Table of Contents for Naming the World

Introduction Bret Anthony Johnston
Getting Started
Germs John Dufresne
Writing Prompts Joyce Carol Oates
Nothing But The Truth Christopher Castellani
Fiction through Artifacts… Thisbe Nissen
The Importance of Being Envious Tom Robbins
Mourning Falls Daniel Wallace
A Postcard from the Velvet Revolution Rachel Cline
What If It Was More Than That Lee Martin
The Title Game Dan Chaon
Living to Tell, Telling to Live Norma E. Cantu
My Favorite Fiction Writing Exercise Alan Cheuse
How to Name the World Bret Anthony Johnston
Untold Stories Dorothy Allison
Bullies I Have Known C. Michael Curtis
Our Ever Curious Minds Tom Barbash
Adopt a Myth Tom Bligh
Character
On Character Bret Anthony Johnston
Writing as Parlor Game Debra Spark
Object of Affection: Prose Exercises R.T. Smith
Nonfiction Time Travel Exercise Kyoko Mori
Your Five Seconds of Shame! Steve Almond
Interviewing Your Character Ann Packer
From Autobiography to Fiction Jason Brown
Putting Characters into Action Varley O’Connor
Subversive Details and Characterization Lee Martin
Writing Exercise: Complex Characters Eric Goodman
Two Literary Exercises Melissa Pritchard
Get Closer: Exposing Your Characters… Julia Fierro
Through Your Character’s Eyes Michael Knight
Point of View
On Point of View Bret Anthony Johnston
Narrative Strategies of the Storyteller… Thane Rosenbaum
Exercise on Point-of-View Elizabeth Strout
The Point of Point-of-View Paula Priamos
An Exercise in Writing Memoir James Brown
What Do You Want Most in Life Vu Tran
Point-of-View Exercise Susan Straight
Two Exercises Tom Grimes
The Chicken Crossed the Road Katherine Min
Walking a Mile in Their Shoes Amy Hassinger
The Glory of Gossip Bret Anthony Johnston
Plot and Narrative
On Plot and Narrative Bret Anthony Johnston
The Five Modes Dan Pope
Thickening Your Plots Jacob Appel
The Pleasure Principle Josh Emmons
From Anecdote to Story Elizabeth McCracken
Seeing the Scene Adam Johnson
The Particular Gesture: Writing Sex Scenes Michelle Wildgen
Creating the Memory Map… Danielle Trussoni
Rewriting the Clichés Aimee Phan
Useful Lies Robert Boswell
From Imagination to Plot Vanessa Furse Jackson
What Every Fiction Writer… Bret Anthony Johnston
On Plot Michelle Wildgen
Props Nick Arvin
Dialogue and Voice
On Dialogue and Voice Bret Anthony Johnston
Dynamic Dialogue: Three Exercises Jewell Parker Rhodes
He Said What Colette Sartor
Character and Situation Through Dialogue Richard Bausch
On Dialogue Katherine Min
The Thing About Dialogue Bret Anthony Johnston and Robert Torres, Illustrator
Using Summary, Indirect, and Direct Dialogue Robert Rosenberg
Dialogue: Master of Multitasking… Kate Myers Hanson
The Foreign Voice Jose Skinner
A Dialogue Exercise Michael Jayme Becerra
Descriptive Language and Setting
On Descriptive Language and Setting Bret Anthony Johnston
Destroying What You Love Sarah Shun-lien Bynum
A Stranger Comes to Town Rebecca Johns
The Monster in the Attic Jonathan Liebson
Simultaneous Actions in Fiction DeWitt Henry
Learning to Lie Mark Winegardner
Artistic Perspective Nick Arvin
All About Rhythm Paul Lisicky
Emotion in Fiction Margot Livesey
Revision
On Revision Bret Anthony Johnston
The First Draft of Anything Don Lee
On the Wheel: Revising the Personal Essay John Smolens
Silences and Blank Spaces René Steinke
Re-Seeing in Revision Jason Brown
Revise/Re-Envision/Re-Invent Holiday Reinhorn
Hiding the “I” in Fiction and Nonfiction Marlin Barton
Shopping for Conflict in the Second Draft Merrill Feitell
The Right Word In Tails Stephen D. Marlowe
Acknowledgments
Daily Warm-Ups
Notes on Contributors