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The Craft Behind the Story Read online

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Front Matter

Title Page
Copyright and Edition

Introduction

Contents
The Book's Argument
How the Chapters Work
The Household Novel
Reading Routes

Chapter 1 · The Purposes of a Scene

In Brief and Contents
The Problem
Definitions
How It Works
The Taxonomy
The Mechanism
Diagnostic Tests
Failure Patterns
Worked Analyses
Checklist and Exercises
Coda

Chapter 2 · Scene and Sequel

In Brief and Contents
The Problem
Definitions
How It Works
The Taxonomy
The Mechanism
Diagnostic Tests
Failure Patterns
Worked Analyses
Checklist and Exercises
Coda

Chapter 3 · The Dialogue Exchange

In Brief and Contents
The Problem
Definitions
How It Works
The Taxonomy
The Mechanism
Diagnostic Tests
Failure Patterns
Worked Analyses
Checklist and Exercises
Coda

Chapter 4 · The Descriptive Detail

In Brief and Contents
The Problem
Definitions
How It Works
The Taxonomy
The Mechanism
Diagnostic Tests
Failure Patterns
Worked Analyses
Checklist and Exercises
Coda

Chapter 5 · The Transition

In Brief and Contents
The Problem
Definitions
How It Works
The Taxonomy
The Mechanism
Diagnostic Tests
Failure Patterns
Worked Analyses
Checklist and Exercises
Coda

Chapter 6 · The Chapter Break

In Brief and Contents
The Problem
Definitions
How It Works
The Taxonomy
The Mechanism
Diagnostic Tests
Failure Patterns
Worked Analyses
Checklist and Exercises
Coda

Chapter 7 · Backstory and Flashback

In Brief and Contents
The Problem
Definitions
How It Works
The Taxonomy
The Mechanism
Diagnostic Tests
Failure Patterns
Worked Analyses
Checklist and Exercises
Coda

Chapter 8 · Non-linear and Multi-timeline Architecture

In Brief and Contents
The Problem
Definitions
How It Works
The Taxonomy
The Mechanism
Diagnostic Tests
Failure Patterns
Worked Analyses
Checklist and Exercises
Coda

Chapter 9 · The Opening Pages

In Brief and Contents
The Problem
Definitions
How It Works
The Taxonomy
The Mechanism
Diagnostic Tests
Failure Patterns
Worked Analyses
Checklist and Exercises
Coda

Chapter 10 · The Prologue

In Brief and Contents
The Problem
Definitions
How It Works
The Taxonomy
The Mechanism
Diagnostic Tests
Failure Patterns
Worked Analyses
Checklist and Exercises
Coda

Chapter 11 · The Middle

In Brief and Contents
The Problem
Definitions
How It Works
The Taxonomy
The Mechanism
Diagnostic Tests
Failure Patterns
Worked Analyses
Checklist and Exercises
Coda

Chapter 12 · Arc and Theme

In Brief and Contents
The Problem
Definitions
How It Works
The Taxonomy
The Mechanism
Diagnostic Tests
Failure Patterns
Worked Analyses
Checklist and Exercises
Coda

Chapter 13 · The Viewpoint Shift

In Brief and Contents
The Problem
Definitions
How It Works
The Taxonomy
The Mechanism
Diagnostic Tests
Failure Patterns
Worked Analyses
Checklist and Exercises
Coda

Chapter 14 · The Subplot

In Brief and Contents
The Problem
Definitions
How It Works
The Taxonomy
The Mechanism
Diagnostic Tests
Failure Patterns
Worked Analyses
Checklist and Exercises
Coda

Chapter 15 · The Reveal

In Brief and Contents
The Problem
Definitions
How It Works
The Taxonomy
The Mechanism
Diagnostic Tests
Failure Patterns
Worked Analyses
Checklist and Exercises
Coda

Chapter 16 · The Ending

In Brief and Contents
The Problem
Definitions
How It Works
The Taxonomy
The Mechanism
Diagnostic Tests
Failure Patterns
Worked Analyses
Checklist and Exercises
Coda

Chapter 17 · Series and Genre

In Brief and Contents
The Problem
Definitions
How It Works
The Taxonomy
The Mechanism
Diagnostic Tests
Failure Patterns
Worked Analyses
Checklist and Exercises
Coda

Chapter 18 · The Structural Edit

In Brief and Contents
The Problem
Definitions
How It Works
The Taxonomy
The Mechanism
Diagnostic Tests
Failure Patterns
Worked Analyses
Checklist and Exercises
Coda

Appendices

Glossary
Symptom Index
Master Checklist
The Household Novel
Short Forms
Test Index

Core

Chapter 5 · The Transition

Choose a section, or start reading.

In Brief and Contents
The Problem
Definitions
How It Works
The Taxonomy
The Mechanism
Diagnostic Tests
Failure Patterns
Worked Analyses
Checklist and Exercises
Coda

Attila Kulik · About the books