This is a practical guide for those wishing to write copy for websites as well as for those who commission others to do it. The book is set in two parts, the first gives learning objectives based on key ideas, techniques, and resources, and the second summarizes these objectives, explains technical terms, and gives pointers to useful sites and references.

The author’s fifth guide to writing “damn good fiction” offers a useful and entertaining look at the process of writing a thriller. Some readers may be confused, at first, by his seemingly overbroad definition of a thriller (the Iliad? Miss Congeniality?), but thrillers, Frey argues, should be defined by their key elements: heroes with impossible missions, theatrically extreme villains, a series of obstacles, a rousing climax. The author leads us through the process of putting together a thriller by creating several stories and then showing us how to elaborate their plots and how to design their characters. It’s an interesting approach, sort of a hands-on seminar.