The Linchpin Writer

I've been writing fiction for a long time, but I still read books on craft because I know there's always more to learn. I highly recommend “The Linchpin Writer” because it offers an entirely new (to me) way of looking at the craft of writing fiction. The book aims at those crucial moments in novels that can make or break a reader's involvement with the story–the beginning, the first lines of the protagonist's dialogue, and so on. As I am just now in the final stages of revising a new novel, thinking about these critical moments–these “linchpins”–has been enormously helpful. Besides offering helpful observations and tips, the book is written in a delightful, conversational style, loaded with humor. It also includes writing exercises to help drive home the points in each chapter, and suggestions for where to find more information on the author's popular website, Bookfox.

This is an excellent book and you won't be sorry if you spend some time with it.

I received an advance copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.