What Zork, SimCity, and Oregon Trail Taught Me About Writing
Text adventures were collaborative fiction. SimCity proved complex systems can be compelling. Oregon Trail taught us failure is good storytelling.
The best storytelling lessons hide inside the stories we already love. These posts mine craft wisdom from unlikely sources — Dexter’s Laboratory, Star Trek, Lord of the Rings, the Critical Drinker, Viva La Dirt League, and even Zork — and turn fandom into writing instruction.
Text adventures were collaborative fiction. SimCity proved complex systems can be compelling. Oregon Trail taught us failure is good storytelling.
Three books circling the same questions about death. Grim, Ghost Healer, and God Is Everything approach what ghost stories have mined for thousands of years.
I own all fifteen White Wolf limited editions. Here’s why Moorcock’s Eternal Champion is the greatest multiverse in fiction and what makes each incarnation work
I bought the big red Lord of the Rings at a Pickwick bookstore in 1969. 55 years later I’m still finding craft lessons in it. Here’s what Tolkien teaches.
I didn’t make it past the first 20 minutes of Rings of Power. The writers turned Galadriel from one of Tolkien’s best characters into a generic action hero.
A lifelong Star Trek fan with over 200 hardcover Trek novels on what the original series got right about storytelling that most of its successors missed.
The Critical Drinker wraps storytelling lessons in whisky and profanity. His analysis of setup, payoff, and character arcs is sharper than most film criticism.
Every major change Villeneuve made adapting Dune for the screen, from cutting the dinner party to removing Alia. Some improved the story. Some ruined the ending.
Dive deep into Zork’s mesmerizing journey, from DEC beginnings to legendary gameplays. Experience a gaming classic!
Dexter’s Lab and ghostwriting have more in common than you’d think. Secret labs, chaotic clients, rival writers, and learning to speak in someone else’s voice.
How VLDL transformed gaming sketches into sophisticated storytelling. Analysis of their character development, world-building, and transmedia success.
If this sparked something, let's talk about turning your expertise into a finished book.
Text adventures were collaborative fiction. SimCity proved complex systems can be compelling. Oregon Trail taught us failure is good storytelling.
Three books circling the same questions about death. Grim, Ghost Healer, and God Is Everything approach what ghost stories have mined for thousands of years.
I own all fifteen White Wolf limited editions. Here’s why Moorcock’s Eternal Champion is the greatest multiverse in fiction and what makes each incarnation work
I bought the big red Lord of the Rings at a Pickwick bookstore in 1969. 55 years later I’m still finding craft lessons in it. Here’s what Tolkien teaches.
I didn’t make it past the first 20 minutes of Rings of Power. The writers turned Galadriel from one of Tolkien’s best characters into a generic action hero.
A lifelong Star Trek fan with over 200 hardcover Trek novels on what the original series got right about storytelling that most of its successors missed.
The Critical Drinker wraps storytelling lessons in whisky and profanity. His analysis of setup, payoff, and character arcs is sharper than most film criticism.
Every major change Villeneuve made adapting Dune for the screen, from cutting the dinner party to removing Alia. Some improved the story. Some ruined the ending.
Dive deep into Zork’s mesmerizing journey, from DEC beginnings to legendary gameplays. Experience a gaming classic!
Dexter’s Lab and ghostwriting have more in common than you’d think. Secret labs, chaotic clients, rival writers, and learning to speak in someone else’s voice.
How VLDL transformed gaming sketches into sophisticated storytelling. Analysis of their character development, world-building, and transmedia success.