"Story Genius"

Am I a genius when it comes to writing? I’d like to believe so, but sadly, no. I need some support. I think this book offers me some. Maybe it’s a crutch, or maybe not so much a crutch, as a jumping-off point, giving me a strong push in the right direction; giving me some support while developing my own technique.

I like to write words, and sometimes I can put words together in a good way, or even come up with an ingenious phrase. More often, I get stuck on an idea and don’t know where to go from there.

The book “Story Genius: How to use Brain Science to go Beyond Outlining and Write a Riveting Novel” by Lisa Cron provided me a blueprint for developing a story all the way through.

(Here's a link to purchase - I have NO affiliation with this book.)

It was so exciting! Too many of my stories get off to a running start, then fizzle out as I get lost in where to take them, so most sit unfinished - great ideas just taking up space on my hard drive. Actually, finishing a long story all the way to the end is a very empowering feeling! Thanks to Lisa Cron’s ability to convey her ideas in a relatable way in her book, I was able to accomplish such a feat.

My favorite aspect of story creation shared by Lisa is the necessity of asking “Why?” I love to ask why. I have asked that question to the point of alienating friends and family though out my life, but apparently, it’s a great asset to possess for storytelling! How freeing! Instead of trying to hold back out of politeness, I am encouraged to embrace the curiosity of “why?” and “how?”.

This book helped me learn how to focus from beginning to end on developing a story that made sense. It showed me where to start, where to end and how to get from start to finish fluidly. It helped me create characters and scenes that were interesting. If ever I got stuck, I could easily review the scene I had created to progress the story and show me what happened next. It was fun and fluid. It was still hard – good writing is hard – but not overwhelming, and also motivating to see the progress develop.

The familiar categories to fall into as a writer is to be either a “plotter” or a “pantser.” This book falls somewhere in between, enveloping qualities of both, but neither, while emphasizing that story itself is the most important aspect that carries a reader through. Your job as a writer is to make your story plausible and entertaining for the reader. We are all readers, too. We know what works and what doesn’t. Ideas can be difficult to form into good stories, but this book supplies a blueprint to follow for organizing your thoughts into telling a reasonable tale.

It is also far from a cookie-cutter format. As the writer, you have plenty of room to go where you feel is best, this book just gives you a guide for how to get there.

This book also gives a glimmer of hope to writers who are intimidated or discouraged by the process. It paves a way for those to follow because the truth is that writing a book is hard, but not magic. It’s not for everyone, but it’s available to anyone.

It is geared toward fiction, but I am going to see if the “blueprint” offered by Lisa Cron in “Story Genius” basically works for the creative non-fiction project I have in mind as well. I don‘t see why it wouldn’t. I plan to continue moving forward with it on more fiction work, also, feeling optimistic by a plan offered that makes sense to me.

Maybe it makes sense to you, too. Especially if you’ve been struggling with writing as a result of following the traditional ideas. Either way, this book is worth a read in considering a different perspective on writing books or digesting stories.