What story are you telling?
Read It Your Way, Story Genius: Intro-Chapt 2
Last week, we kicked off another season of Read It Your Way with the book Story Genius: How to Use Brain Science to Go Beyond Outlining and Write A Riveting Novel by Lisa Cron. I asked you to think about what you wanted to bring to the discussion and what you hoped to learn. How did it go?
I am in a bit of a writing limbo at the moment. Meaning, I’m not currently heavily invested in working on a book or story or anything it all. I just finished writing a short story for an anthology coming out in the fall. I’ve pushed pause on revising a novel I’ve been working on for the past year. And now. Now I’m dabbling, trying to figure out what to do next.
Summer is always a bit of a slow creative season for me. It’s my natural rhythm. I want to be outside more, daydreaming, not stuck at a computer all day. But I always need to be writing something, even a small thing.
So for me, right now feels like the perfect time to read Story Genius and test out some of the ideas Lisa Cron is pitching. I can try out some of her ideas on short stories, on future novel ideas, on whatever I want without any real fear of losing my creative self inside someone else’s idea of how to be creative.
This week, we’re discussing the Introduction as well as Chapters 1 and 2. In this section, the author introduces her premise that Story is not the same as plot or characters; and that no matter the genre or writing style or action beats, what humans connect to is Story. We’re hardwired for it. We seek out Story to better understand the world and our place inside it.
The assertion in this section is that Story is the only thing that matters when it comes to writing a compelling book, and she’s going to teach us how to develop our novels in such a way to avoid boring books and much rewriting.
Intrigued? Yes. Suspicious? Also, yes.
My favorite quote from this section:
“We don’t come to story simply to watch the events unfold; we come to experience them through the protagonist’s eyes, as she struggles with what to do next.”
Revolutionize Your Writing
Lisa Cron kicks off Story Genius with a big promise: Follow her blueprint process for writing a book and nothing will go to waste; revolutionize the way you write.
I’ll admit some hesitancy at this point. I am skeptical about writing advice that promises to be the secret to ultimate success. Especially when the promise feels prescriptive, as in: Do it my specific way and you’ll never have to struggle creatively again. See also: Take this pill and all your bad feelings will go away and your dreams will come true.
While I agree with Cron’s initial premise that humans are hard-wired for Story and that we not only take comfort but learn how to survive through Story, I’m a little hesitant by the hard line she draws in these initial chapters about how Story comes to being, about how a writer develops a Story and brings it to life.
As a member of the Millions Community, my skepticism shouldn’t come as a surprise to you. Our entire motto here is that there is NO ONE WAY to be a writer. So, you can understand why I’m going into this book with a little bit of restraint and a lot of side-eye.
That said, I’m intrigued enough to keep going. And I don’t think she’s entirely off the mark with some of her ideas, I just am not a fan of her rigid stance and dismissive tone. But I think challenging the status quo is always good, and I think that even if I don’t buy into her big promises, there may still be plenty I can learn from her process.
So I’m cautiously hopeful to see what she’s going to teach me in the coming chapters.
“The story you’re telling doesn’t start on page one. It started long before you got there.”
Discussion Questions
After reading this week’s section, do you believe the author’s premise that story is the only non-negotiable, essential part of a book?
What is a book you’ve read recently that took you completely out of reality? What were some elements that kept you inside the story?
What is a book you’ve read recently that you struggled to connect with? What were some elements that pulled you out of the story and made you not want to continue?
The author challenges the long held beliefs that a writer should either write without a plan through discovery (pantsing) or write with a detailed outline (plotting). She also challenges the Hero’s Journey, Third Act story structure as the best way to build a compelling narrative. What feelings does her hardline stance against these storytelling tools bring up for you?
Put It Into Practice
The author says that “the past determines the present…and provides context” for our characters to interact with the plot, ultimately creating a story worth reading. Pick a character from a story you’re currently writing and write out a short scene that involves a key memory from their past. Ideas for this scene could include: their first heartbreak; an embarrassing moment; their first kiss; the death of a beloved pet; the reason they don’t believe in Santa anymore; anything else you feel made a lasting impression on your character. (You do not have to share your scene with us unless you want to. This practice is for fun and for you to better connect with your character.)
Reading Discussion Schedule
July 2, 2024: Kick off Party!July 9, 2024: Introduction, Chapters 1-2July 23, 2024: Chapters 3-5
August 6, 2024: Chapters 6-8
August 20, 2024: Chapters 9-12
September 3, 2024: Chapters 13-15
Virtual Discussion and Write-in to be held in September shortly after our last discussion. Date and details to come!
1. Absolutely not. There are too many ways to write. What of character-driven narratives or emotion-driven ones? Sometimes the end result is that the character existed, they made it through the day. The journey almost didn't matter, the plot was unimportant, only the feeling (in italics).
2&3. Haven't been reading fiction, so I can't answer these at the moment.
4. BS. Haha. I am a flashlighter more than anything. I know just enough about the next scene to get it going. I have a few paragraphs of what's going to happen before I start with plenty of room for discovery. Choosing just one or the other is like saying you can only have one flavor of something. Oftentimes, a mix, a blend, a melding of them makes the best dish. And the Three Act Structure is just one way. There is also Just Writing The Story, seeing what happens next, fixing what needs to be fixed according to pace and story and character-development. As someone who doesn't write out Moment A, Moment B, Moment C, I only know if my story follows this after the fact. If it does, cool, if not, cool. Experimental fiction can follow no linear line at all, have no structure, have sentences upside down on a page with a narrative out of time, while being wonderful and compelling. Hard and fast rules are for the birds.