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lostphysics's review
informative
inspiring
medium-paced
5.0
Genuinely changed the whole way I thought about writing and storytelling.
mistressviolet's review
informative
slow-paced
2.0
There is some very good advice in this book—very usable information for any writer. The knowledge and recommendations are solid.
However, I wasn't a fan of the delivery. The information is often vague and conceptual, and as the book progressed, it became even more so. Even with many of the “What to Do” sections, it was hard to distill what techniques were actually being recommended. As a reader, you have to weed around and patchwork the techniques together yourself to really get to the essence of the methodology.
As it stands, this book does have some valid information. But I found it hard to immerse myself in a DIY book that is convoluted, talks in circles, and doesn't have clear points of reference.
readwithrache's review
5.0
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.
flower_bomb's review
4.0
Very little brain science to speak of. Good messages and explanations about how character motivation drives plot. Useful examples for writers who are having a very hard time implementing the concepts to follow, but probably overkill for most readers.
karenleagermain's review
5.0
I don’t often review writing craft books, but Lisa Cron has helped me dig my way out of a cycle of dead-end edits. She is a story structure wizard and her book, Story Genius: How to Use Brain Science to go Beyond Outlining and Write a Riveting Novel, has been priceless for getting me back on track with my story.
A bit of backstory; I graduated from the UCLA Extension Writer’s Program several years ago, and had a solid first draft of a novel. As part of my UCLA experience, I was able to pick one professor to give me a written critique and meeting regarding my manuscript. I picked the incredible, New York Times Bestselling author, Caroline Leavitt for my review. Leavitt had been my instructor for a story structure course and had been very supportive of my writing. She also happens to have given a blurb on the cover of Story Genius. I came across Story Genius separately from working with Leavitt, but I was not surprised to see the connection. Leavitt gave me great advice on how to proceed with my edits, but as I moved forward, I still felt stuck. Last spring, I joined a writer’s critique group, and I have been testing fundamental changes to both my protagonist and the first part of my story, but nothing was working.
Story Genius had been sitting on my bookshelf, so I decided to give it a read. It’s an eye-opener! Cron gives a clear explanation of what attracts humans to stories, including how it triggers us in ways we don’t realize. She details the fundamental elements that stories must have, and how to make sure these key ideas are woven into your story.
Her book has exercises to create story structure prior to outlining or writing your novel. The exercises will develop your characters, which in turn, will inform your plot. I read through Story Genius without doing the exercises, and now, I’m going through the book a second time, following the exercises. Immediately, I feel like I’m on the right path towards correcting the problems with my novel. I had been in a huge slump, but now I feel confident that I know how to solve my character and story structure issues. More than confident, I’m excited about my story. I’m excited to write. The initial thrill is back!
Story Genius is an indispensable craft book, and I only wish that I had known about it prior to starting my novel. I highly recommend it for writers of all levels. I’m sure that it will be read many times, especially as I embark on new projects.
A bit of backstory; I graduated from the UCLA Extension Writer’s Program several years ago, and had a solid first draft of a novel. As part of my UCLA experience, I was able to pick one professor to give me a written critique and meeting regarding my manuscript. I picked the incredible, New York Times Bestselling author, Caroline Leavitt for my review. Leavitt had been my instructor for a story structure course and had been very supportive of my writing. She also happens to have given a blurb on the cover of Story Genius. I came across Story Genius separately from working with Leavitt, but I was not surprised to see the connection. Leavitt gave me great advice on how to proceed with my edits, but as I moved forward, I still felt stuck. Last spring, I joined a writer’s critique group, and I have been testing fundamental changes to both my protagonist and the first part of my story, but nothing was working.
Story Genius had been sitting on my bookshelf, so I decided to give it a read. It’s an eye-opener! Cron gives a clear explanation of what attracts humans to stories, including how it triggers us in ways we don’t realize. She details the fundamental elements that stories must have, and how to make sure these key ideas are woven into your story.
Her book has exercises to create story structure prior to outlining or writing your novel. The exercises will develop your characters, which in turn, will inform your plot. I read through Story Genius without doing the exercises, and now, I’m going through the book a second time, following the exercises. Immediately, I feel like I’m on the right path towards correcting the problems with my novel. I had been in a huge slump, but now I feel confident that I know how to solve my character and story structure issues. More than confident, I’m excited about my story. I’m excited to write. The initial thrill is back!
