I love the definition: 'Fiction is about crisis points: moments at which the world stops, pivots on its axis and starts up again, moving in a slightly different direction --- fiction gives us the opportunity to peek through the keyhole at a set of people who can often become as real as our own neighbours, at a point in their lives which is more than usually interesting.' 'Plot: what happens; place: the world in which it happens and people: the characters it happens to, or who make it happen' Lynne elaborates on these and other aspects of writing fiction. Here are a few tasters to whet your appetite:

'A piece of fiction set in an inner city council estate is going to be different from one set in the stockbroker belt.' 'The name you give a character sets up expectations.' 'Dialogue is part of character development, as well as plot progress. A prime research source is soap opera, every conversation moves one plotline along a little.' Everything a character does occurs partly because the plot requires it and partly because that's what that character would do in those circumstances.' 'A large part of the art of fiction is selecting the relevant details and discarding the rest.'

Lynne Patrick, tutor of creative writing, and a much published fiction writer is well qualified to produce this book which contains all you need to know to write short stories, even where to begin and end. If you have such ambitions, treat yourself. You won't regret it.