"In 1989, Oakley Hall published The Art and Craft of Novel Writing, a classic text that Pulitzer Prize-winner Robert Stone called "simply the best book in print to examine the strategies and necessities involved in the making of a novel."" "In How Fiction Works, Hall has expanded and deepened his instruction, adding exercises and new examples as well as advice on all forms of fiction, including short stories, short-short stories and novels. He covers every fictive technique, from plot and characterization to word choice, voice and style." "The key to Hall's teaching method is his brilliant use of examples. Throughout the book, he emphasizes the importance of reading and evaluating fiction with an eye toward craft. To this end, he offers more than one hundred excerpts from literature, illustrating through analysis and advice how fiction works."--Jacket.