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)

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.

It’s every novelist’s greatest fear: pouring their blood, sweat, and tears into writing hundreds of pages only to realize that their story has no sense of urgency, no internal logic, and so is a page one rewrite. 

The prevailing wisdom in the writing community is that there are just two ways around this problem: pantsing (winging it) and plotting (focusing on the external plot). Story coach Lisa Cron has spent her career discovering why these methods don’t work and coming up with a powerful alternative, based on the science behind what our brains are wired to crave in every story we read (and it’s not what you think). 

In Story Genius Cron takes you, step-by-step, through the creation of a novel from the first glimmer of an idea, to a complete multilayered blueprint—including fully realized scenes—that evolves into a first draft with the authority, richness, and command of a riveting sixth or seventh draft.

• Wired for Story: The Writer's Guide to Using Brain Science to Hook Readers from the Very First Sentence
• The Emotional Craft of Fiction: How to Write the Story Beneath the Surface
• Take Off Your Pants!: Outline Your Books for Faster, Better Writing
• Save the Cat! Writes a Novel: The Last Book On Novel Writing You'll Ever Need
• Self-Editing for Fiction Writers, Second Edition: How to Edit Yourself Into Print
• Writing Deep Scenes: Plotting Your Story Through Action, Emotion, and Theme
• Structuring Your Novel: Essential Keys for Writing an Outstanding Story
• Creating Character Arcs: The Masterful Author's Guide to Uniting Story Structure (Helping Writers Become Authors)
• The Last Fifty Pages: The Art and Craft of Unforgettable Endings
• How to Write Dazzling Dialogue: The Fastest Way to Improve Any Manuscript