Pick Another Pen Men Brain: Charlie Pabst
October 1, 2008
Next up on the interviewee list is Charlie Pabst of Men with Pens/ Charfish Design. Charlie recently joined the Pen Men and has been fairly quiet thus far. We’re not sure if he just can’t get a word in edgewise, or if he’s playing up the whole man of mystery thing. 
Mr. Pabst is a self-taught web designer and writer with loads of style. He’s got a street-smart way about him and he fits in nicely with James and Harry. Charlie has a background in architecture, which brings an interesting and pleasantly unique style to his web designs. He also hails from Seattle, Washington and may find me on his doorstep some day if I get the time to travel to the West Coast. (If only JP Beaumont were a real person, I’d look him up, too!)
Charlie’s Responses
Charlie received the same three questions for the mini-interview, and these are his responses.
What writing habits do you practice daily?
My only real writing habit is to be sure I do it every single day. Not necessarily a blog post, or a story or even something remarkably literate, but something.
What is your process for improving your writing?
Part of it is just doing it and doing it and doing it. Another part of it is actually reading the things I write. Not in a critical fashion, but from the viewpoint of someone who may be reading my work for the first time. Being able to see your writing from another’s viewpoint is really important.
As a writer, when you put ideas down on paper, you do so with a concept in your mind already. I mean, you’re writing what you’ve already envisioned in your mind. Your readers don’t have that same concept. You, as the writer, have to GIVE it to them.
Some new writers I know have that problem and wonder, “Why don’t people get my writing? It seems so clear to me.” It’s much easier for us to understand what we’ve written ourselves.
Another thing I do is practice. I don’t like to be lazy with my writing. Say, if I’m just writing an email and I want to say something funny, I’ll purposely try to write something really funny. If I’m in a bad mood and writing a friend or associate, I’ll explain it in a way that’s more creative than just saying, “I’m grumpy.” Once you start practicing like this, it starts to feel like your repertoire is starting to grow. You’ll start to have more confidence that you can convey moods and ideas more successfully.
What books or blog posts have influenced the mechanics and heart of your writing the most?
One person I’ve learned from is Seth Godin. He’s got a very punchy style. His writing doesn’t have that, “I’m going to talk about this now. Now I’m talking about it,” sort of rigidness to it. He just gets right into stories and concepts, and he really makes it work. He’s my go-to guy for seeing how to make really succinct writing work, without losing your reader conceptually, as I brought up earlier.
Another is Nick Cernis of PutThingsOff.com. My interest in his writing is not with his choice of topics or subject matter. I just like his style. It’s loose, humorous and it often involves regional patois that, again, he just makes work.
Bill Bryson, who’s not a blogger as far as I know, is an incredible non-fiction essayist. He can write about anything and make it luscious, funny and vividly real. I feel like I know him personally just from the heart and honesty he puts into his writing. That honesty is something that is ultra-necessary, regardless of the type of writing you’re doing.
Honesty and heart make a writer’s work vividly real. It sounds like those two qualities deserve active development and nurturing in writing if we want that lucidity and lusciousness that Charlie talks about.
Great responses, Charlie. Thanks for letting us pick your brain!
Pick the Brain of Harrison McLeod of Men With Pens
September 29, 2008
In case you’re just tuning in, we’ll be posting mini-interviews with top bloggers here at Blue Duck over the next few weeks. You’ll have the chance to get a sneak peak into how these bloggers improve their writing and what inspires them to do what they do so well. I’ve had a blast reading the answers to these mini-interviews and can’t wait to share them with you!
Here’s Harry!
First off in this series is an interview with Harrison McLeod of Men With Pens. Harry is a gifted graphic designer with all the bells and whistles of a fancy degree to back up his work. He also writes thoughtful and entertaining blog posts for the company’s website, as well as content for clients from time to time. His style brings readers back for more day after day.
Let the Brain Picking Begin
To be fair, I asked each blogger the same three questions. Here are Harry’s responses- unedited.
What writing habits do you practice daily?
I have to say there aren’t any writing habits that I practice on a daily basis. I used to be in the habit of writing every day, but the demands of our business keep me occupied with graphics.
Having gotten away from writing on a daily basis, I find that when I do sit down to do some serious writing, it shows. It’s like jumping back into an exercise routine; the muscles don’t respond the way they used to. You get sore and tired quickly at first.
