I’ve spent my career focused on decoding what is actually captivating us when we read -- turns out the brain is far less picky about lyrical language than we’ve been lead to believe -- and how writers can create stories guaranteed to hook readers with the very first sentence. Want to know how? You’ll find the answer in my three books:
Story isn’t just one way to persuade, it’s the way. It’s built into the architecture of the brain, and has been since early humans gathered around the camp fire, trying to figure out how outsmart the lion next door. In Story or Die, story coach Lisa Cron decodes the power of story, first by examining how the brain processes information, translates it into narrative, and then guards it as if your life depends on it. Armed with that insight, she focuses on how to find your real target audience and then pinpoint their hidden resistance.
Finally, she takes you, step-by-step, through her method for creating your own story, one that allows your audience to overcome their resistance and take up your call to action, not because you told them to (because honestly, who ever does anything because you told them to?), but because they want to.
That is the power of story. Use it wisely.
“Lisa Cron is authoritative, compelling, and always worth listening to. If storytelling is important to your work in any way, Story or Die is essential reading.”
“Since ancient times (and childhood bedtime, for that matter), we’ve known that stories are humans’ most compelling force. Now, in Story or Die, Lisa Cron masterfully shows you how to turn your stories into an unstoppable force of persuasion.”
“Lisa Cron has studied the science and architecture of powerful stories for decades. In Story or Die, she translates her knowledge into a compelling storytelling guide for anyone with an idea to spread or a cause to advance. If you want to change how others see the world, then this book will show you how.”
It’s every writer’s greatest fear—pouring blood, sweat, and tears into writing hundreds of pages only to realize the story has no sense of urgency and no internal logic, so it’s a complete do-over.
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 decades discovering why these methods rarely work and coming up with a powerful alternative, based on the science of what our brains are wired to crave in every story we read (and it’s not what you think).
In this revolutionary guide, Cron helps you crack the story code and create a novel, screenplay, or memoir that will keep readers riveted. Using one novelist’s evolving story as an example throughout, Story Genius takes you step-by-step from the first glimmer of an idea to an expansive, multilayered cause-and-effect blueprint—including fully realized scenes. By plumbing the nitty-gritty details of your raw idea to organically generate your story’s internal logic, meaning, and urgency, you’ll end up with a first draft that has the authority, richness, and command of a sixth or seventh.
“I love your new book! You completely changed the way I write and you’ve made it a million times more fun. And easier. I was making things happen rather than having my main character make them happen, so the whole thing was becoming a bit of a struggle and a big, fat mess. Thank you!”
“Story Genius is EXCELLENT. You have blown some big doors open on how to approach story construction, and more importantly, finding the true seeds of a story.”
“Just bought Story Genius two days ago, and it has already changed my life. Thank you!”
Imagine knowing what the brain craves from every tale it encounters, what fuels the success of any great story, and what keeps readers transfixed. Wired for Story reveals these cognitive secrets--and it's a game-changer for anyone who has ever set pen to paper.
The vast majority of writing advice focuses on "writing well" as if it were the same as telling a great story. This is exactly where many aspiring writers fail--they strive for beautiful metaphors, authentic dialogue, and interesting characters, losing sight of the one thing that every engaging story must do: ignite the brain's hardwired desire to learn what happens next. When writers tap into the evolutionary purpose of story and electrify our curiosity, it triggers a delicious dopamine rush that tells us to pay attention. Without it, even the most perfect prose won't hold anyone's interest.
Backed by recent breakthroughs in neuroscience as well as examples from novels, screenplays, and short stories, Wired for Story offers a revolutionary look at story as the brain experiences it. Each chapter zeroes in on an aspect of the brain, its corresponding revelation about story, and the way to apply it to your storytelling right now.
“As both a publishing veteran and a TV pro, Lisa Cron knows storytelling. In Wired for Story she shares her fascinating psychological approaches to the craft. Her fresh way of looking at the core essentials of writing has our neurons firing.”
“... how can you craft a story compelling enough to keep readers turning the pages deep into the night? The answer lies in a new book linking writing to neuroscience, Lisa Cron’s Wired for Story: The Writer’s Guide to Using Brain Science.”
“We all love a good story but most of us struggle to write them. Lisa Cron enlightens us as to how to get the job done in a savvy and engaging way.”