Choosing your tools: an outlining primer -- Learning to compartmentalize: scene by scene by scene -- Brainstorm, chart, and outline -- First assignments -- What a character -- Where it all begins: the first scene(s) -- Welcome to the middle -- Stuck in the middle with you -- On the other side of a bridge too far -- So long, farewell -- Mind the gaps -- Quick starts, grand finales, and universal messages -- Cleaning up your acts.