Stories In and Out of Games

I’ve gotten many emails in the last few days about writing for video games.

To answer a few of your questions, here is the article I wrote earlier this year for GameInformer #170, Telling Stories In and Out of Games.

I talk about the differences and similarities between writing a novel, screenplay, comic, and video game--and how these skills specifically transfer to games. I barely touch on the main issues (I could teach an entire semester class on writing for each medium!). The article will at least start you thinking about these things if you are interesting in writing for games.

Mortal Coils Done

Yesterday I emailed the MORTAL COILS manuscript to my editor. Whew! It’s about 1,000 pages and 200,000 words long (iPod Nano shown in picture for scale). That’s twice the length of my previous novels!

*breathes easy*

I feel good about this story--which is saying a lot if you know writers. They’re usually fingernail-biting neurotic (myself included) at this point in the publication process.

It was an intensive push at the end, but I finished two days before my deadline. Now, I can pay attention to my family again, catch up on those other languishing projects, answer email, heck--maybe even read a book or play a game.