It’s that time again. Time to write The Great American Novel in 30 days or less.
You know one of these days I’m going to get my act together and join the party. After all, I already have a lot of voices in my head. I just have to organize them and put them on paper.
To that end, I love to read good books about how to write good. Ahem.
Story Genius is one of the better ones I’ve read in a while. Instead of just being the author’s opinions on how to write a solid story, Lisa Cron backs her insights up with scientific data. Flannery O’Connor once said, “Most people know what a story is until they sit down to write one.” Here’s Lisa’s response:
"Humans are wired for story. We hunt for and respond to certain specific things in every story we hear, watch, or read – and they’re the exact same specific things regardless of the genre. Why is this so? Because story is the language of the brain. We think in story. [I love that – I totally think like that.] The brain evolved to use story as its go-to decoder ring for reality, and so we’re really expert at probing stories for specific meaning and specific info – and I mean all of us, beginning at birth. Even a kindergartner recognizes an effective story, because it’s built into the architecture of the brain. Story is how we make sense of the world around us."
She sounds smart, right? I definitely think that her book would be helpful to someone crafting a story. Even if you’ve already started writing (we’re 8 days into NaNoWriMo, after all), it would be good to refocus and take a minute to check out this book. You might save yourself some valuable time on the editing side of life.
Good luck to every budding Faulkner or Fitzgerald out there. You’re almost one-third of the way done! Check out the Event Calendar to see how your local branch is celebrating this most special of months.
Happy NaNoWriMo!
:) Amanda
