Contents
1. SETTING YOUR SIGHTS
How to discover your options as a writer. Using your reading preferences as a selection mechanism. Deciding what to write via identification with another writer.
2. STUDYING THE MARKET
The mechanics of market analysis. Reading with a purpose. Defining a category through plot summaries. How to write stories that are the-same-only-different.
3. DECISIONS, DECISIONS
The question of slanting for an editor's taste. How to maintain integrity as a writer without making things hard for yourself. The Stepmother?a case study in decision-making.
4. NOVEL APPROACHES
The disadvantages of short fiction. Why not write a novel? Plots and outlines. The first novel as a learning experience.
5. NOTHING SHORT OF NOVEL
A further discussion of the book-length work of fiction. The power of writing one page a day. Overcoming fear of failure. More questions and answers on the novel.
6. SUNDAY WRITERS
Writing as an avocation. Is eventual publication essential for success? The special rewards of unpublished fiction.
7. DEAR JOY
Advice to a college writer. What courses to take. The values and limitations of writing classes. Sidelines and extracurricular activities. Becoming a pro.
8. HOW TO READ LIKE A WRITER
How writing improves one's reading. Mental rewriting as a literary exercise. Improving your writing skills through analytical reading.
9. ROLLING WITH THE PUNCHES
How to handle rejection. The importance of submitting manuscripts relentlessly. Rejection as a part of the process of writing. What it does and doesn't mean to you.
10. BIC, SCRIPTO, PARKER AND CROSS
The uses and abuses of pen names. Six reasons to use a pen name. Why not to use a pen name. Making your own choice.
11. WRITING WITH TWO HEADS
Teaming up with a collaborator. Collaboration vs. ghostwriting. Five times the work for half the money. The joys of collaboration. How different author teams work together.
12. IT TAKES MORE THAN TALENT
Other requirements for writing success. The importance of luck. The role of the will. The one-book author. Living with financial insecurity. You have to like the work.
PART TWO NOSE TO THE GRINDSTONE, SHOULDER TO THE WHEEL: Fiction as a Discipline
13. WRITER'S HOURS
Do writers work all the time? Writing, research and the guilt trap. Knowing when enough is enough. Starting early. Working regularly. Postponing routine work.
14. THE CARROT AND THE STICK
The art of self-discipline. Giving writing top priority. Setting goals for yourself. Staying in the now. Getting the job done. Listen, it's only a book.
15. CREATIVE PROCRASTINATION
Coming to terms with the thief of time. Developing fictional ideas through procrastination. Creative use of the back burner. And Miles to Go Before I Sleep?a case study in Creative Procrastination.
16. TIME OUT
Writer's block and creative sloth. Coping with indolence. What to do when the words won't come. Learning to regard stretches of inactivity as part of the creative process.
17. DO IT ANYWAY
What to do when the words have to come. Giving yourself permission to write badly. Learning to override your own critical instincts. Getting through bad patches.
18. F U CN RD THS
Writing faster without sacrificing quality. Fast writers vs. slow writers. How to find your own natural speed.
19. WASHING GARBAGE
The pleasures and pains of rewriting. How revision can drain a story of its freshness. How to minimize the need for extensive revision. Rewriting as you go along. Doing mental first drafts.
20. ON BEING READ
The importance of sharing your work with others. Making use of readers' reactions. Why fellow writers make the best audience. Ways to avoid disappointment.
21. BURNING THE RAFT AT BOTH ENDS
How to keep having something to write about. The relationship of input and output. Remaining open to new experience. Four ways to stay out of ruts.
22. CREATIVE PLAGIARISM
When stealing is legitimate?and when it isn't. Improving on what you read. Working variations on a theme. The Ehrengraf Defense?a case study in Creative Plagiarism.
23. WHERE DO YOU GET YOUR IDEAS?
How to generate fictional ideas. Putting bits of fact together. Getting ideas from writers and publishers. The hazards of other people's ideas. Harnessing the creative power of your own frustrations.
PART THREE OH, WHAT A TANGLED WEB: Fiction as a Structure
24. OPENING REMARKS
The importance of strong openings. Getting the story moving. Setting the tone. Establishing the problem. How to get your story off to a good start.
25. FIRST THINGS SECOND
The trick of not beginning at the beginning. Switching Chapters 1 and 2. When not to use this approach. Case studies.
26. SPRING FORWARD, FALL BACK
Skipping around in time. Taking a stitch in time in transitions. The art of starting in the middle. Mini-flashbacks.
27. DON'T TAKE THE D TRAIN
How to avoid getting bogged down in detail. The perils of over-explaining. Fast cuts?the difference between film and prose.
28. THE I'S HAVE IT
Traditional warnings against writing in the first person. The special advantages of first-person narration. Its strengths as an aid in characterization and identification. Withholding information from the reader.
29. THE PLOT'S THE THING
The central importance of plot. Distinguishing between plot and idea. Last Wishes?a case study in plotting.
30. NO MORE MR. NICE GUY
The necessity of strong character motivation. Why it cannot be taken for granted. Motivating your characters through strong plot development. Wilderness?a case study in effective motivation.
31. THINK YOU'VE GOT PROBLEMS?
The problem as the core of a plot. Making things hard for your hero. How to be your own worst enemy. The perils of icebox thinking. When to bring in a bear in a canoe.
32. JUDGING DISTANCES
How to draw the reader in close. Some reasons to keep him at arm's length. First names vs. last names. Using a Watson. Regulating distance through dialogue.
33. IT'S A FRAME
The frame device as a distancing mechanism. Adding dimension to a story through a frame. The story within a story.
34. DOCUMENTARY EVIDENCE
Telling a story in letters or diary entries. Early examples of