Story Genius is an indispensable craft book, and I only wish that I had known about it prior to starting my novel. I highly recommend it for writers of all levels. I’m sure that it will be read many times, especially as I embark on new projects.
aliyah_d's review
funny
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
4.0
TL;DR : This book is essentially about two things : outlining and worldbuilding with utility and then writing each scene according to a pattern that will give them coherence and weight. Like all writing guidebooks, it’s not a one-size-fit-all methodology and this one is specific. The brain science is only a short part and at the beginning so I wouldn’t recommend this to people seeking out a scientific analysis of our relationship to stories (see the author earlier work for that). The middle section offers a good dissection of the thought process any writer should approximately go through in regard to their (single-pov) protagonist, plot, setting and message. If the events you write sounds like a bunch of “And then and then, and then”, this could help you. If you think your characters are fleshed out, this might make you reconsider.
Whole review :
I did not pick up this book for the science’s brain dive in. I feel obligated to announce this right out of the gates, as I sense this is a driving force in why I loved this book so much while others felt like they didn’t get what was advertised.
Now, I will segment my review by following the way the book itself is divided.
Regarding the first part of the novel, on using science to understand what is a story : I considered the overall length of this part to be sufficient to explain the way our brains are wired to create or enjoy stories. Although, even as a non expert on the subject, the analysis did feel quite barebones for a book that has “how to use brain science…” as part of its title. So, if you’re a brain science nerd, like the majority has already pointed out, this won’t satisfy you much and you might as well stop reading here. I can see why some felt misled in that regard.
Moreover, I have mixed feelings about the myth galore section. Like a lot of books of that sort, or I’ve been told, it was a series of affirmations about writing and writers, what's definitely bad and what's definitely better, which I don’t necessarily agree with.
The second part of the novel is where it all came to life for me. Cron has a gift for explaining things that seem simple and acquired and making you truly assimilate them. This section of the book will help you construct credible characters by helping you build their worldview, therefore their personality therefore giving weight to their actions and the events they will go through. The word « Why » in particular is hammered down but powerful and layered.
The pattern of thinking laid out by Cron is a good way to worldbuild with meaning and usefulness. It greatly helped me understand and shape the points I was trying to make with my own story and most importantly, define my protagonist by diving into their specificities.
If, like me, you like to dive into your character’s psychology and think about the mechanics of their behaviors, this will help you keep doing that but in a way that will benefit your story, not sidetrack you from it.
Finally, the third part which, from what I’ve read, is where the mixed opinions are the most prevalent. I adored it. I also totally see why it lost a lot of people : it’s a precise structural method. Cron’s guide to blueprinting is exactly why I purchased this book as I needed a structure model to build a full fledged story. And this is what this part is, pure structure.
Moreover, it’s an elevated, much more coherent and layered version of my original writing process so adjusting my way of working in accordance to her methodology was no hassle, it greatly relieved me even. It allowed me to work again on my novel without feeling overwhelmed by all the floating ideas and notes at a renewed steady pace.
So, this last part and in essence, this book is about outlining and prebuilting with intent and utility, for one part, then writing EACH scene making sure they fit a series of requirements (how does it connect to your protagonist's inner struggle, external plot, subplot ect.). But like all writing guidebooks, it’s not a one-size-fit-all methodology.
Still, if your story feels like a chain of “And then and then and then”, I’d say there’s a lot you can pick from this book without having to adopt the outlining method, just pick up where you fall short and what you are not considering, amongst what's cited. If you have a hard time understanding your characters and their motivations or making your readers care about them, this applies as well.
I think this book does a great job of dissecting how to make a well paced novel with layers and soul, step by step as well as nullifying the frustrations that can rise from writing. It’s also a guideline to creating good writing habits, at least for me.
The author does tend to insist too much on things way too evident or already hammered down in previous paragraphs, which makes the book a slog in some parts (I put it down three different times for a few weeks when these parts came) and I rarely connected with the examples taken from her friend’s writing exercises which made the examples less concrete for me than the explanations and definitions. Still, if any of the positives I listed resonates with you, I’d recommend this read.
rbogue's review
5.0
If you had a burning passion to write a novel, how would you do it? Starting from scratch and never having done it before, what steps would you take? The answer may lie inside of Story Genius: How to Use Brain Science to Go Beyond Outlining and Write a Riveting Novel. This is the second of Lisa Cron’s books that I’ve read. The first was Wired for Story, which connected research from neurology and psychology to create a vision for the things that make a story powerful. However, in that book, there wasn’t much in the way of the specific activities to take. Story Genius is different; it’s a roadmap designed to help you write your novel.
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Click here to read the full review
spauffwrites's review
4.0
I’m generally wary of writing advice that cries “you must do this!” But I liked the book’s character-driven method of writing, especially in the drafting stage. The two main questions you ask — “Why?” and “And so?” — are useful in keeping your novel on track and about character, rather than just plot.