Writing in general and the short story in particular :
[Book]
an informal textbook /
Rust Hills.
Boston :
Houghton Mifflin,
1977.
xii, 194 pages ;
22 cm
The short story, as against the novel and the sketch -- Character and action -- Fixed action, as against moving action -- As the story begins and ends -- Loss of the last chance to change -- Recognizing the crucial -- Naming the moment -- "Epiphany" as a literary term -- The inevitability of retrospect -- Enhancing the interaction of character and plot -- Techniques of foreshadowing -- Foreshadowing and suspense -- Techniques of suspense -- Mystery and curiosity -- Conflict and uncertainity -- Tension and anticipation -- "Agreement" in character and action -- Movement of character -- The character shift, as against movement of character -- Slick fiction, as against quality fiction -- Moving characters, as against fixed characters -- The series regulars, as against guest stars -- Types of character -- Types as exceptions -- Type characters, as against stock characters -- The dichotomous stereotype -- Differentiating from types -- Knowing a character -- Motivation -- The stress situation -- The importance and unimportance of plot -- Plot in a short story, as against plot in a novel -- Selection in a plot -- Scenes -- Plot structure -- Beginning -- Middle -- Ending -- Sequence and causality -- The frame, as against the flashback -- Pattern in a plot -- Choice as technique -- Point of view methods -- Limitations and advantages in point of view -- When point of view is "wrong" -- The "question" of point of view -- Point of view and "involvement" -- The "moved" character and point of view -- The focusing power of point of view -- Monologues, and the pathological first person -- Irony and point of view -- Setting -- Style -- Theme -- The short story and the new criticism -- Fiction and the new journalism -- Real fiction, as against the new fiction -- Afterword: writing in general.
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A guide to the skills and techniques of writing short fiction, emphasizing the interaction of character and plot.