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)
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- Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
- Create Date：2021-09-16 08:53:23
- Update Date：2025-09-06
- Status：finish
- Author：Lisa Cron
- ISBN：1607748894
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Summary
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。
Story Genius is a foolproof program that saves writers from penning hundreds of pages only to realize that something's not working and they have to start again。 Informed by story consultant Lisa Cron's science-based insights into how story structure is built into the architecture of the brain， this guide shows writers how to plumb the nitty-gritty details of their raw idea to organically generate a story scene by scene。 Once writers reach the end of Cron's program， they will have both a blueprint that works and plenty of compelling writing suitable for their finished novel--allowing them to write forward with confidence。
Story Genius is a foolproof program that saves writers from penning hundreds of pages only to realize that something's not working and they have to start again。 Informed by story consultant Lisa Cron's science-based insights into how story structure is built into the architecture of the brain， this guide shows writers how to plumb the nitty-gritty details of their raw idea to organically generate a story scene by scene。 Once writers reach the end of Cron's program， they will have both a blueprint that works and plenty of compelling writing suitable for their finished novel--allowing them to write forward with confidence。
Reviews
Jess Lessa
，
I used this book to teach myself more about writing craft and to help me prep for this year's NaNoWriMo， because YES， this year I actually am prepping instead of flying by the seat of my pants with only a one-sentence story idea to go off of。 I had some main character backstory and basic plot points for my WIP before going into this book and some of the exercises in it forced me to hack away at things more， leading to some major breakthroughs。 My book is in a better place after doing some of the I used this book to teach myself more about writing craft and to help me prep for this year's NaNoWriMo， because YES， this year I actually am prepping instead of flying by the seat of my pants with only a one-sentence story idea to go off of。 I had some main character backstory and basic plot points for my WIP before going into this book and some of the exercises in it forced me to hack away at things more， leading to some major breakthroughs。 My book is in a better place after doing some of the prep work in this book。 I'm thinking I'll combo the scene cards in this book with the outline system of Save The Cat Writes A Novel and come up with a decent， loose full outline to go into NaNoWriMo with。 I feel like a lot of the important prep work is already done after running my story through the exercises in this book！ That and months and months and MONTHS of research into pirate history。 :P There seem to be polarized opinions on this book but it helped me tremendously so I'd recommend it to anyone with a story idea and basic character backstory that they can run through the exercises with。 I don't think I would have enjoyed it as much if I was reading it straight through with no story to work through it with。 。。。more
Claire
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stopped on p136
Abhishek
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I think this one is great。 She may have hit upon the link that is generally missing in all those great writing books。 Or it might just be me。 The writing process is chaotic and painful， but as it turns out， also very personal。 It works differently for everyone based on their unique strengths。 Lisa Cron's blueprinting method seems to work for me， filling in the gaps that were making my writing life hard。 I think this one is great。 She may have hit upon the link that is generally missing in all those great writing books。 Or it might just be me。 The writing process is chaotic and painful， but as it turns out， also very personal。 It works differently for everyone based on their unique strengths。 Lisa Cron's blueprinting method seems to work for me， filling in the gaps that were making my writing life hard。 。。。more
Rachel Spayd
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If you want a to write a story: read this book！ This is definitely a slow read because there is a lot to digest。 I recommend taking your time and working through the writing exercises in each chapter。 I've learned a lot from reading this。 It's helped me to craft what I hope will one day become a fully developed and engaging story。 If you want a to write a story: read this book！ This is definitely a slow read because there is a lot to digest。 I recommend taking your time and working through the writing exercises in each chapter。 I've learned a lot from reading this。 It's helped me to craft what I hope will one day become a fully developed and engaging story。 。。。more
Liz
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It was fine。 Had some good things， but had far too much plotting ahead of time work， and that's just not how I work。 Good thing craft books like this aren't the be-all and end-all of writing。 I can pick what I like from it and toss the rest。 It was fine。 Had some good things， but had far too much plotting ahead of time work， and that's just not how I work。 Good thing craft books like this aren't the be-all and end-all of writing。 I can pick what I like from it and toss the rest。 。。。more
John Ohno
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While the science is sometimes a little dodgy， this book is full of good， specific advice -- and， what's more， it follows an actual in-progress novel being written with this technique （as opposed to dissecting and reverse-engineering some existing work）。 I've read a lot of writing manuals， & if I was going to recommend any of them to a working novelist， it would be this one。 While the science is sometimes a little dodgy， this book is full of good， specific advice -- and， what's more， it follows an actual in-progress novel being written with this technique （as opposed to dissecting and reverse-engineering some existing work）。 I've read a lot of writing manuals， & if I was going to recommend any of them to a working novelist， it would be this one。 。。。more
