{"product_id":"stop-writing-david-cornue-9798996334810","title":"Stop Writing!: Master Story Development Before You Write a Word","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eMaster story development before you write a word: the visual method for proving a story works before page one.\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eHow many years have you given to a story that still doesn't work?\u003c\/strong\u003e Writers get stuck for one reason. They write too soon. \u003cstrong\u003eWriting isn't rewriting. It's pre-writing.\u003c\/strong\u003e Stop Writing! teaches the discipline the writing shelf skips: story development, the phase before the phrase. Concepts get tested in seven sentences instead of seventy pages. Structural problems get solved before they cost a year of rewriting.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eDavid Cornue is a television writer who sold his pilot \u003cem\u003eTriage\u003c\/em\u003e to 20th Television for ABC. He spent a decade in New York as a playwright and composer, and another decade coaching writers whose work went on to sell to studios, staff TV writers' rooms, find publishers, and reach Broadway. His method moves a story through three phases (Envision, Engineer, Execute) with visual tools at every step, illustrated with more than 100 diagrams and demonstrated start to finish on the very pilot that sold. \u003cstrong\u003eStory structure becomes something you can see\u003c\/strong\u003e, so outlining stops feeling like a straitjacket and starts working like a blueprint.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eYou will learn to: \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eProve your story works before page one\u003c\/strong\u003e: know the concept holds before you give it a year\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eFind your story's third side\u003c\/strong\u003e: \"there are two sides to every story\" is incomplete, and the third is where the heart of your plot lives\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eSee the whole story at once\u003c\/strong\u003e: build with story maps and a three-dimensional plotter instead of prose outlines\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003ePitch before you write\u003c\/strong\u003e: distill the story into a one-sheet and the cast into character descriptions\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eGet feedback that helps\u003c\/strong\u003e: the Three Cs (Commend, Clarify, and Consider) put every note to work\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003ePlan like a plotter, write like a pantser\u003c\/strong\u003e: visual maps let you shape the story without sacrificing discovery on the page\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eStart writing on schedule\u003c\/strong\u003e: the development phase is designed to end, with a first draft that knows where it's going\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\"This book belongs next to Blake Snyder's \u003cem\u003eSave the Cat!\u003c\/em\u003e and Robert McKee's \u003cem\u003eStory\u003c\/em\u003e.\" (\u003cstrong\u003eJennifer Maloney-Prezioso\u003c\/strong\u003e, Tony \u0026amp; Emmy Award-winning producer)\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\"I created software for your stories. Cornue's book is software for your mind. Read it first, then come to the blank page. I promise it won't be blank for long.\" (\u003cstrong\u003eMarc Madnick\u003c\/strong\u003e, Co-Founder \u0026amp; CEO, Final Draft)\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\"A must-read not just for screenwriters, novelists, and playwrights, but for producers, executives, and agents as well. David is the trusted guide every storyteller needs.\" (\u003cstrong\u003eLloyd Segan\u003c\/strong\u003e, executive producer, \u003cem\u003eWild Cards\u003c\/em\u003e, \u003cem\u003eThe Dead Zone\u003c\/em\u003e, \u003cem\u003eGreek\u003c\/em\u003e)\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eWith a foreword by \u003cstrong\u003eErica Messer\u003c\/strong\u003e, showrunner \u0026amp; executive producer of \u003cem\u003eCriminal Minds\u003c\/em\u003e.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eFor screenwriters, novelists, playwrights, and television writers: anyone with characters, conflict, and a story that deserves better than another rewrite. \u003cstrong\u003eStory first. Words last.\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAuthor:\u003c\/b\u003e David Cornue\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-13:\u003c\/b\u003e 9798996334810\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e Every Story Press\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eLanguage:\u003c\/b\u003e English\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 09\/15\/2026\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 248\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eFormat:\u003c\/b\u003e Hardcover\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 1.39lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 9.00h x 6.00w x 0.81d","brand":"David Cornue","offers":[{"title":"Hardcover","offer_id":49174543859967,"sku":"9798996334810","price":59.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0662\/2982\/9887\/files\/img_ca129270-d038-4db3-ba8a-f64015039595.jpg?v=1788960203","url":"https:\/\/www.whiterainbookhouse.com\/products\/stop-writing-david-cornue-9798996334810","provider":"WR Book House","version":"1.0","type":"link"}