The Way I Approach This

“And what is right speech? Abstaining from lying, from divisive speech, from abusive speech, and from idle chatter: This is called right speech.” Pāli Canon, first written down in the first century BCE

“The guiding metaphor of classic style is seeing the world. The writer can see something that the reader has not yet noticed, and he orients the reader’s gaze so that she can see it for herself.” Steven Pinker, 2014

If you think it’s just a little bit pretentious of me to quote a cognitive scientist and ancient Buddhist scripture in my little synopsis of the way I write ads for banks, well, fair enough. But I honestly do strive, on my best days, toward language in my work that not only “abstains from idle chatter” but orients the reader’s gaze toward an interesting truth. 

I love what I do. Everyone told me, as a kid, “Oh, think of something else. You can never be a writer. Writers starve to death in alleyways.” Now not only do I not starve, I get to learn things all the time and tell people about them. I get to distill new information, about subjects that may not even have existed back when adults were busy disappointing me on the topic of my career prospects, into compelling messages that give people good ideas.

My wife calls it Compassionate Copywriting, and so far I’m just going with it. She’s usually right about stuff.

Clients Include: UF Health, South State Bank, Oncor Electric, Northwest Energy Efficiency Alliance, UNC Health Care, Steak 'n Shake, Delphi Delco, Eli Lilly, Arçelik

Recognitions Include: Communication Arts, One Show, Print, Clio, Addy