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i consider this to be the gold standard in writing craft books…but i strongly dislike cron’s informal and corny, and at times condescending, writing style if you follow the exercises, you will get a decent blueprint for a story way better than save the cat, story, story engineering, etc if she released a workbook with a condensed explanation and exercises for a discountes price for owners of the book, i woild buy it in a second!

this is the foundation of all franchises the first entry may have a positive arc but each subsequent entry has a flat arc where the characters around the character try to break him or her

Thank you!

How do you rate Sarah Adams' books? Agree? Disagree? I'd love to hear either way 😊

I love hearing your kids! Real life👍❤

If it's flat it's not an arc...

Great review! I made it to 70% and marked it DNF. I couldn't take it anymore. You described how I felt. Hated the tone. Hated the "branding" of old things using new terms. And there is a LOT of filler. A lot. I also found the hyped up "Brain Science" to be pseudo science at best. And there's some stuff I just flat out didn't agree with. I skimmed a lot of this book. I did get one good nugget from the book. The exercises on writing the "worldview origin scene" and the three scenes that track and support that worldview (I forget her terms for it) was great. I enjoyed doing those. But I didn't get any other take-a-ways from the rest of the book. Well, the rest of the book that I read. To be fair, I've read a lot of craft books, so maybe I'd feel differently if this was my first one? But the tone of "everything you've learned before is wrong" would have killed it for me regardless.

Thinking about this for a child in my family. Thanks!

I feel like we read two different books. Telling the truth isn't 'insulting' an author's writing or being superior. RL James and Dan Brown NAIL story, but they're terrible stylists - but because they nail story, they sell - while other, better stylists sell only 100 copies because they never learned to nail story despite their prose being breathtaking - this is what she's trying to explain. But yeah, call her smug, that works. I guess. MOST IMPORTANTLY you do NOT have to write a novel yourself to know when a story doesn't work. Most editors aren't writers - but they know if a story is any good or not. Script readers - which I am one, in addition to novel writing - are the ones who see your screenplay before anyone else. We have to read the screenplay, write a logline, provide a synopsis, character breakdown, info on marketability and expenses (period pieces are expensive to film, special effects are expensive, etc...) give our own opinions and then either grade the script a Recommend, Strong Consider, Consider, Consider with Reservations, or Pass - and send it back. MOST screenplays are passes - probably 98% if not higher, because they haven't nailed story, and if I send a poor script back and my coverage rates it anything but a pass - no one will trust my judgement again. But you have to be constructive and kind, esp. in contests because you never know if the writer will see your coverage and you never want to be the one who stops someone from writing by writing something awful. I liked this book because it gave me the verbiage to explain in words what I only knew intuitively when I read, but couldn't explain properly when I had to write it down. YOU DO NOT HAVE TO HAVE TO BE A PUBLISHED WRITER TO KNOW WHEN A BOOK IS BAD OR TO KNOW HOW STORY WORKS. I dare anyone to tell their editor she doesn't know how story works and that she has no idea what she's talking about because she hasn't written a book herself. You can hate the book, but Cron has serious editing chops and she does know what she's talking about. Simply being a writer doesn't mean you know what you're talking about - anymore than someone who edits for a living instead of writing doesn't mean they don't know what they're talking about. Looking at the number of boring or awful books out there, too many writers don't know anything about story.

i kind of get what u mean, my way or the highway vibe but maybe she's just really passionate or something. But she did work as an editor and also story analist for Disney or so so. Maybe it's not fair to compare her against other authors. I think there are a lot of editors and story analiststs, etc. that just don't write for themselves but just like co-writers help famous singers for writing an album with them and not be a celebrity themselves.

I think the thing is that she actually has more of a marketing background - so I can imagine her target audience often doesn't have a literary background. Misbelief did happen to be the perfect word to for my current project (and I'm interested in neuroscience) so I really enjoyed a lecture by her that I found on TH-cam. From what you said though I think I've got just about everything from that and probably won't read her books.

