Title Page -- Copyright -- TABLE of CONTENTS -- Introduction -- PART I: RECONNAISSANCE -- 1. The writer who observes the battlefield before entering the fray will be better equipped to plan strategy and tactics. -- 2. The writer must understand the essentials of success for a long-term writing career, and count the cost accordingly. -- 3. Know the difference between a hero and a fool. -- 4. A foundation in discipline is always the first step toward victory. -- 5. Career fiction writers must be aware of what the successful writing life is like. -- 6. A wise and well-respected writer once said, "Nobody knows anything." Listen to him. -- 7. Whining will not help you win the battle for publication. -- 8. "Do the thing you fear, and the death of fear is certain." -- 9. The outsized ego is not a weapon of value. -- 10. Status, worry, and comparison are ways to madness, not victory. -- 11. To keep from turning off those who can publish you, you must not be desperate. -- 12. The career novelist will develop a writing improvement program, beginning with a notebook. -- 13. A writer must always be prepared to break through "the wall." -- 14. Turn envy into energy and more words. -- 15. The successful novelist will not worry about competition, but will concentrate only on the page ahead. -- 16. Don't worry about being worried, and don't let worry drag you down. -- 17. Stay hungry so your determination will not flag. -- 18. An army travels on its stomach, so spear some fish. -- 19. The fiction writer must rely on self-motivation. -- 20. A gentle reminder can deliver great force at just the right time. -- 21. Put heart into everything you write. -- 22. Finish your novel, because you learn more that way than any other. -- PART II: TACTICS -- 23. The writer of potential greatness settles not for "mere fiction.".

24. A writer with a credo will not be tempted to settle for mediocrity. -- 25. Write hard, write fast, and the fire of creation will be yours. -- 26. Edit slow, edit tough, with a process both clear and cool. -- 27. Test your premise to prove it worthy. -- 28. The fully engaged writer must extend operations to the two levels of story. -- 29. Disdain not the freshness of small improvements outside comfort zones. -- 30. The key to reader bonding is falling in love with the Lead. -- 31. Deploy a character who reveals both inner struggle and inner conflict. -- 32. The writer who understands redemption is on the border of enduring fiction. -- 33. A premise must be supported by fresh, solid scenes. -- 34. When you are stuck, call on a word and its cousins. -- 35. The use of a voice journal will keep characters from becoming little versions of the writer. -- 36. Speed is the essence of the opening. -- 37. Discipline clichéd or predictable story beginnings. -- 38. Learn to pace your scene openings for specific effects. -- 39. Remember that love means never having to say, "I love you." -- 40. Characters all alone should do more than think. -- 41. Apply the Spencer Tracy secret for creating memorable characters. -- 42. Utilize the Q Factor as a strategic weapon for motivation at just the right time. -- 43. Give backstory the proper respect, and it will help readers bond with your characters. -- 44. The dropping in of backstory should be active. -- 45. Progressive revelation keeps readers turning pages. -- 46. Dialogue will compel the turning of pages if it is a compression and extension of action. -- 47. The innovative writer will sometimes write dialogue only, then fill in the blanks. -- 48. For scenes to move with deliberate speed, the writer must grasp the truth behind RUE. -- 49. The clever use of narrative dialogue will avoid the sin of small talk.

50. Success may be found in three great scenes, and no weak ones. -- 51. To write comedy, make the characters believe they are in a tragedy. -- 52. To the question of whether to outline or not to outline: Yes. -- 53. The writer who is anxious to start writing should follow a mini-plan. -- 54. The wise writer draws on select weapons to keep his story moving forward. -- 55. Do not miss the opportunity to warm up your third-person point of view. -- 56. First-person point of view is the most intimate, thus requiring special handling. -- PART III: STRATEGY -- 57. You are a business, and your books are the product. -- 58. A goal is just a dream unless it has legs. -- 59. Network according to the law of reciprocity. -- 60. Take a writing Sabbath and recharge your batteries. -- 61. Become a snatcher of time, and maybe you'll hit 700 books, too. -- 62. Know when to get an agent - and when not to. -- 63. If you charge ahead without an agent, be sure you have something worth selling. -- 64. In the hunt for an agent, take aim at more than one. -- 65. Approach agents intelligently by knowing what they do and don't want. -- 66. Unwise is the writer who quits his day job too soon. -- 67. Your weapon for pursuing publication is the killer proposal. -- 68. Your opening salvo is the killer cover letter. -- 69. Wow agents and editors by grabbing them with your opening chapters. -- 70. Utilize the principle of overcompensation to generate a killer synopsis. -- 71. Always be ready to talk to someone in the elevator. -- 72. Plan your actions when attending a writers' conference, then work your plan. -- 73. "Never assume that a rejection of your stuff is also a rejection of you as a person … unless it's accompanied by a punch in the nose." -- 74. Promote as you will, but never let it affect your ability to write your best book.

75. Nurture your relationship with a trusted ally, your editor. -- 76. For long-term success, design a typical writing day and stick to it. -- 77. To survive over any length of time, you must turn any criticism into a strength. -- A final word from Sun Tzu, and me.