The Wisdom of My Three-Legged Pooch
An essay about my dog Wrigley, for the Boston Globe Magazine.
How Dungeons & Dragons Taught Me How To Be Brave In The Real World
This tabletop role-playing game is changing more lives than ever. It could change yours, too. My essay for the Huffington Post.
Cognoscenti's best stories of 2024
Over on WBUR’s Cognoscenti, my “Q&A with a Dungeon Master” (that’s me) with editor Kate Neale Cooper (and my accompanying essay “D&D turns 50 this year. Gather round the Dungeon Master's table”) was named to“Cognoscenti's best stories of 2024” list.
Plastic Water Bottle: Origin Story
An essay in Witness magazine. An excerpt: “This morning, flattened like roadkill in front of my house, post-trash and recycling pickup day, its plastic sleeve displaying the logo and “best by” and “bottled on” date long since stripped and taken by the wind, the 8 a.m. sunshine catching one of its crumpled diamond facets refracting the light back to me, not unbeautiful for a Monday.”
Choiceology podcast: A Hero's Journey
I appeared on the Choiceology podcast, “A Hero’s Journey,” in which I discuss how stories about the call to adventure and tests of character and strengths can make your life more manageable, exciting, and meaningful. Download here or on Apple Podcasts.
Q&A with a Dungeon Master
WBUR interviewed me about my lifelong interest in D&D, and why D&D still matters:
”For me, the win is if we've had a really fun time together. We've amused ourselves, we've had some emotional, exciting moments. Along the way, we’ve made these little sparks of connection. We've done something that has stakes and has meaning. Those are D&D’s wins. Your goal is to work together to solve a problem, not defeat each other — a totally different game experience. We've had some laughs, we've told a really interesting story. That’s a pretty great metaphor for life, too.” Read the interview here.
D&D turns 50 this year. Gather round the Dungeon Master's table
My essay for WBUR on the 50th anniversary of Dungeons & Dragons. “On a personal level, D&D and other tabletop role-playing games offered me a template to create my own fantasies, my own narratives that starred a version of me that was less nerdy and more aggressive, less timid and more adventurous, less self-conscious and more carefree.” Read the rest of my essay here.
My Super 8 movie hits D&D Direct
D&D Direct is the annual video marketing blitz for new D&D merch roll-out. This 50th anniversary year, the livestream used clips from my Super 8 movie of my 1981 D&D session in its opening few minutes. Does this mean I hit the big time, Hasbro/Wizards of the Coast?
Dungeons & Dragons is 50. Almost as many years ago, it saved my life.
“Once I discovered the transmogrifying portal of D&D, the game became a safe haven — the place where I could achieve feats and victories beyond my reach in real life.”
An essay for the Boston Globe Ideas section.
“The Power of the Sandwich: Story Containers Beyond Chronology”
In this craft essay on the Brevity Blog, “The Power of the Sandwich: Story Containers Beyond Chronology” I explore narrative story “containers” including the “non-chronological sandwich,” because I really like sandwiches, and others structures that are just as tasty. Join me for a CRAFT TALKS webinar, Contain Your Narrative: Five Time-Tested Structures Nonfiction Writers Need to Know, August 1 at 2PM Eastern ($25) and learn five time-tested ways to arrange your story for maximum power.
There and Back Again: Ethan Gilsdorf's GrubStreet Journey
We asked our Essay Incubator instructor Ethan Gilsdorf to share his GrubStreet journey with us. If you are considering our writing community for your personal craft exploration please join us on May 1st for our Summer 2024 Open House and Showcase where Ethan will be a featured reader.
"It’s AT&T, We Apologize for Thursday’s Outage and…”
My comedy piece "It’s AT&T, We Apologize for Thursday’s Outage and Also Why Won’t You Talk to Me?!" was published in Points in Case comedy magazine.
My love letter to Boston on WBUR Cognoscenti
WBUR featured my radio essay as part of their "Love Letter to Boston" series that aired on WBUR's NPR Morning Edition program.
Antidepressant Brand Name, or Elf Character from Middle-Earth?
Humor! Over on Greener Pastures: “Antidepressant Brand Name, or Elf Character from Middle-Earth”
How to Prepare for A Difficult Conversation
Over on Brevity, I published this essay "How to Prepare for A Difficult Conversation."
Shall we play a game?
In which my co-author and I entice chat GPT to play Dungeons & Dragons.
Here's what we wrote for Wired Magazine.
DEAR CHATBOT, SHOULD I WRITE ABOUT MY DEAD MOTHER? A conversation between Ethan Gilsdorf and ChatGPT
Should I write about my dead mother?
Yes, you should write about your dead mother if you feel compelled to do so. Writing about someone you care about can be a cathartic and meaningful experience.
You'll find this essay published over on Electric Literature 