Influences

RoughMagick — Tue, 19 Jan 2010 18:20:09 +0000

Memories inform the creative spirit. Memories from a Florida childhood: men floating in silent skiffs among the tangled roots of the mangrove trees to check their crab cages. A sudden flash to shock-tall buildings in the man-made canyons of Manhattan. Then a reminder of home as I peer up to see palm trees stretch their swaying necks high above a Los Angeles boulevard.

Diverse landscapes influence style. The experience of different places, different faces allows an expansive view of the world that can be expressed in the simplest marketing advertisement or most complex screenplay.

My writing reflects these varied geographies. I can write and edit materials on dramatically different topics, from clinical medicine to parenting advice columns, from opinion on crime and the social landscape to instructional pieces on hand-feeding a baby bird. I can digest information and create compelling copy no matter what the topic.

A co-worker once told me, “People have no idea what you can do by seeing you on paper. They have to work with you to know how committed and creative you are.” I wouldn’t trade that ability for the world. This isn’t arrogance. This is appreciation: for a childhood that was filled with Tchaikovsky and Rembrandt; an adolescence filled with guitar and competitive swimming; and an adulthood filled with new cities, new faces, and new experiments.

Writing

RoughMagick — Mon, 18 Jan 2010 18:07:04 +0000

A background in writing is probably one of the most important qualifications for an Internet strategist. Some might say they can just hire writers, and I do, but my ability to write well quickly has made me more nimble and effective. I earned my MFA in Dramatic Writing from NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts. I worked for a few years as a screenwriter – Writer’s Guild and all that – but became disenchanted as time went on. Bad projects, bad writing, and one disappointment after another just turned me off the whole business. I started creating my own websites and writing about subjects that interested me and found I loved the work.

My parrot website led to Barron’s contacting me to write a book about lovebirds, the small African parrots I loved.

Screenwriting Background

Produced: Television Long-Form

Rapture, TriStar TV.

Split Images, TriStar TV (based on novel by Elmore Leonard)

Television Series

Lazarus Man, Castlerock/TNT. Two 1-hour episodes (Starring Robert Urich)

Unproduced Work-for-Hire:

Tales from the Crypt, HBO. Half-hour episode

Shoot-Out, NBC. Long-form (Movie of the Week)

Unloved Crimes, Winkler Films. Created dramatic series; pilot written.

Feature Film Scripts (spec): Criminal Minds, Tommy Gun, Dream of the Jaguar

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Influences

Writing