This book illuminates how technique serves 'story logic,' the particular way fiction makes meaning. Writers raid the cupboard of theory looking for what works, and generic rules don't account for the rich variety of strategies they employ. For writers who are past the beginner stage, Brady offers a closer look at craft fundamentals, including plot, characterization, patterns of imagery, and style. The lively, lucid discussion draws on vivid examples from classic and contemporary fiction, ranging from George Eliot and William Faulkner to Haruki Murakami and Toni Morrison. Because it supplies the analytical tools needed to read as a writer, this text will enrich the reader's approach to any work of fiction, energizing discussion in a workshop or craft course.

Catherine Brady teaches in the MFA in Writing Program at the University of San Francisco, USA.

Story Logic
The Elusiveness at the Heart of Story Structure
Chapter Structure and Shapeliness in the Novel
Three Key Strategies of Story Logic
Captured in Motion: Dynamic Characterization
Point of View Q& A
Synedoche and Metonymy in Setting, Staging and Dialogue 
Patterns of Imagery
Showing and Telling
The Sentence as a Touchstone of Style 
Exercises
Notes
Further Reading.