Allyson Jamison
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This book was a very informative step by step guide on how to plan your novel。 It teaches how to make it engaging and interesting for the reader。 Not just one that they thought was nice but one that moved them in a way that makes them want to share it with all of their friends。 It had a lot of great information but I must give it a lower rating for the language throughout it。 I did a lot of skipping to avoid it while still getting the good advice from it。 Read at your discretion。Content warnings This book was a very informative step by step guide on how to plan your novel。 It teaches how to make it engaging and interesting for the reader。 Not just one that they thought was nice but one that moved them in a way that makes them want to share it with all of their friends。 It had a lot of great information but I must give it a lower rating for the language throughout it。 I did a lot of skipping to avoid it while still getting the good advice from it。 Read at your discretion。Content warnings: Language 。。。more
Howard
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What a blast！ I now have a lot of homework to do。 Her system requires me to build characters based on emotion -- which is the value of a successful fiction story！ There is a section at the end of almost every chapter that tells you what to do next to build the blueprint of your story。 None of my short stories fit in this form because all of my characters are too shallow （I didn't hash them out beyond their names and other simple shallow features）。 Now is have a bit of work to do。 Thanks Lisa Cro What a blast！ I now have a lot of homework to do。 Her system requires me to build characters based on emotion -- which is the value of a successful fiction story！ There is a section at the end of almost every chapter that tells you what to do next to build the blueprint of your story。 None of my short stories fit in this form because all of my characters are too shallow （I didn't hash them out beyond their names and other simple shallow features）。 Now is have a bit of work to do。 Thanks Lisa Cron for the excellent advice！ 。。。more
Libby Waterford
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Pretty much a must-read for fiction writers。
Jessica
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This completely changed the way that I think about my outlining/planning process！！！ Such a great book。
Amy
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Great recommendation and a fantastic framework for planning a novel！
Anca Antoci
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I love it！ It put things in perspective and emphasize on the why behind the what。 The why gives meaning to the what and that's what makes a story interesting as long as the reader finds the why relatable。 I love it！ It put things in perspective and emphasize on the why behind the what。 The why gives meaning to the what and that's what makes a story interesting as long as the reader finds the why relatable。 。。。more
Amanda Nicole Corbin
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Really helped guide me on my character-driven story。 Found the holes I was missing。
Barbara Russell
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This is a good book， one of the best on writing that I've read so far。 I love how the author stresses the importance of focusing on the character's inner conflict。It makes sense。Still， there were a few things in the book that bothered me （**small rant ahead**）First， there's no brain science in the book。 No links to Lancet/Science/Cell/Nature papers。 The Blue Brain Project isn't even mentioned。 There isn't any source material。 The author uses sentences like "science has found that。。。 scientists h This is a good book， one of the best on writing that I've read so far。 I love how the author stresses the importance of focusing on the character's inner conflict。It makes sense。Still， there were a few things in the book that bothered me （**small rant ahead**）First， there's no brain science in the book。 No links to Lancet/Science/Cell/Nature papers。 The Blue Brain Project isn't even mentioned。 There isn't any source material。 The author uses sentences like "science has found that。。。 scientists have discovered that" without giving any evidence or reference。 I have a PhD in evolutionary biology， and while I can't say that I know everything about the evolution of the brain， I know that it's incredibly difficult for the scientists to prove that our brain is "hard-wired" （whatever that means） with a specific set of knowledge。 Innatism is hard to prove， even for simple things。 （No one has to explain to a new-born baby what to do to eat。 That's innate knowledge， but how do you prove it？） I seriously doubt someone discovered that our brain is hard-wired for story。 Also， dopamine is about anticipation， as Prof Robert Sapolsky will tell you， not curiosity。 It's possible that we produce dopamine when we read a good book， but that doesn't prove anything。 So， that part of the book was a disappointment。The other thing I wasn't particularly fond of was the story the author and her friend developed through the book。 Ruby， the main protagonist of that story， has a shocking lack of empathy。 She's an empty shell， who enjoys making people suffer。 She's selfish and mean。 Are we supposed to root for her？ The fact that we know her backstory （rather weak， imo） doesn't mean the reader is going to cheer for her。 She kidnaps a dog （for very doubtful reasons） without even thinking what kind of reaction the owner or the dog might have。 My dog would freak out and have a panic attack if a stranger grabbed her and took her away。 I was so upset about Ruby that I couldn't enjoy those examples。 Also， I think that with Ruby the authors pushed the "inner conflict" too far because Ruby's choices make no sense and don't make me feel sympathetic towards her。 They de-humanised it， turning it into a plot device， as ironic as it sounds。 Last thing， I suggest watching Abbie Emmons' videos on how she plots a book with a three-arc structure。 They're based on Story Genius and are simply awesome。 。。。more