I definitely don’t agree with everything she said like story isn’t entertainment which is untrue there are stories I can think of that are just that and are successful. Did she really think that people haven’t shared stories to get a laugh to have a good time at a party and only for survival?? The way of the househusband comes to mind when story is just entertainment. I’m there for the laughs, not to be preached. I like her stuff like her suggestions to getting to the point but she has some very rigid beliefs. I can move past it and I think she gets into what a lot of series forget which is story’s why. She would be great as an editor. Honestly her method really help me develop asking why and important questions. It helped me nail on my message and gave more focus. Which refreshing over people who just treat story like a paint by number or shooting in the dark. Those ideas may work but also very frustrating for a new writer. I felt lost in both. I didn’t appreciate the way she dissed others methods cause that’s all they are METHODS and tools useful to know to try at least once. I went in with taking her advice like a grain of salt I kept going “ yup yup Lisa is on her sermon again. Let’s move forward” haha 😂

I feel like her stance on Pantsing mimics my own experience with trying it- I too felt like the method left my ideas, plots and characters all over the place. Similarly, the sheer amount of option was overwhelming to me which was nice to hear wasn't an issue just myself experiences. But I do agree her tone against pantsing is overly harsh... What works for some might not work for others and such. People just need to try out both methods and see what works for them. I did find a lot of tips really useful though and would probably recommend it to friends so long as they don't take her personal opinions to heart too much.

That's a big one! Stay strong, hopefully TH-cam keeps you on track, it'd be an awesome accomplishment. Good luck!

I'm sure the background screaming is the pure excitement for Stormlight 5

Let's goooo

Your house sounds like mine. I was also planning a cosmere readathon. I look forward to that journey alongside you!

Oh man this is a big challenge. I still need to go back and finish Mistborn book 3, AND the entirety of Era 2 which I've never even started. I finally read Warbreaker, but I still need to read Elantris and Dawnshard, and I haven't finishede Yumi or the Sunlit Man yet either. Maybe I should give this a shot too, Ive been saying for a long time that I miss reading recreationally the way I used to, I'm probably down to only like 2-3 books in the last year, which is insanely low. It would be good to have a project, and something to specifically challenge myself to do.

Good luck with your readathon :)

You're back!!!! I'm so excited <3 :)

I am excited for a deep dive into the Cosmere! What are you reading to prepare for Wind and Truth's release at the end of the year?

I thank you for this visual it puts together and simplifies the whole thing which can look so complicated to someone starting out like myself

Light hearted and silly? It could be because I was reading it to my daughters ages 4 and 6, but I thought it was very dark. While very dark, the author did a wonderful job of showing how light is not overcome by the darkness. I really enjoyed the book!

I don't like the human kink the mouse has.

I now have over 500 craft of writing books in my collection, so it's difficult. However, for me, I would pick Goal, Motivation & Conflict by Debra Dixon and How To Write A Damn Good Thriller by James N. Frey. He also has other titles and I would recommend any of them. But remember, I write crime thrillers. That might not be your genre. Something else I can recommend is 'The Monster Novel Structure Workbook' by R.B. Fleetwood. I hope these help.

❤❤❤

I didn't get an elitist tone from the book. Quite the opposite; she went out of her way to say how smart and thoughtful other writers were, even when their novels weren't working. The point of Story Genius is to save you time, time that you risk wasting if you do pantsing or plotting. So of course she's not going to say, "all methods are equally valid and useful". Having a strong opinion is not elitist.

What you point out about her not having written a novel yet is a really good pointl There was something bothering me about 8t all after my first reaction to discovering Story Genius recentlg, and it took me a ehile to realise " Oh, she hasn't *written* a book. So, I still find it interesting and the " m8sheld belief" was a gamechanger for me, but I'm thinking that and the point about asking the roght questions " why does it matter?" For every chapter and working 9ut backstory before you start a book is really helpful. I'm just not sure I want to do my book planning this way religously

Reading the book now and I totally agree, she makes some really useful points but her style is so off-putting. The way she dismisses all other approaches makes it seem like there must be no good books out there (or the only good books must have been written by special unicorns who magically write well, because every single writing system is wrong).

