'NEARLY 30 YEARS have passed since I took my last class as a teacher of fiction-writing at tertiary level. I was employed as such a teacher for 16 years, and during that time I presided over more than 2000 classes. (I’m trying to avoid reporting that I actually taught fiction-writing. I certainly helped many people to write better fiction, but I doubt whether I taught anyone who had never attempted fiction how to write the stuff that we call by that name.)' (Introduction)