What I Bring to the Table
Distinctive Voice
I’m the guy you call when you want writing with personality, a point of view, a wink. You can hire me to write catalog copy, but if that’s all you need, better to find some kid for $20 an hour.
Finding the Story
You’ve got to construct (or at least imply) a narrative that surrounds and makes memorable the thing you want them to learn. If you don’t, they’ll swat you away like an incoming fly and forget you were ever there.
Research and Planning
Sometimes you need information researched and presented in a way that enables your team to make an informed decision. I’ve done professional research since my days as an investigative reporter.
Strategic Clarity
All messages should exist in a strategic context, I understand that context and contribute to it. The result is communication aligned with your goals.
The hardest thing is attracting the right audience and holding its attention. It requires a sense of who is listening, a commitment to delivering value with every contact, and the ability to make even the most basic message fresh. Fail to do that, and no matter how little the writing costs, it was too much.
I’m a writer. I'm capable in video production, design, social media, and web development. I do creative direction and project management. But really, I'm a writer. I approach problems as a writer approaches a blank page – with simmering optimism about what's possible. That's why my clients hire me, and it's why you should, too.
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Originality
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Wit
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Perspective
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Words
Testimonials
Latest news
Gamifying Invasive Species
In my article about Asian carp, we needed a link to a video showing just how obnoxious the jumping carp can be. The editors — who are responsible adults — chose carefully. They rejected my suggestion, which was understandable, but come on. This is one of the most American things ever.
The Story the Editors Don’t Want You to Know. And My Wife’s Not Nuts About It, Either.
I wrote an article about Tennessee moonshine for Bourbon+, and just for fun I wrote a sidebar about my own first encounter with moonshine. I offered it to them for free and their response was to pretend they never saw it. Here’s the text: Let me tell you my moonshine story: I was at an[…]
Royce/Whitesburg
A few years ago I spent some time in Whitesburg, Kentucky, which is currently in the news because it flooded, horribly. I was there poking around a story that never materialized, but I met some good people and wrote a couple of possible ledes — which is what one does when one has rich material[…]
And Our Vices Shall Lead Us
I’m writing a feature about robotic farming and I’m watching a demonstration of how easy one of the major systems is to use. It’s pretty impressive, with huge trays of plants beings raised into multiple layers so more can be grown on less land. A few minutes in I notice that, despite the narrator talking[…]
Having Lived Through a Hollywood Writers’ Strike…
Writers don’t stop writing. Beware of the first novel onlsaught.
On These Subjects, I Will Work at a Discount
There are things I want to write about that I’m not getting to write about. They are subjects that require research and travel and association with a known publication to get into — and that means I can’t do it on my own. I will write about these subjects at a discount. Environmental Restoration —[…]
The Job I Was Born to Do
I’ve started writing a recurring column about online political gambling. If you were to feed my talents and experience into an algorithm that would identify the perfect job for someone, I bet the Threadster column would come out. It’s wise-assy, it’s political, it benefits from pedantry, and there are, basically, no rules. Because it is[…]
At Long Last
I sold an article today I’ve been hawking around for six months. It’s something I really, really want to write about and I wasn’t getting a nibble. I changed the pitch every time, zeroing in on a way to explain something that sounded like it might be a term paper in an undergraduate marketing class[…]
My Life as a Writer
“So, you’re a writer.” “Yes, among other things.” “What do you write?” “Lots of different things.” “Like, plays?” “Not plays. Magazine articles. Speeches. I ghost some op-eds for politicians.” “I hate politics.” “A lot of people do.” “Not as much as me. You should write a thing about how much I hate politics.” “Really?” “Yeah.[…]
Fact For the Taking
Here’s something I love that I haven’t been able to squeeze into anything: Lisa Carver, PhD, is an assistant professor in the School of Kinesiology & Health Studies, Queen’s University, Canada. Earlier this year she published the results of a study she constructed to determine people’s estimates of how old they feel. That is, as[…]