The Art And Craft Of Fiction: A Writer's Guide Michael Kardos Fiction Writer’s Bedford St. Martin’s (2012)

• Front Cover
• Inside Front Cover
• First Half Title Page
• Praise Page
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Preface for Instructors
  • How the Book Is Structured
  • Speaking of Mechanics
  • The Exercises & Checklists
  • The Mini-anthology
    • Chapter 2, The Extreme Importance of Relevant Detail
    • Chapter 3, Starting Your Story
    • Chapter 4, Working with the Elements of Fiction
    • Chapter 5, Creating Scenes: A Nuts & Bolts Approach
    • Chapter 6, Organizing Your Story: Form & Structure
    • Chapter 7, Writing A Compelling Story
    • Chapter 8, Ending Your Story
    • Chapter 9, The Power of Clarity
    • Chapter 10, Revising Your Story
  • Acknowledgments
  • Resources for The Art and Craft of Fiction
    • This Book is Available as a Bedford e‑Book to Go
    • It Also Comes with a Free & Open Companion Site
  • Packaging Options
    • This Book Comes with Video
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• Brief Contents
• Contents
• Second Half Title Page
• Art & Craft
  • 1: Thinking, Reading, & Writing Like a Writer
    • Being a Writer Means Paying Attention
    • Why a Textbook? (And Why This Textbook?)
    • Rules of the Road
    • Reading Like a Writer
    • The Habit of Writing
    • Finding Ideas for Stories
    • A Word to the Novelist
    • What’s the Point of All This?
  • 2: The Extreme Importance of Relevant Detail
    • Details and Believability
    • Details and Engaging the Reader
    • Showing and Telling
    • Fiction Writing as Telepathy
    • Which Details to Include?
    • Nothing More Than Feelings
    • Details and The Writer's Sensibility
  • 3: Starting Your Story
    • What Beginnings Do
    • Reveal Key Information (Spill the Beans)
    • Establish the Story's Stakes
    • Start with a Break from Routine
    • Consider Starting In Medias Res
    • Whose Perspective Should You Choose?
    • Other Information to Convey Sooner Rather Than Later
    • Ultimately, It’s Your Call
  • 4: Working with the Elements of Fiction
    • Character
    • Plot
    • Setting
    • Point of View (POV)
    • Voice
    • Theme
  • 5: Creating Scenes: A Nuts & Bolts Approach
    • Dialogue
    • Narration
    • Description
    • Exposition
    • Interiority
    • Scene-Writing, Final Notes
  • 6: Organizing Your Story: Form & Structure
    • Classic Story Structure and the Freytag Pyramid
    • Causality
    • Conflict
    • Climax
    • Conclusion: What Has Changed?
    • Form = Meaning
    • Other Ways to Tell a Story
    • Scene and Summary
    • Case Study: Structural Imitation
  • 7: Writing a Compelling Story
    • High Stakes
    • Character Desire
    • Active Protagonists
    • The Atypical Day (A Break from Routine)
    • External Conflict
    • Internal Conflict/Presenting Characters' Interior Lives
    • Compressed Time Period
    • Suspense (As Opposed to Withheld Information)
    • Originality
  • 8: Ending Your Story
    • The Challenge
    • Strategies for Ending Your Story
    • Common Pitfalls
    • Getting the Words Right
    • Two Final Thoughts on Endings
  • 9: The Power of Clarity
    • Vagueness Versus Ambiguity
    • Clear Words
    • Clear Sentences
    • Clear Stories: A Few Words of Advice
    • Clarity: Some Final Thoughts
  • 10: Revising Your Story
    • The Case for Revision
    • What Is “Revision,” Anyway?
    • What Is a “First Draft”?
    • Twelve Strategies for Revision
    • How Do You Know When Your Story Is (Really, Truly) Done?
• Boot Camp
  • 11: The Mechanics of Fiction: A Writer's Boot Camp
    • Formatting and Punctuating Dialogue
    • Addressing a Person in Dialogue
    • Paragraph Breaks in Dialogue
    • Double Quotation Marks / Single Quotation Marks
    • Quick Quiz: Repair This Sentence
    • Scare Quotes
    • Formatting and Punctuating a Character’s Thoughts
    • Comma Splices
    • “Who” and “That”
    • Exclamation Marks, Question Marks, All Caps
    • Conjugation of “Lie” and “Lay”
    • Quick Quiz: Choose the Correct Sentence
    • Sentences That Begin with an “-ing” Word
    • Some Final Advice
    • The Mechanics of Fiction: Practice Test
• Anthology
  • 12: A Mini-anthology: 15 Stories
    • Sherman Alexie: This Is What It Means to Say Phoenix, Arizona
    • Richard Bausch: Tandolfo the Great
    • Kevin Brockmeier: A Fable with Slips of White Paper Spilling from the Pockets
    • Percival Everett: The Appropriation of Cultures
    • Becky Hagenston: Midnight, Licorice, Shadow
    • Barry Hannah: Water Liars
    • Jhumpa Lahiri: This Blessed House
    • Jill McCorkle: Magic Words
    • Lorrie Moore: How to Become a Writer
    • Tim O'Brien: On the Rainy River
    • ZZ Packer: Drinking Coffee Elsewhere
    • Karen Russell: St. Lucy’s Home for Girls Raised by Wolves
    • George Saunders: CivilWarLand in Bad Decline
    • John Updike: A & P
    • Tobias Wolff: Bullet in the Brain
• Acknowledgments
• Index
• Inside Back Cover
• Back Cover