Meet Cote Smith — novelist, game writer, and graduate of The Narrative Department. 👋🏻

Cote has published two novels with major presses: Hurt People and Limetown: The Prequel to the #1 Podcast. He knows what it takes to finish a long creative project — and he did it for years, alone at his computer, but there was something lurking in the background...

And then one day, the penny dropped.

Cote joined us for our Masterclass, and it didn't take long before he discovered something: he loved writing for games - even though it's a very, very different storytelling form than novels.

But novelists and game writers have at least one thing in common: they both work on their projects for a loooong time. And Cote had learned something important about what it takes to stick with it.

As Cote puts it: "Just making time for this thing that you really care about, and then hoping that someday it might see the light of day — but also trying to find the enjoyment in the process as you're going. That's what sustains you."

YES KING

So in at least one way, writing novels is a lot like writing games. But how are they different? And how do we change as writers when we work on games? (Here comes some inside baseball...)

Learning to think like a game writer isn't just a technical shift. It's a personal one. And for someone who spent years as the sole author of their own creative vision — that's a big ask.

Cote is such an inspiration - he does the work because he loves the work. What else is there, really? 💖 💖 💖

Build your writing chops, your game-writing expertise, and your creative community -- all at once

Join the waitlist for The Narrative Department's Game Writing Masterclass and get early access when enrollment opens in 2027. Built for working and aspiring game writers alike, our course will speedrun you through 20+ years of experience shipping best-selling, award-winning games.