title: Fixing Fiction: A Practical Guide
author: John W Allie
description: John W. Allie has had lots of experience with terrible fiction and has written quite a bit of it himself. He has since sworn off the stuff and hopes that you will, too. His website, johnwallie.com, contains many exciting things including comics, essays, and ebooks.
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  [Acknowledgements](bk01-toc_split_063.html#toc-idm398398794864)
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  Like journalists, writers of fiction are only as good as their sources. And I
  am very lucky with mine. Professor Niamh Nic Daied gave me valuable tutorials
  on fire and packets of crisps. Professor Dame Sue Black demonstrated how easy
  it is to break a hyoid bone. Professor Jo Sharp aided and abetted me in
  various ways.
  
  
  As always, I have a great team at my back who work with me to make the books
  the best they can be. My publisher David Shelley, my editor Lucy Malagoni, my
  American editor Amy Hundley, my agent Jane Gregory and editorial expert
  Stephanie Glencross are my first readers and they all have wisdom to offer. My
  copy-editor Anne O’Brien knows Tony and Carol better than I do and nobody
  could deal more effectively with the detail where the devil resides. Laura
  Sherlock keeps the show on the road with a smile (in spite of the car…), and
  the Little, Brown sales and marketing teams get the 