Writing every day, even when you don’t feel like it, is important on so many levels.
What is your process for improving your writing?
The more I read, the more reading stimulates my brain. Sometimes it helps with style. Other times it helps with new ideas and perspectives, or I’ll see a new technique to try or hit on a method to use.
It’s the same as when I was in art school. Critiques and the studio atmosphere do more than foster social interaction. You get ideas from the way other people work. You need the constant give and take of discussion and debate.
You might see what another person is doing and want to try it yourself. It may work, it may not, or it might lead to something better that no one has ever seen before. The world is your studio; use it.
What books or blog posts have influenced the mechanics and heart of your writing the most?
The one book that has influenced me the most is Stephen King’s On Writing. The book was incredible and it helped me see that there isn’t anything wrong with the way I write – I have my own style and that’s fine.
King’s methods and mine are very similar. I may not be the greatest writer on the face of the earth, but I have a knack for connecting with my audience and I’m a very good storyteller.
“The world is your studio; use it.” That just may become a personal mantra for writers, web designers, and bloggers around the world. Yes, Harry, you do have a knack for connecting to your audience, and your responses are… well, they’re classic Harry. Thanks for letting us pick your brain!
If you would like to read more of Harry’s musings, you can visit Men With Pens to read more. You can also view some of Harry’s stunning handiwork on the MwP website. He also designed the banner and logo for Blue Duck Copy. We love it, but we’re a little partial.
Pick the Brains of Top Bloggers!
September 26, 2008
I am constantly looking to improve my writing, and have been struggling with attaining just the right amount of crisp, clean prose while maintaining punch and a flowing cadence. This is my ever-elusive goal. Frustrated by my bang-head-against-wall approach lately, I had a late night/early morning conversation with James Chartrand of Men with Pens yesterday about the issue. (I asked James for help because that’s kind of guy he is. He’s passionate about his profession, cares deeply for others, and is an all-around nice guy. But don’t spread it around that I said that!)
The Wheels Start to Turn
During our email conversation, I began thinking about what other professional writers do to evolve their writing. How do they achieve their writing goals? What motivates them to excel in their craft?
Harebrained Ideas Always Begin After Midnight
So late last night, I came up with a harebrained idea: I would interview top bloggers with distinctive writing styles that others emulate. Whom did I contact? Well, that’s the crazy part. I emailed bloggers like Sean Platt, Darren Rowse, Susan Johnston, Sonia Simone, Bob Younce, and Tom Chandler. Then, a crazy thing happened- they agreed to my interview! (I emailed a few other interesting surprise personalities, too!)
Let the Brain Picking Begin!
I am champing at the bit to read these exceptional writers’ answers! Keep an eye out in the next few days as the responses to my mini-interviews come in as the bloggers’ schedules allow. I will post them, unedited, giving you a chance to pick the brains of top bloggers in the online copywriting and freelance industries.
Does this sound like fun to you? If you would like to see responses from a particular blogging favorite, drop us a line and we’ll see what we can do!
Let the brain picking begin!
9 Steps to Clearer Writing: Cutting the Fat and Choosing Words Carefully
September 20, 2008
Big is Beautiful!
“Big is Beautiful!” may work for plus-sized underwear ads, but it fails miserably in the world of online writing. Clear, concise writing is best. You have 500 words or less to take your reader on a journey with a destination of your choosing.
The Challenge
Your goal is to transport readers from point A to point B in a manner that inspires them to continue following your lead. Most readers aren’t that picky, they’ll follow nearly anyone that piques their interest for a short time; the challenge is to keep their interest.
Step Three: Cutting the Fat
Cutting the fat is a painful process for many writers. Laboring over a creation only to trash your beloved words in a pile on the floor is unnatural. However, the trimmed up product is often a creation more beautiful and valuable than the first draft.
The Trimming Process
Cutting the fact begins with eliminating or revising any confusion in your writing.
- Take out any parts that do not move the reader toward the destination. If it is not related to your topic, get rid of it.
- Organize your thoughts to create a logical flow. (We mentioned these first two steps in Focus and Keep it Flowing.)
- Break up long paragraphs into smaller chunks of related information. This creates a little more white space and is easier on the eyes. It also allows readers to scan for information quickly before they decide to invest the time it takes to read an entire post.
