"Writer in the Dark" is a song recorded by New Zealand singer-songwriter Lorde for her second album Melodrama (2017). She co-wrote and co-produced the track with Jack Antonoff. It is a piano ballad with sparse production and an outro. Its lyrics are Lorde's lament to an ex-lover, in which she says she will always love him but she also needs to move her life forwards. The song received acclaim from music critics, many of whom commended its songwriting. Lorde performed "Writer in the Dark" and six other songs as part of a re-imagined Vevo song series at Electric Lady Studios, and was included on the set list of her Melodrama World Tour (2017–2018).