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A review by bridgette
Story Genius: How to Use Brain Science to Go Beyond Outlining and Write a Riveting Novel by Lisa Cron
4.0
I've not yet written a novel from scratch using using her method, so I can't say for 100% that it works. Regardless, Cron's book delves into story telling from every angle and focuses on how developing characters then often leads to plot and how all your plot points have to touch on the main character's internal struggle to create an enthralling story.
This is the first book I've read that I think could actually make me a plotter (I'm usually a panster with some plotting tendencies), but her methods just make logical sense, and I can see how they would build on each other and tie it all together to create a wonderful, logical story. I've been one to even consider using index cards or story cards (Cron calls them scene cards), but following her method should result in a much more high quality, detailed "first" draft than just sitting down at the computer and typing away. Already, her theories and strategies have already pointed out flaws in my current MS that I wasn't sure how to fix and wasn't even sure they were a problem. Now, I can see a more detailed, specific path forward, so that makes it worth the read.
I'll probably update this review once I use the method to actually write a novel from beginning to end as opposed to using it for revisions.
This is the first book I've read that I think could actually make me a plotter (I'm usually a panster with some plotting tendencies), but her methods just make logical sense, and I can see how they would build on each other and tie it all together to create a wonderful, logical story. I've been one to even consider using index cards or story cards (Cron calls them scene cards), but following her method should result in a much more high quality, detailed "first" draft than just sitting down at the computer and typing away. Already, her theories and strategies have already pointed out flaws in my current MS that I wasn't sure how to fix and wasn't even sure they were a problem. Now, I can see a more detailed, specific path forward, so that makes it worth the read.
I'll probably update this review once I use the method to actually write a novel from beginning to end as opposed to using it for revisions.