Writing Fiction for Dummies (Paperback)

Introduction 1

Part I: Getting Ready to Write Fiction 7

Chapter 1: Fiction Writing Basics 9

Chapter 2: What Makes a Great Story? 21

Chapter 3: Finding Your Audience and Category 37

Chapter 4: Four Ways to Write a Great Novel 59

Chapter 5: Managing Your Time . . . and Yourself 71

Part II: Creating Compelling Fiction 85

Chapter 6: Building Your Story World: The Setting for Your Story 87

Chapter 7: Creating Compelling Characters 107

Chapter 8: Storyline and Three-Act Structure: The Top Layers of Your Plot 135

Chapter 9: Synopsis, Scene List, and Scene: Your Middle Layers of Plot 157

Chapter 10: Action, Dialogue, and More: The Lowest Layer of Your Plot 177

Chapter 11: Thinking Through Your Theme 203

Part III: Editing and Polishing Your Story and Characters 215

Chapter 12: Analyzing Your Characters 217

Chapter 13: Scrutinizing Your Story Structure 239

Chapter 14: Editing Your Scenes for Structure 259

Chapter 15: Editing Your Scenes for Content 273

Part IV: Getting Published 291

Chapter 16: Getting Ready to Sell Your Book: Polishing and Submitting 293

Chapter 17: Approaching Agents and Editors 315

Part V: The Part of Tens 327

Chapter 18: Ten Steps to Analyzing Your Story 329

Chapter 19: Ten Reasons Novels Are Rejected 337

Index 345