Noula
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I wish I didn't hit send on about 40 queries last year。 I sent off my novel to literary agents and received rejections without knowing what was missing。 When I listened to this book， everything I wasn't supposed to do， I did。Now， after listening。。。I have a better understanding of the craft of writing fiction stories。 I encourage other writers to please read this book before you send that query letter。 It will save you a chance of representation！ Believe me Lisa Cron's books are worth every advic I wish I didn't hit send on about 40 queries last year。 I sent off my novel to literary agents and received rejections without knowing what was missing。 When I listened to this book， everything I wasn't supposed to do， I did。Now， after listening。。。I have a better understanding of the craft of writing fiction stories。 I encourage other writers to please read this book before you send that query letter。 It will save you a chance of representation！ Believe me Lisa Cron's books are worth every advice that you will not get out of that Writer's Digest Conference。 。。。more
Akje
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Lots of useful info， but I'd sure love to see various famous books blocked out using the Story Genius method to help me understand it better。 And I totally disagree with her insistence on writing a book chronologically， no matter how tempted you are to write a favorite future scene。 The time to write that scene is now， while you're feeling the fire。 If you wait until later， your words will be passionless and inadequate。 You're going to edit the damn thing anyhow， so when you get to that chapter Lots of useful info， but I'd sure love to see various famous books blocked out using the Story Genius method to help me understand it better。 And I totally disagree with her insistence on writing a book chronologically， no matter how tempted you are to write a favorite future scene。 The time to write that scene is now， while you're feeling the fire。 If you wait until later， your words will be passionless and inadequate。 You're going to edit the damn thing anyhow， so when you get to that chapter you can edit what you've already written to make it fit。 ¯\_（ﭢ）_/¯ 。。。more
Christopher Hain
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Content: 5 stars; Writing: 3 stars。
J。 M。
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Story Genius is an incredibly insightful guidebook for novel-writing。 In my opinion， the first chapter should be required reading for aspiring authors。 “Story is not about the plot， or what happens。 Story is about how the things that happen in the plot affect the protagonist， and how he or she changes internally as a result。”Grounded in this basic premise， Story Genius guides us through the entire process of writing of a novel， from crafting a premise to executing scenes， illustrating each step Story Genius is an incredibly insightful guidebook for novel-writing。 In my opinion， the first chapter should be required reading for aspiring authors。 “Story is not about the plot， or what happens。 Story is about how the things that happen in the plot affect the protagonist， and how he or she changes internally as a result。”Grounded in this basic premise， Story Genius guides us through the entire process of writing of a novel， from crafting a premise to executing scenes， illustrating each step with examples。 It also reveals a scene card that is surprisingly effective for conceptualizing and implementing powerful scenes。 At regular intervals along the way， Cron drops wisdom bombs like these:”Stories instill meaning directly into our belief system the same way experience does - not by telling us what is right， but by allowing us to feel it ourselves。””It is emotion， rather than logic， that telegraphs meaning， thus emotion is what your novel must be wired to transmit， straight from the protagonist to us。””The purpose of story - of every story - is to help us interpret， and anticipate， the actions of ourselves and of others。””The only way to change how someone thinks about something， is to first change how they feel about it。”No doubt， insights like these have been explored by neuroscience as advertised in this book’s title。 However， Story Genius will not tell us much， if anything， about the science behind the wisdom。 I personally found the false advertising in the title to be frustrating and disappointing， even though I probably don’t need to read about fMRI research to understand storytelling。 As a whole， this is a fantastic book for novelists full of unique insights that I hadn’t encountered in eight other books on the craft， and the first chapter is a must-read。 。。。more
Emma
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An incredible read。 I practically turned the pages neon with my highlighter。 Perfect for anyone wanting to write any and every kind of story。
Evelyn Erb Bognar
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This is a good tool to have in your tool belt if you are writing fiction。 I found the exercises in chapters 7 and 8 to be the most helpful。
Mathew
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All the bits about connecting to brain science or whatever always came off as thin， and not nearly well proven as stated。 But the exercises， prompts were insightful and I think helpful。 I am going to try to apply some or all of them to my WIP and see how it goes。
John F。
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Wow hmmm what to say 1。5 years reading this？ I feel like the amount of chapters could have been less as theres a lot of repetition om some aspects。 However there are some valuable chapters。 I think the strongest aspects of this book is the extensive character development 101 and the organization of the scenes using scene cards。 The rest is a bit meh imo。
Alyse Mgrdichian
