Reading Rec: Wired for Story
Stories are our survival guides
Have you ever wondered why some stories immediately pull in readers while others, even beautifully written ones, don’t? Lisa Cron’s Wired for Story offers a clear, compelling answer. Cron approaches storytelling from both a writer’s and a brain scientist’s perspective. She explains how our minds are literally (in the literal sense of the word) wired to crave cause and effect, emotion, and meaning. Readers aren’t drawn in by description or cleverness alone. They are eager to understand why things happen and what happens as a consequence. We learn what to do, and what not to do, from characters’ choices and actions.Cron reveals the hidden architecture of story and shows that it’s not just about gorgeous sentences but about creating a sequence of events that our brains recognize as a pathway to own survival. Stories provide a guide for how to live.
In concrete and compassionate terms, Cron verifies why craft matters. Whether you’re writing fiction, memoir, essay, or screenplay, Wired for Story is a powerful reminder that story isn’t decoration; it’s design. If you’re stuck in your draft, this book can help you see not just what’s happening in your story but why it’s happening and what will keep readers turning the pages.