I am posting the first book on my channel for people to listen to I have 3 videos out so far

Woooww amazing! Very nice thank u. Instant subscribe

I have Wish in the Dark on my TBR! I didn’t know it was inspired by Les Mis though. Interesting!

Great list! Added a few to my tbr. Lovely to see you again 😊

I have a copy of the Coyote Sunshine book but haven't read it yet. Right now I'm reading Farmer Boy by Laura Ingalls Wilder, for Middle Grade March. I have one other middle grade book I want to read this month.

Totally agree, Big Little Lies was so good! I love most of Liane Moriarty, but her books do kind of lack rereadability.

There is nothing wrong with waiting to put up your list of the best books you have read throughout the year later than you would wish. You have to do it when you feel ready. I have not read any of these book, but I have read a few books written by Agatha Christie, all of which were for discussions on our channel. I will need to get to Death on the Nile at some point, because I always find it interesting to measure whether or not you were able to guess the ending of an Agatha Christie mystery. I was able to guess for The Murder of Roger Ackroyd pretty quickly, but was stumped when it came to And Then There Were None and Murder on the Orient Express, the latter being the ultimate conclusion. I was also stumped by Curtain, while I believe I technically had the conclusion guessed for The Clocks. Forever or a Long, Long Time sounds like such a heartfelt piece and I feel that everyone can relate to wanting nothing but the best for the children across the world, when many of them are not even able to live a decent life. Thank you for sharing and I hope you are having a great reading year thus far! -Josh

Lovely video... yes, there's a book in that list I've read - Christina Soontornvat's A Wish in the Dark - a remarkable story in a country I've never visited or thought much of before. I read that and her other 2021 Newbery honor book, All Thirteen, in 2021. I see she has another named a Newbery honor book this year - The Last Mapmaker. Sounds so good...

I loved all these books last year! Let me know if you've read any of these books and what you thought of them!

Thanks for the review, I was looking at getting that book. Did you ever find a better book that teaches how to write tension?

Hey there. Great review of the book. Im currently above half way, and I also find it repetitive, but with bits of usefulness around the filler. Cheers!

Interesting 💚 thank you!

Absolute favorite book to read as a child! Thank you for reviewing it ❤

Can you make a video on how to find time to read and focus? Specially with being a full time mom. I havent been able to read as much since I became a mom.

Welcome back! You’ve been missed!

Your bullet journal is #goals. I’m not even good at checking off the books I’ve listed that I want to read or putting them on the right shelves in Goodreads. 🤦🏻‍♀️

I love book bullet journal videos! There so therapeutic to watch and to learn about what people search for in books. You're the first one that's popped into my recs this new year/year transition and it's a damn good start it's so cute!

Wow, you always make your journals look absolutely top notch! This would be so much fun to use, it's making me consider how I could incorporate some of this into my 2023 planners. 😁 Lots to think about! Yay for a new year, I'm so ready to have a much better year than 2022 was! 😅 Thanks so much for sharing your setup with us mere mortals!! 😁❤️

Hi Charly - so good to see you at Booktube again!! So your youngest is almost 2 ...? Seems like I remember that birth just a short time ago. Time flies. Your bujo looks like fun, especially the stats page. You put a lot of effort into that journal! Very impressive and creative! I don't understand how the book bracket works. It looks like a family tree page. I also spent time away from Booktube this year but am getting back to it now. More reading, less video making. But I do love being back here. Edited to say: I'm Linda Book Lady . . . I just changed my channel name in November.

I agree that the tone of this book was so annoying! She addressed readers as if they were little children with no experience at all. The way she went on and on explaining the analogies was so frustrating. I am finding some of the info helpful, so that's why I've continued reading it. My favorite craft book (which really has a lot of the same stuff as this one but it much better written) is Story Trumps Structure, by Steven James.

Is the best sheet you drew up available for download?