Timeless Writing Advice - Forget the E-Book Angle

Digital Ink: Writing Killer Fiction in the E-Book Age by Bonnie Hearn Hill

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


As an author of two fiction and one nonfiction books, I'm always looking to improve my craft. So when I saw Hill & Poe's book as a freebie on Steve Weber's Kindle Buffet, I thought "Oh why not, it's free. Probably won't be much there of use, but the price is right."

Boy was I in for a surprise. This book is hugely informative, easy to read, easy to understand, wastes no time getting to main points, and does a good job of explaining what you should and should not do in writing strong fiction. Mostly I liked how the authors supported their points so persuasively, and in short chapters too--makes it easier to chew off a bit of truth at a time. I had a lot of "Yes, that's true!" moments, sort of as if I'd always known, deep down, that fiction should be written this way or that way, but I just needed someone to shine a light on that deep down dark spot so that I could become conscious of it.

The authors mention several times that e-book writing requires special treatment by an unusually cognizant author. I'm not sure I agree with this. Good, timeless fiction in all formats shares construction elements that cut across all platforms. Perhaps they were angling to reach that ever-growing audience of self-published e-book authors and thought using "e-book" in the title would make their work more marketable. Don't know. Regardless, for any fiction writer of any medium, print or otherwise, this book is loaded with foundational principles to writing bestselling fiction. Go for it.

Though the book is short, just 92 pages, the material is worth the price amazon charges. Without hesitation I'm buying a copy for a family member who writes fiction and doesn't own an e-reader.



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