- Replace flowery prose with powerful descriptions. Long-winded descriptions are nice for poetry and story telling, but are not a good fit for most online content.
Step Four: Choosing Words Carefully
If you are a writer, you already know that word choice can make all the difference. All writers have a love for words, and sometimes we have a difficult time choosing which words to romance for a post. One way to select the right words for a post begins with determining your tone for the piece. Let’s say you are writing a sample blog post for a website that sells lightning rods. What emotions underlie your post on lightning storms? Are you conveying wonder, fear, fascination, or fast and hard clinical facts?
Once you identify the tone of your writing, brainstorm words that express your thoughts and evoke the emotions behind your tone. For example, words such as sizzling, singeing, ear-splitting, ground shaking, hair raising, and white hot invoke images of a lightening storm that convey power and fascination. In contrast, charring, electrified, scorched, random, split-second, and life threatening convey an attitude of fear.
Once you have a word bank to draw from, you can replace dull or incongruent words with selections from your brainstorming list.
Focus, flow, and lean writing are essential elements of clearer writing. Next up in the Clearer Writing series: Originality. Stay tuned to learn how marching to the beat of a different drummer can be a good thing.
9 Steps to Clearer Writing: Focus
September 5, 2008
Got Focus?
“I want my sexy!” screamed my four year old from the bathtub. I could hear his older brother patiently going through a list of possible words, other than sexy, that might placate the little guy. With each incorrect guess, duckie?, cookie?, Saltie?, wedgie?, the demand got louder and louder. I put a stop to the screaming by sliding open the shower door and explained to the toddler that demanding the same thing over and over, only louder, was not helpful. After a series of descriptive inquiries similar to a 20 questions game, I picked up a plastic Jet Ski from the toy basket and handed it to a now beaming child. Who knew that Jet Ski and sexy are the same things when you’re four?
Clear communication is elusive for many of us, even as adults. We each come to the table with different experiences and ideas that shape the way we communicate. Writing is no different. However, clear writing is crucial on the Web. Internet readers expect fast facts, clear communication, and instant entertainment- all within the first paragraph. Post unclear copy and you’ve lost the reader (a.k.a. the potential customer).
So begins our series on 9 steps to clearer writing. This nine part post will hopefully help new writers create better content and maybe give those seasoned veterans among us a refreshed perspective on clear communication.
Step ONE: Focus- Your Writing Foundation
Focus. A clear focus serves as the strong foundation for your writing. What is your article about? What idea are you conveying to your readers? When you lose your focus your writing tends to wander around aimlessly, resulting in confusion and frustration in your readers.
Finding a Goal
Each article, blog post, page of sales copy, or website content page should have an obvious goal. This goal may be to express an opinion, provide step-by-step directions, review historical facts, inform the reader, or entertain an audience.
Where to Start
Many professional copywriters recommend beginning with your title. You can revise the title once the article is finished, but having a brief summary of your writing helps keep you on track. Every sentence in the article should relate back to the subject of the title. If you need help writing better titles, you can visit CopyBlogger or ProBlogger for terrific tutorials.
Building a Framework
Keeping focus also requires a logical flow to your writing. Each piece should have an introduction, a body, and a conclusion. These three portions of your article need to be interesting, not repetitive. The introduction determines whether readers continue to the end of the page, the body should be easy to skim, and the rest of copy must support the conclusion.
Read Like a Visitor
One of my pet peeves is a professional writer that is too busy to read over their own work before posting. Taking a few minutes to read over a post eliminates 99% of errors in any content, as long as the reader has an adequate understanding of grammar and a good spell checker. Some writers recommend reading your wok out loud to help uncover any unclear or awkward phrasing. You should strive to read the content from the viewpoint of the reader, not the author.
Anything that does not related back to your title needs to go. Editing can seem like a brutal process, but pruning out the dead branches of redundant copy is essential to a healthy article.
Merriam-Webster defines focus as the center of activity, attraction, or attention; a point of concentration. Focus provides the solid foundation for your writing. Determine your purpose, set a goal, and build the framework for great content. Review what you’ve written before posting and don’t be afraid to edit out unfocused phrases. Focus provides clearer communication between you and your readers.
Next up in the clearer writing series is Keep it Flowing: Reaching Your Destination. See you soon!
