This book is designed to be a how-to-write-fiction guide that is long on specifics and short on theoretical material. Each section of the book deals with a separate element of fiction--characterization, dialogue, point of view, plot, etc. Every exercise in the book is introduced in an opening paragraph, followed by instructions for completing the exercise, the objective of the exercise, and frequently, by a student sample. This revised and expanded edition of the book includes a section each on style and revision; expanded sections on perspective, distance, point of view, and story elements as a given; 30 additional exercises; exercises from 13 first-time contributors to add to those of the original contributors; and an anthology of 24 short stories, with wide-ranging style and subject. The exercises in the book can be used by writers of nearly all ages, in class, in workshops, or at home alone. Using this book, the student learns how to write fiction not by thinking about it but by doing it. (NKA)