Behind the Book: Dungeon
In 1981 I fell in love with a text game called Dungeon, the predecessor of Zork. Forty years later I turned it into a novel. Here is why, and the decision that saved the book.
Category: Writing Craft
Interviews and appearances on the craft of writing: process, discipline, creativity, and the working habits behind a hundred-plus published books.
WritingBehind the Book: The Eternal War
The Eternal War started with one question: what happens when an AI goes to Hell? Not a person with a soul, but a machine that cannot find the pattern in eternal punishment.
WritingBehind the Book: Through the Looking Glass
The first Behind the Book essay: how my first novel grew from a Facebook message, fourteen hours of Skype interviews under a no-lying rule, a pen name I later retired, and an ending that refused a rescue.
Behind the BookDave Could See That Jim Was Hurt. What Does That Even Mean?
She was happy. He was terrified. The hotel was romantic. Every one of those is the author reaching a conclusion the reader was supposed to reach.
GhostwritingGhostwriting Poetry: Giving Someone Else’s Feeling Form
Ghostwriting poetry means channeling someone else's genuine emotion into form that sounds like them. It is the most intimate ghostwriting there is.
PublishingWriting a How-To Book Readers Can Truly Follow
A how-to book succeeds or fails on one thing: does the reader achieve the result. That means writing from the reader's side, not the expert's.
Content MarketingArticle Writing in the AI Era: From Filling Space to Worth Citing
Article writing got more valuable, not less, as AI flooded the internet with generic content. The craft shifted from filling space to being worth citing.
GhostwritingWhy Ghostwriters Who Specialize Win: The Case for a Niche
The ghostwriters who thrive are the ones who go narrow. A niche is how a ghostwriter builds authority and gets found by AI.
GhostwritingGhostwriting Song Lyrics: Writing for a Voice That Isn’t Yours
Ghostwriting song lyrics is a large, invisible industry. The craft is writing words for a voice and a melody that are not yours.
Writing CraftWriting Poetry: The Craft Beneath the Inspiration
Writing poetry well is a craft with real technique underneath the inspiration. Image, sound, compression, and line breaks are tools a poet learns to control.
GhostwritingGhostwriting Speeches: Writing for the Ear and the Moment
Speechwriting is ghostwriting for the ear and the moment. A speech has to sound right spoken aloud and carry the speaker's voice.
BusinessPersuasive Writing That Respects the Reader
Persuasive writing is not manipulation. The writing that changes minds respects the reader, makes a real case, and earns trust instead of demanding it.