Story Genius
Lisa Cron
Story
Genius definitely got my creative juices flowing. It is well
written and easy to follow. It is, however, not necessarily a book
that one can skim through. I think you really have to sit down and go
through it step by step. Basically, it is like a course (without the
classroom). The author goes over the many things that writers do
wrong as well as analyzing why these errors are so pervasive. Then
she proceeds to describe the essential things that a story needs in
order to keep the reader riveted to the page.
The
book helped me see “the error of my ways” in that I often spend
too much time “plotting” a story without thinking about some of
the other essential elements this author feels a story must have in
order to be successful. These elements are basically “what if”
and “why” questions, as well as understanding why something
matters to the character within the story. For me, I was able to
think about character development as well as the overall story
development in a new and more creative way. Another good thing about
this book is that it focuses on one case study of how a story is
created. The reader can get a “behind the scenes” look at how an
author comes up with an engaging story using all the examples in this
book. I found this particularly useful.
I only
wish it came in a larger print. As it is, the print is a bit small,
which makes it somewhat tedious to read. Since this is a book one
needs to work through, I think that is a bit of a negative. But
having said that, if you are someone trying to write a story but just
can't seem to get that spark on the page, then this is a good book to
consult.
Thanks
to Blogging for Books for allowing me to read this book in exchange
for an honest review.
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