Basic DNS Setup

I want to know if it is possible to use DNS without registering a
domain name. I want to use bind on my home network. Currently I have
all the pcs I use stored in /etc/hosts. It works out okay, but I do
want to become familiar with using dns. I've created zone files, but
it doesn't seem to work. I just want to do basic things with it for
the time being. I don't want to expose my computer to the Internet for
now.