About This Guide

Chapters in this book

1. Frontmatter i
2. Contents vii
3. About This Guide xiii
4. Exercises at a Glance xix
5. Developing Your Character
6. Stage 1. Fleshing Out the Bones 1
7. Stage 2. Getting to Know the Character Better 21
8. Stage 3. Understanding Who the Character Really Is 41
9. Causing a Scene
10. Stage 1. Making Things Happen 65
11. Stage 2. Refining the Action 112
12. Stage 3. Refining the Dialogue 138
13. Building Your Story
14. Stage 1. Triggering the Chain of Events 155
15. Stage 2. Developing the Throughline 171
16. Stage 3. Seeing the Big Picture 194
17. Fixing That Problem Scene 217
18. Glossary 231
19. Acknowledgments 237