What If?

<p><strong><em>What If? </em>is the first handbook for writers based on the idea that specific exercises are one of the most useful and provocative methods for mastering the art of writing fiction. </strong></p><p>With more than twenty-five years of experience teaching creative writing between them Anne Bernays and Pamela Painter offer more than seventy-five exercises for both beginners and more experienced writers. These exercises are designed to develop and refine two basic skills: writing like a writer and just as important <em>thinking </em>like a writer. They deal with such topics as discovering where to start and end a story; learning when to use dialogue and when to use indirect discourse; transforming real events into fiction; and finding language that both sings and communicates precisely.<em>What If? </em>will be an essential addition to every writer's library a welcome and much-used companion a book that gracefully borrows a whisper from the muse.</p>