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)

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(as of Jul 27, 2025 03:25:59 UTC – Details)


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.
ASIN ‏ : ‎ 1607748894
Publisher ‏ : ‎ Ten Speed Press
Publication date ‏ : ‎ August 9, 2016
Edition ‏ : ‎ 1st
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Print length ‏ : ‎ 288 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 9781607748892
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1607748892
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 9.8 ounces
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.49 x 0.83 x 8.23 inches
Best Sellers Rank: #14,502 in Books (See Top 100 in Books) #2 in Fiction Writing Reference (Books) #9 in Creative Writing Composition #25 in Words, Language & Grammar Reference
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