The unsayable ecstasies -- Letter to a young writer --There are no rules -- Your first line -- Don't write what you know -- The terror of the white page -- No ideas without music -- A hero of consciousness -- Out from the dust: creating characters -- Shaping the truth -- Carry a notebook -- Be a camera -- Fuhgheddaboudit: writing dialogue -- Read aloud -- Who what where when how and why -- Seeking structure -- What matters: language and plot -- Punctuation: it's not just a throwaway thing (comma) -- Research: Google isn't deep enough -- No rust on your sentences please -- The habit of hoping -- There are no literary Olympics -- How old is the young writer? -- Don't be a dick -- Then again, don't be too nice (in your fiction anyway) -- Fail, fail, fail -- Read, read, read -- Rejoyce -- Writing is entertainment -- Take a break -- Who's your ideal reader? -- How to get an agent -- What if I don't get an agent? -- Finding the right editor -- Bringing (your own) fresh eyes to your stories -- Throw it all away -- Allow the reader's intelligence -- Success -- If you're done, you've only just begun -- Blurbs (or the art of literary porn) -- A secret hearing -- Where should I write? -- To MFA or not to MFA? -- Should I read while I'm writing? -- Smash that mirror -- Write yourself a credo -- The bus theory -- Why tell stories? -- Embrace the critics -- Be exhausted when you finish -- Your last line -- Letter to a young writer, redux.
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