Table of Contents
Foreword
Preface
ONE: DROWN THE CAT!
The Taliban Guide to Better Fiction
The Surrender of the New
The Stupid Never Stops
Fit the First
Fit the Second
Fit the Third
Fit the Fourth
TWO: THE BASIC PARTS
Story
Character
On Emotion
On Protagonists
On Antagonists
In Conclusion
Viewpoint
Setting and Description
Setup
Dialogue
A Couple of Basics
Dialogue Real and Unreal
Subtext
Voice
Openings
Prologues
Interiority
A Note on Filtering
Narrative Distance
Flashbacks, Flashforwards, and Playing with Time
A Note on Suspense
Endings
A Hard Trick
THREE: LARGER CONCERNS
Honesty and Truth
Story and Conflict
External and Internal Conflict
Goals and Stakes
To Plot (or Not)
Subplots
Pacing
Information Management
Show, Don’t Tell
Tone
Theme
Symbolism
Reality, Ideal and Actual
Special Cases: Fight and Sex Scenes
On Style
A Brief Note on Grammar and Usage
FOUR: PUTTING IT TOGETHER
Critique Groups
Structuring a Good Writers Group
The Limitations of Critique
Draft Readiness for Betas and Critique
Drafts and Revision
How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Rewrite
On Process
Making Time to Write
One Author’s Process
Priming the Pump
When the Going Gets Tough
Just Let Go
The Bad Place
Have the Last Laugh
On Writer’s Block
The Trap of Self-Censorship
The Best and Worst Writing Rules
Favorite Authors’ Writing Rules
Mark Twain
Elmore Leonard
Kurt Vonnegut
Neil Gaiman
FIVE: TAKING THE PLUNGE
So You Want to be Published?
Trad or Indie?
A Tale of Two Manuscripts
A Cautionary Note
CONCLUSION
Author’s Note
Afterword
Acknowledgments
About the Author
Other Books by Dario Ciriello
Further Resources
