David Wright has spent 17 years writing dark fiction — including the bestselling post-apocalyptic series Yesterday's Gone, the paranoid sci-fi WhiteSpace, and the vigilante series No Justice — and has built an audience of readers who keep coming back for more.
Into the Darkness is the only craft book he's ever written. It's not a rulebook. It's the honest playbook of a working dark-fiction author — how to balance shadow and light, build tension that won't let readers go, and channel your own darkness into stories that mean something.
If Stephen King's On Writing taught you why dark fiction matters, and Danse Macabre taught you what to read — Into the Darkness shows you how to actually write it.
You will learn how to:
Build tension that keeps readers hooked to the last page — and primed to buy your next book
Layer personal darkness into your characters so they feel real instead of cardboard
Mine your past for truer fiction without getting lost in your own pain
Research authentic darkness so your work doesn't read like Google searches
Create villains with depth by balancing menace with sympathy
Use humor and hope as relief valves so readers can stomach the darkest stretches
Stay grounded yourself while writing material that would wreck most people
Whether you write horror, dark thrillers, dark fantasy, or any fiction that goes to uncomfortable places, Into the Darkness gives you the tools and the permission to go further.
If you're ready to tell richer, fuller stories and create your own army of rabid fans... it's time to go Into the Darkness.
Includes a free companion workbook to help you do the work alongside the read.
David Wright is the co-author of the #1 horror and #1 sci-fi series, Yesterday's Gone.
With co-author Sean Platt, he's written six dark thriller series (WhiteSpace, ForNevermore, Available Darkness, and the 47North series Z2134 and Monstrous); three standalone novels (12, Crash, and Threshold); and countless Dark Crossings short stories.
He is also one third of The Self-Publishing Podcast with authors Sean Platt and Johnny B. Truant.
He currently lives on the east coast with his wife, young son, and the world's most poopingest cat.