I. How a writer works -- 1. How a writer works -- 2. Making notes -- 3. Keeping journals -- 4. How to read as a writer -- II. How to write short stories -- 5. A brief tour around the short story -- 6. The distance between : author, narrator, reader and point of view -- 7. Characters / Helen Newall -- 8. Living elsewhere : plot -- 9. Scenes -- 10. Dialogue -- 11. Setting -- 12. Epiphany -- 13. Reflection : how to think about your writing -- III. How to redraft -- 14. Redrafting 1 : editing -- 15. Page design -- 16. Peer appraisal -- 17. Writer's workshops -- 18. Redrafting 2 : revising -- IV. How to manage fictional time -- 19. Some notes on handling time in fiction / James Friel -- 20. Foreshadowing -- 21. Transitions -- 22. Crossing timelines and breaking rules / Heather Leach -- V. How to write with style -- 23. Meaning, sense and clarity -- 24. Description / Ursula Hurley -- 25. Sentences -- VI. How to broaden your canvas.

26. Demons and angels : using a persona / Jenny Newman -- 27. Looking for the drama / Ursula Hurley -- 28. The longer story -- 29. The short story cycle -- 30. Structure - what is it good for? / Gareth Creer -- Afterword : how to go the distance.