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2。5， rounded down to a 2。 I'm conflicted on this one。 While there are some truly helpful bits of advice and information in this book （especially regarding the importance of "Inside Story" / character-focused storytelling）， Cron spends a lot of time repeating the same points， to the point where I almost DNF'd。 The purpose of the repetition was probably to drive her points home， but it came across more as unnecessary and slightly patronizing — i。e。， the book could've been shortened significantly w 2。5， rounded down to a 2。 I'm conflicted on this one。 While there are some truly helpful bits of advice and information in this book （especially regarding the importance of "Inside Story" / character-focused storytelling）， Cron spends a lot of time repeating the same points， to the point where I almost DNF'd。 The purpose of the repetition was probably to drive her points home， but it came across more as unnecessary and slightly patronizing — i。e。， the book could've been shortened significantly without changing its core content。 I also tend to be averse to books that give prescriptive checklists for guaranteed success — success， especially when it comes to writing， is never guaranteed， so I took this aspect of the book with a grain of salt。 I'd suggest checking it out from a library， getting the eBook， or borrowing from a friend， and gleaning what helpful information from it that you can。 （And there is helpful information — you just have to be willing to sift for it。） 。。。more
Ryky18
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I found this book extremely helpful for a beginning writer like me！ It helped me understand how to create a story and not just pile on scene after scene。
Peter
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A helpful book for any storyteller。
Julie Cordova
，
The information given is very good but there is a negative tone throughout that I had to choose to ignore to get the information。 I don't know if the author was trying for humor and failed or thinks a bit too highly of herself or chooses to speak down to others which is a bit annoying but the tone is simple enough to ignore。 There is enough good humor that hits the mark and an abundance of good info that I read the book and took notes and listened to it and reread it and listened to it again and The information given is very good but there is a negative tone throughout that I had to choose to ignore to get the information。 I don't know if the author was trying for humor and failed or thinks a bit too highly of herself or chooses to speak down to others which is a bit annoying but the tone is simple enough to ignore。 There is enough good humor that hits the mark and an abundance of good info that I read the book and took notes and listened to it and reread it and listened to it again and plan to do it again。I needed this information to fix my failed attempt to write books。 I needed it to help me take my fledgling ideas and flesh them out so I don't end up with more book that needs fixing。 I highly recommend it for writers of all stages。 。。。more
Jonathan Hilburg
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Clear， easy to read， and full of helpful advice。 Cron lays bare the problem facing a lot of writers who can't figure out how to center their books by telling you to focus not just on the main character as a plot device， but someone who needs to grow and change throughout if you want to create something *good*。 It's all about cutting open your characters and touching the live wire at their centers。 Would definitely recommend to authors both looking to improve their work or who don't even know whe Clear， easy to read， and full of helpful advice。 Cron lays bare the problem facing a lot of writers who can't figure out how to center their books by telling you to focus not just on the main character as a plot device， but someone who needs to grow and change throughout if you want to create something *good*。 It's all about cutting open your characters and touching the live wire at their centers。 Would definitely recommend to authors both looking to improve their work or who don't even know where to start。 。。。more
Nettie
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Was interesting to understand how the brain is wired to understand story。
Glen Engel-Cox
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While not perfect （what book， especially a book on writing， is？）， I believe this will prove very useful for my writing process。 As others have commented， it's very Western-culture specific， but then so am I， although I try to understand and include other cultures into my work。 What this really brings to my process is the planning that I am very bad about。 In writing terms， my past process has been what's called "pantsing，" where you start writing and you don't stop until you're finished， i。e。， w While not perfect （what book， especially a book on writing， is？）， I believe this will prove very useful for my writing process。 As others have commented， it's very Western-culture specific， but then so am I， although I try to understand and include other cultures into my work。 What this really brings to my process is the planning that I am very bad about。 In writing terms， my past process has been what's called "pantsing，" where you start writing and you don't stop until you're finished， i。e。， writing by the seat of your pants。 I may have picked that up from joe r。 lansdale who once told me the way to write was apply butt （and pants） to chair in front of the typewriter。 I suspect Lansdale has planned and plotted， though， and part of his advice wasn't about the process but the discipline of just sitting down and doing the work。 My first novel grew out of a short story that basically provided the planning for one-third of the novel。 The other two thirds of that novel are what Cron here suggests that you know and write down， but not necessarily include in your final book。 Ooops。 But I'm currently trying to break the sophomore slump and finish a second novel， after multiple fits and starts， and I'm going to use this book to see if I can do a better job of planning it out。 。。。more
Niquita Utrera
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