102 Ways to Write a Novel : Indispensible Tips for the Writer of Fiction

'For God's sake, keep your eyes open. Notice what's going on around you.'

William S. Burroughs
This step-by-step guide to the art -- and the craft -- of writing fiction is a refreshing blend of the practical (how to find an agent), with the more cerebral (how to handle point of view; the importance of rhythm).
Throughout, Quick uses the hard-won experiences of his fellow novelists to give color and depth to his own advice. Did you know, for instance, that Road Dahl wrote in a shed? That Nabokov composed his masterpieces on index cards? Or -- alas -- that most writers get their best work done in the mornings?
Full of wit and lightly-worn erudition, 102 Ways to Write a Novel is an elegant, useful and even inspiring vade mecum. It will become a classic of its kind ? the book no writer of fiction should be without.

Alex Quick is the '102 series' pseudonym of Gary Dexter, an acclaimed British author of fiction and non-fiction. His latest novel, All the Materials for a Midnight Feast, was described by the Sunday Telegraph as 'a beautifully crafted work of fiction'. Reviewing Dexter’s classic book about book titles, Why not Catch-21?, the Guardian critic wrote: 'There are a few books that try to be funny about literature and don't ever really get it right; Dexter always does.'