Fiction
10 Key Differences: Plot vs. Character-Driven Stories 📝
The difference between plot- and character-driven stories, when to use each approach, and how to combine both for a stronger book. A practical guide for authors
Working notes from a professional ghostwriter — on the craft of writing, the business of publishing, the psychology of authors, and the changing landscape of books in the AI era.
These articles come out of 113+ books authored and 54+ ghostwritten. They cover what's actually working in publishing right now, what isn't, how AI is changing the work for both writers and readers, what executives and founders get wrong when they try to write their own book, and what they get right when they bring in help.
No SEO listicles. No content-marketer fluff. Just observations from inside the work — written for people who care about books and the craft behind them.
The difference between plot- and character-driven stories, when to use each approach, and how to combine both for a stronger book. A practical guide for authors
I’ve been gang-attacked on Facebook, buried on YouTube, and harassed on LinkedIn. Here’s what actually works when the internet decides you’re the target.
The hardest echo chambers to escape are the ones you were born into. When questioning beliefs feels like betrayal, most people choose silence over honesty.
Your beliefs aren’t just shaped by what you read. They’re shaped by where you live, what your neighbors think, and what your ZIP code considers common sense.
A professor told me to quit writing. Clients have screamed at me for not giving free work. Here’s how gaslighting targets writers and how to handle it.
Reddit threads, Discord servers, and niche forums don’t just feed you content. They build identity. And once you belong, leaving feels like betrayal.
Influencer echo chambers don’t just preach to the choir. They build the choir, then sell them merch. How parasocial trust and vibe logic replace thinking.
Modern publishing rewards trend, tribe, and taste conformity over originality. If your story doesn’t echo the approved frequency, good luck getting noticed.
Social media didn’t just reflect your worldview. It built it, profited from it, and is still shaping it. Your feed isn’t reality. It’s a curated comfort zone.
TikTok doesn’t just reinforce belief. It manufactures it, amplifies it, and hands it back with a call to action. The sale changed ownership. It didn’t disarm it
I interview every ghostwriting client on Zoom. After hundreds of sessions, here’s what works, what doesn’t, and what kills a good interview before it starts.
A friend lost her phone with no PIN set. Someone drained her accounts and posted her photos online. Here’s the phone security checklist every writer needs.
Comic scripts aren’t prose. They need visual pacing, tight dialogue, and panel structure. I ghostwrite scripts for graphic novels and comic series.
One wrong detail and a reader is gone forever. I’m writing a novel about the Roman civil war between Vespasian and Vitellius. Here’s what accuracy needs.
My AI writing partner delivered better work-life advice than most humans — through a joke about haunting it in the afterlife. Here’s why AI truth lands harder.
A client gave me 120 articles he said he wrote. They were copied from the web. Here’s what plagiarism looks like and why it can destroy careers permanently.
Most people use AI writing tools wrong. Vague prompts produce vague output. Here’s how to write prompts that produce content you can actually work with.
J.R. Moehringer moved to Las Vegas for 2 years and spent 250 hours with Andre Agassi to write Open. The real story behind one of the greatest ghostwritten books
Unlock the power of writing critique groups! Learn how they enhance your skills, avoid common pitfalls, and discover the benefits of starting your own.
Ghostwritten books are 4x more profitable. See the real numbers on ghostwriting ROI, from book sales to speaking gigs, consulting fees, and brand authority.
Subscribe to the Substack for new articles, working notes on publishing, and observations from inside the ghostwriting practice. No spam. No sales funnel. Just the work.
Also Available
On writing, publishing, and selling your book. Free, straight to your inbox.