Table of Contents

Introduction

A.  The story in literary fiction

B.  The essence of a great storyteller

C.  Author’s attitudes: fine-tuning

Part I: Structuring the Story

A.  Know the story before writing

1) Conflict

2) Change and discovery

3) Achieving goals

4) Instilling creativity

5) Realistic approach to writing

6) Avoiding weak writing

B.  Outline

C.  Creating Scenes

1) Conflict/action/resolution

2) In-scene and narrative telling of conflicts

D.  Establishing time

E.  Setting

F.  Characterization

G.  Plot

1) Basic plot structure: beginning, middle, end

2) Transitions

3) Drama

4) Desire and motivation

5) Inner (emotional) and outer (action) plots

H.  Dialogue

PART II: Providing for the Reader

A.  How a story comes to life

1) Learning about life

2) Reversal

3) Entertainment

4) Reader involvement

5) Action

6) Value

B.  Story: theme and meaning

C.  Narration of a story

D.  Point of view

E.  Engage the reader

F.  Distance

G.  Voice

H.  Space in the story for the reader

I.  Sentimentality

J.  Drama in narration

K.  Action

L.  Language

1) Cliché

2) Word choice

3) Syntax

4) Spelling and grammar

5) Formatting

M.  Process of Revision