Lisa CronRezensionen

Based on a Michael Chabon novel by the same name, Wonder Boys is my favorite movie about writers. In it is an exchange that’s apropos of this review. Grady has lost the only copy of a novel he had been writing for years and tries to explain the gravity of that situation to Vernon. When Vernon asks Grady what the book was about, Grady can’t summarize the plot. Vernon asks, “Why did you keep writing this book if you didn’t even know what it was about?” Grady answers, “I couldn’t stop.”

For the past few years, I, too, have been writing because I couldn’t stop. I have several manuscripts so far off-base that they’ll be lucky if I don’t delete them out of shame. I tried to pinpoint what went wrong and traced some issues to buying Scrivener, which is great software that makes it too easy for me to write out of order. Doing so created logic problems in my writing. To be clear, this is a “me” problem, not a Scrivener issue. That method likely works great for other people.

I convinced myself I would find the words if I could manage a few key scenes. I jumped in cold, exploring ideas on the page that didn’t have full plot potential, and did so with little forethought about the characters.

I know better. Still, I tried to build a better mousetrap. Fewer drafts. Increased productivity.

I came to Story Genius humble after repeated false starts and failures. I needed a way to outline without outlining. Lisa Cron calls her method “blueprinting.” It is an exploratory write-as-you-go model that makes sure every chapter has a purpose, often a sub-purpose, and that the characters and plot are so carefully intertwined that the cause-and-effect relationship comes naturally—as long as you can answer a few key questions about what you’re going to write before you write it.

I have so many ideas for my upcoming novel, many of which beg further questions. Some will be scenes. Others will not because they don’t pass the test. That I didn’t ask these questions about purpose and how one thing leads logically to the next toward a loose ending is beyond me. The author gives examples throughout that are helpful for those who hear “Show don’t tell” and don’t quite know what that means in practical application.

Read the whole book before applying the advice. Each chapter builds on the next, the later chapters helping guide the writer away from pitfalls. I read it with a notebook in hand and jotted down notes about my work-in-progress for down the road. Achieving a flow state is akin to a writer’s nirvana. I am there, finally. I can’t recommend this guide strongly enough. I enjoyed it so much that I picked up Wired for Story to read next.

When I write plot comes most naturally to me, but I tend to find character-based stories more compelling. This book is all about creating your story from the emotional core outward, so it's perfect for me. Create tension between what your protagonist wants and the beliefs they hold that make them get in their own way. Put them in a scenario that forces their desire up against their troublesome beliefs and watch them go on a grand adventure about it.

There was a lot of hand-wavy pseudo-science about the origin of stories in our species and why stories are so important to us, but it was easy enough to skim past them and focus on the method.

3.5 stars

Helpful, clarified things for my writing project, even though it is non-fiction. It you want to write, definitely add this to your list.

Dear fellow writers,

This has been the best of the (several) writing advice books I've tried. I've even recc'd it on the Reddit r/writing community several times. Why? Because while some readers enjoy the world a writer creates, most of us want to connect with characters (whether we're aware of that or not), and this book will take a writer through exercises to teach us how to create that emotional resonance every time, whether the character is "likable" or not. My library has it, try yours if you can't afford it right now. What can it hurt? :)

Love,
Your future favorite author and/or reader

The premise is interesting but there's far too much repetition to make this a good read. It comes across as condescending and Cron ignores her own premise by having so few concrete examples to illustrate her points.

I like the beginning of the book. But it gets too complicated for my ADHD brain as it goes on.

Cron would like you believe she’s found a way of cutting to the most essential aspect of storytelling. The thesis is that the protagonist’s internal struggle with a problem is all. This leads her to admire the 50 shades of grey because it sold well despite being forgettable garbage. Therefore Cron makes no effort to write well. This is a bloated mess weighed down by her annoying asides and flat jokes. The actual content would be 15-20 pages (tops) if this was edited to help the reader. I think this person is really doing a disservice to share such flatulence with aspiring writers.

Good advice on blocking out your story to get you to the end.

Not for me. I felt like it was trying to teach intuitive writing, but I already do a lot od that, and the plot cards were too overwhelming. I just don't think that way.

Compelled by the title, I chose the book to read. It started off on an interesting note, but soon I realised it is specifically for the fiction writers, and not for copywriters in general. So, didn't find much to my benefits.

Pluses: Her emphasis on what characters feel, believe, and want, and the importance of having that be what drives the events of your story, makes deep sense to me. The exercises on writing backstory were interesting and useful to me.

Minuses: She's very insistent that this is the only way for a successful novel to be, whatever its genre, and I don't buy that. Agatha Christie's novels do not turn on Hercule Poirot realizing that some core belief of his needs to be revised; among other things, there's no way that he could go through that many dozens of changes of heart -- she wrote a lot of those books. To give another example, books don't necessarily have a single protagonist.

