Lodge focuses each chapter upon one aspect of the art of fiction, comprising some fifty topics pertaining to novels or short stories by English and American writers. Every chapter also begins with a passage from classic or modern literature that Lodge feels embodies the technique or topic at hand. Some of the topics Lodge analyzes are Beginning (the first chapter), The Intrusive Author, The Epistolary Novel, Magic realism, Irony, symbolism, and Metafiction.
Lodge concentrates on each chapter, focusing on one aspect of fiction writing, covering around fifty topics related to novels or short stories by English and American authors. Each chapter starts with a passage from classic or contemporary literature that Lodge believes illustrates the technique or topic being discussed.