on February 04, 2025

This is yet another book about writing, and I already have a whole shelf of them. Yet I keep buying more — perhaps because they give me a sense of connection. It’s comforting to know that someone else is just as concerned with the craft and the search for better ways to tell stories. Wired for Story......more

Quotes

 
“We all love a good story but most of us struggle to write them. Lisa Cron enlightens us as to how to get the job done in a savvy and engaging way.”
—Michael Gazzaniga, neuroscientist and director of the SAGE Center for the Study of Mind, University of California, Santa Barbara

“Story guru Lisa Cron unlocked my last novel for me over lunch, but if you can’t have her by your side when you’re wrestling your manuscript, the next best thing is this smart, funny, genius book about the myths, realities, and brass tacks of story. Packed with innovative tips and techniques, it's as essential to any writer as a laptop, and much more fun.”
—Caroline Leavitt, author of New York Times best seller Pictures of You

“Wired for Story reveals that stories are not only a metaphor for human striving and survival, but they are also the means by which the brain ensures that we survive. Lisa Cron translates the latest neuroscience into a master guidebook for how to write engaging, meaningful, and moving stories.”
—Elizabeth Lyon, author of Manuscript Makeover
 
“As a story consultant for business executives as well as artists, I am always searching for ways to convey the skill set involved in constructing a story. Wired for Story presents basic principles for harnessing the natural power of the brain to recognize and create stories in a way that is inspiring and entirely helpful.”
—Murray Nossel, PhD, founder of Narativ Inc.
 
“Remember when Luke has to drop the bomb into the small vent on the Death Star? The story writer faces a similar challenge of penetrating the brain of the reader. This book gives the blueprints.”
—David Eagleman, neuroscientist at Baylor College of Medicine and author of Incognito: The Secret Lives of the Brain

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