She's got a very specific process for organizing your work and ideas and developing your novel (and she's talking exclusively about novels, not addressing shorter forms directly) that I don't think will work for me and the things I write. The fact that all her ideas about how belief and feeling drives action are kind of embedded in a series of steps to take, down to what folders (physical or virtual) you should use to organize your work in progress, makes it hard to me to take what I need and leave the rest.

The example novel that's being developed to show us how the process goes doesn't impress me. I would not consider reading the resulting book.

And some of what she does doesn't really apply to fan fiction, which is mostly what I write, but that's not necessarily a strike against her. She should be evaluated on whether she's made a good guide to writing a novel, because that's what she set out to do.

I don't lover her writing -- a lot of the analogies she uses to sell her writing points seem overblown and unnecessarily complex.

So, I think I've gotten benefits from reading this book that will make me a better writer. But I didn't love reading it, and if I were setting out to write a novel I don['t think I would be following her methodology to the letter (and she's so detailed that modifying it feels tricky, plus it bumps up against some of my black and white thinking).

Okay so when I started off this book it didn't seem that good and the author seemed really full of herself and was using a lot of words to say nothing at all in an attempt to hook the reader. This went on way too long. A chapter, sure, but three and a half? I was about ready to put down the book.

But then it got good. It started to get into the nitty-gritty, providing examples from a real author (bc the author is a professional critic or something like that, she hasn't actually written a book but that doesn't mean her advice isn't good). Once you get into that the advice is really good and she gives you exercises to work out where your story needs to start, go, and how your characters develop and all for that. It's very good.

This has taught me a lot but I feel there was a bit of a bait and switch going on. For a book supposedly about h0w neurology relates to storytelling, it is very short on the science.
The fact that every protagonist in every book has a major misbelief which drives the whole story seems a little too prescriptive for me.

Bought this book for shelves. This is one I want handy.

Excellent book on what makes a good story (SparkNotes version -- emotion, emotion, emotion). For anyone trying to engage readers, this is an excellent explanation of why stories work and step-by-step primer on what to do as you are constructing a story. It isn't fool proof (too many fools in the world) but really worth it if you are a story-teller.

Every writer should read this book. It has great insight into how the brain and the written word interface and the avenue is via story. Fantastic learning tool for writers of all ability levels.

I was turned on to Wired for Story through an interview Chuck Wendig did with Lisa Cron in July 2012 for his blog Terribleminds. She gave us her views on developing story. Lisa has a very fresh take on the importance of STORY and how it relates to the human brain. She is a producer for Showtime and Court TV, a writer, and also teaches a writing course at UCLA, but spent the last ten years researching the connection between neuroscience and how the brain relates to stories. It’s quite fascinating and illuminating, allowing us to learn techniques that will make our story click with the reader. They can’t help themselves, the brain is hard wired for receiving stories and if we can strike the right chord it will resonate within the readers mind.
On Lisa's blog she touched on why books that get panned by critiques can still sell at amazing rates. It answers the question as to why books like 50 Shades of Gray can sell millions of books. I remember picking up The Hunger Games, because my wife and daughter love it, and reading the first couple of pages and saying to myself, the prose just aren’t all that, but next thing I knew I was 100 pages in and couldn’t put it down. Stephanie Myers' Twilight books have been criticized for not having elaborate prose also, but the one thing all of these books have in common is they tell a great story and in a way that touches those chords in the mind.

Wired for Story is broken down into twelve chapters with a cognitive hook and a writer's shortcut she calls the story secret for each chapter. She gives us concrete examples for each section of the book and breaks down what the writer is doing.

The concept is amazing -- we are designed to think in story form. It allows us to use a form of mental telepathy with the story teller, that when done right is an experience almost as visceral as the real thing. It allows us to learn by using the experience of the story instead of having to live through something to learn it the hard way. It has certainly saved lives. The takeaway for Lisa is that we need to hook the reader from the very first sentence. She opens up her book with some fascinating facts about how the brain filters the 11 million bits of information that are bombarding us every second. Wham, she has me right away. Learning through story has been saving mankind since the stone age.

Next, she explain in very clear terms what story actually is:
"What happens" is the plot.
"Someone" is the protagonist.
The "Goal" is what's known as the story question.
And "how he or she changes" is what the story itself is actually about.
As counterintuitive as it may sound, a story is not about the plot or even what happens in it. Stories are about how we, rather than the world around us, change.
She continues with ways to hook the reader. Tidbits like "nothing focuses the mind like surprise" and "we are looking for a reason to care" and "we need to meet the protagonist as soon as possible" cut right through the b. s. and give us concrete clues. She describes the reasons we need to be clear in our writing so that the reader can anticipate what might happen next. That is what will keep them turning the page.
She also has an interesting take on writing style. She claims that "learning to 'write well' is not synonymous with learning to write a story. And of the two, writing well is secondary." This probably won't go down well with literary fiction fans, but for genre writers the message is clear -- tell us an interesting story.

