Becoming a Story Genius...

When I arrived home after work on Tuesday, August 9th, I found my copy of Lisa Cron’s Story Genius in my mailbox. Okay, the full title is 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]

A few caveats here: I did go to work after receiving Lisa’s book. Due to the bad air quality index from the  wildfire raging nearby, I did work from home part of Wednesday and Thursday, and all day Friday, but I did work. I also dove into Story Genius after work, just as if I were Michael Phelps or Katie Ledecky competing in my favorite Olympic event.

My copy of Story Genius, already marked up inside

Another caveat: I began my work-in-progress in the fall of 2011, when my mother was dying of Alzheimer’s. Overall I’ve written way more than 327 pages, changed protagonists, tried multiple viewpoints to avoid losing my original protagonist (didn’t work), and gone from first person to third and back again.

I don’t consider the time wasted – I’d been away from writing fiction for more than ten years as of 2011, while I immersed myself in the monastic life. It took a long time to feel my way back in, and even longer to find the story I wanted to tell.

Enter Lisa’s first book, Wired for Story, her “Story Genesis” handout from her website, and a day-long workshop with her in San Jose last year. Mix in a twenty-minute session with Donald Maass in which he flew through twenty-some pages (not enough conflict to slow him down – very depressing), but the one-page scene written with one of his exercises made his eyebrow go up and say, “I’ve not read that before,” (I was elated). After four years of meandering, my book started to take focus. It was turned upside down and inside out through my encounters with both Lisa and Don, and I learned more and more with every word I wrote.

Lisa Cron, author of Story Genius

As I mentioned in an earlier blog, I completed my first draft just before the political conventions. I put my novel down until Lisa’s Story Genius arrived, intending to use her book to work my way through the second draft. The concepts and exercises of “Story Genesis” from Lisa’s website were included in the early part of the new book, however, she took them to another level and beyond.

One of the fascinating choices Lisa made in writing this book was to include an example of a novel being developed by Lisa’s friend and writing coach, Jennie Nash. I wasn’t sure I’d like that part of it – it’s one thing to have examples from novels you’ve read. It’s another thing entirely to have a novel being crafted as you follow along.

Turns out, that’s been very helpful for me. I’ve seen how Jennie worked her way through certain things, how she looked at a number of choices, and then how she made her decisions (with Lisa’s commentary, explaining why those choices were the best ones given the story being told). It encouraged me to explore a little further than I might have otherwise. Instead of grabbing the first idea that seemed to work, I looked at more options and played around with them. In a sense, seeing Jennie’s process gave me permission to take my time with my own process, which led to some unexpected revelations.

After 36 hours of more or less uninterrupted reading, writing, and walking/ruminating with Story Genius, I can report that I’m more than halfway through Lisa’s book. More important, my blueprint is well underway, my overarching story problem is clearer to me than it’s ever been, meaning that my opening scene and ending resonate with a connection they didn’t have before.

This time working with Lisa’s book didn’t quite turn everything upside down and inside out. This time it’s been more a matter of dropping deeper, developing clarity, and continuing to work my way through it. Yes, there’s a great deal of work ahead of me. Also, what I’m doing with my novel resonates on a personal level in a way that is wrenching and painful, while also illuminating.

And I’ve just realized, that is why I write. It’s how I make meaning in my world. How I grapple with the events that thrill me, infuriate me, and break my heart. Writing is an essential part of my way of being in the world. And a book like Story Genius, which forces me to expose my deepest beliefs (and misbeliefs), is a gift I treasure. Thanks, Lisa.

A few of the exercises from Story Genius

(Lisa will be teaching at Writers Retreat Workshop in May 2017 at Oblate Renewal Center, San Antonio, Texas. See “Offerings” section to read more.)