Part I: Getting Ready to Write Fiction.

Chapter 1: Fiction Writing Basics.

Chapter 2: What Makes a Great Story?

Chapter 3: Finding Your Audience and Category.

Chapter 4: Four Ways to Write a Great Novel.

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

Part II: Creating Compelling Fiction.

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

Chapter 7: Creating Compelling Characters.

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

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

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

Chapter 11: Thinking Through Your Theme.

Part III: Editing and Polishing Your Story and Characters.

Chapter 12: Analyzing Your Characters.

Chapter 13: Scrutinizing Your Story Structure.

Chapter 14: Editing Your Scenes for Structure.

Chapter 15: Editing Your Scenes for Content.

Part IV: Getting Published.

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

Chapter 17: Approaching Agents and Editors.

Part V: The Part of Tens.

Chapter 18: Ten Steps to Analyzing Your Story.

Chapter 19: Ten Reasons Novels Are Rejected.

Index.