She describes the relationship of theme with plot and how tone is just as important has what you are saying. The key to the whole thing lies with emotion. It determines the meaning of everything. If we aren't feeling we aren't conscious, and we certainly aren't reading the book if it's not reaching us on an emotional level.

She breaks down the use of POV for conveying feelings and thoughts. She is not a fan of head hopping, because it is so jarring if done poorly.
She describes the essence of why showing is so much more effective than telling.

Cause and effect has its own chapter and it clearly delineates why each scene should ask "What is at stake here?" Everything needs to be connected together so that it can make sense. She also discusses how to stay focused on the cause and effect and still keep things unpredictable.

She closes the book with a chapter on revision and how to do it right, adding in the layers that take a book to the next level. This book is so chock full of useful advice, and I've only touched on a few things here. It should be mandatory reading for every beginning level writing course. She opened my eyes to thinking about writing in a completely different way. The tools are the same, but it's all in the focus. I can't say enough positive things about this brilliant book.

A better title for this book: "The Successful Author's Bible."

Sage advice and much more than short term inspiration fix. Rather than another book on writing mechanics, you get the "real secrets" to hooking your readers and keeping them hooked. Lisa Cron shows you how to blueprint your book, keeping the data organized and cohesive as you build. This gave me the framework I desperately needed to funnel my creativity and keep sudden flashes of inspiration from taking a rabbit trail. You get a step by step process and can write your story as you read. I did this for a while, but I digested her process and her points better when I kept reading. I now reference it as I continue building my story.

If MLM publishes a blockbuster in 3-ish years, I'll come back with proof. :-)

Another great book to hone your writing skills. It was recommended by an agent.

A proscriptive plan to write fiction is what this book provides. It’s a step-by step way process based on the premise all protagonists have a misbelief that’s realised or not in the climax when they have an “aha” moment.

It’s all about the protagonist and her emotional journey. The sub-plots and the characters all have to affect her and propel the story.

An example of a novel in progress is used to show how it’s done.

Story Genius will provide a solid structure and, if you stick to the plan, a tight and compelling novel.

Book Review – Story Genius by Lisa Cron.

Story Genius: How To Use Brain Science To Go Beyond Outlining And Write A Riveting Novel by Lisa Cron is a non-fiction title that looks at planning and forming connection between your characters and the reader’s emotions using the craft of writing.

The Cover: The cover is a good fit with the non-fiction genre and the image is fitting for the concept spoken about within the book.

The Good Stuff: This book covers some of the techniques a writer needs to know: Plotting, planning, characters arcs, etc… but it is done an entirely new way compared to other books I have read on these topics. There is some great information in this book and I did find the concept interesting and somewhat enlightening. The author is obviously talented and experienced in this field, and shares a wealth of her knowledge with the reader. I certainly found some insights into new ways of looking at things that I will put into use.

The Bad Stuff: I hate to say it, but I struggled through this book. I struggled because I like to get to the point quickly, but the author seems to waffle on a bit too much for me. I’m not saying it was a bad book, because it wasn’t bad by any means. I struggled because the examples were in a genre I do not read. I struggled because the author tries to make a closer connection with the reader. I struggled because it was too nice and fluffy for me. I can see many readers would love this, but it isn’t for me.

Overall, for a writer, there is value in reading this book. If you write romance or ‘chick lit’ you will probably love it. If it were written using horror or fantasy examples and was more succinct, I would have raved about it. As it stands, I didn’t love it, but I didn’t hate it either. I’m ranking this one 3 out of 5 golden bookmarks for a worthwhile lesson in connecting with readers.

If you are a writer, Lisa goes through the process of how to make your book better by ensuring you are using your protagonist to the fullest and getting into the emotional side of the story. There is a learning curve to this method, but even if used in bits and pieces, you will find you are getting to where the story really needs to start and make the protagonist's need the main driver of the story, not the plot. I will keep it as a resource for when I'm having difficulty getting that character to to the right direction.

This book is geared to writers who are wanting to improve their books with engaging characters to speak to you. The cards she recommends you do are easily done in Scrivener and are a great help in keeping you on track with where you need to go with the story while allowing your creativity to change things as needed.

This is one writing craft book that'll really keep you thinking on your toes. What am I really writing about? How does this affect my protagonists inner journey? Time after time, again and again, Lisa brings us through a case study of a real manuscript by writer Jenny Nash. Skillfully causing us to ask ourselves what is it that I'm actually writing about? What is my story? How does this affect my story?

Put this one on your TBR list to read and reread. High fives to Lisa Cron for pulling this one out of the hat.

One good idea, lots of words.

One good idea, lots of words.