Game 9: #1 Seed John August Versus #8 Seed Quiet Rebel Writer

The Matchup

By blogging standards, John August is an old timer, and a very popular one at that. Quiet Rebel Writer is new to the game, but has a lot of heart. Can this rebellious newcomer tackle the old guard giant?

Introductions

John August

John August has what most other bloggers lack — authority. August is a screenwriter, and a very successful one at that. His screen writing credits include Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Big Fish, Charlie’s Angels, Corpse Bride and Go. He recently directed a critically acclaimed independent film, The Nines, based on his own script. This blog is his attempt to help out other screenwriters and the vast assembly of wanabees. He also likes to talk about the occasional random issue and his personal life. Long before he had his own blog, August began writing for the Ask A Writer section on IMDB. So, both as a screenwriter and as a blogger, John August had extensive credentials.

Quiet Rebel Writer

This blog, written by freelancer Amy Lillard, is one of the new kids on the blogging block. QRW is rapidly building a fan base because of the in-depth posts and some interesting views on the world of freelancing.

Archives

John August

August’s archives stretch back to 2003. August does have an extremely thorough chronological archive page, but there is no link to it from his home page. I’ll do him a favor and link to it here. When he isn’t immersed in a project, August is a pretty frequent poster. The pace drops when he gets busy but that is understandable. His best entries are usually responses to screenwriting and industry questions from his readers. He has solved many a reader’s problem, or at least let them know there was no solution.

Result: August shoots the long bomb for three points.

Quiet Rebel Writer

QRW has only been around since the beginning of this year, so the archives aren’t as deep as the likes of John August. There is no archive page either, which makes it hard to find the best stuff. Lillard has been relatively prolific since her start though, posting just about every day and twice on a few days. Because of the length of her posts, that is an impressive pace.

Result: QRW gets two from the paint based strength of her posting frequency.

John August takes an early 3-2 lead based on his enormous backlog of quality posts.

Design

Quiet Rebel WriterQRW has a simple, straightforward design. It is a stock theme, but a good stock theme. The lack of advertisements (a good idea for a young blog that wants to build readers) keeps the look clean and enjoyable to read. Lillard also makes excellent use of graphics in her posts. A masthead would be a nice touch.
Result: QRW hits a solid two-pointer.

John August

August’s blog design is simple but attractive. It is two-column, which keeps it from looking cluttered and the only advertisements are small Amazon links to his works and other things he likes. Additionally, he does a great job of replicating script formatting in his blog entries, which makes his instructions very clear. It’s a nice touch.

Result: August answers back with two if his own.

Both of these blogs could have picked up three with just a couple more touches. As it they both get two. 5-4 in favor of John August.

Usability and Navigation

John August

August’s site doesn’t have many extra bells and whistles. One good thing he does is prominently display his invitation for reader’s to ask him questions. That shows the emphasis he puts on maintaining a conversation with his readers. August has a very brief list of featured articles. He also divides his blog up between his articles and his personal “off-topic” posts and he provides feeds to both of them as well as to comments. He lists his blogging categories at the bottom of the page.

Result: August pulls up and scores two in the paint.

Quiet Rebel Writer

The clean interface of QRW makes it easy to find features. Unfortunately, there aren’t many of them. You can subscribe to the feed and subscribe by email. There is no archive page or any other bells and whistles.

Result: QRW gets one from the free throw line.

August extends his lead to 7-5.

Purpose

Quiet Rebel Writer
My only problem is that I feel, when you call yourself a rebel, that you really need to concentrate on finding ways that the established methods don’t work or can be circumvented. I think QRW is on the path towards becoming that sort of blog, but Lillard is still providing plenty of “conventional” wisdom as well. I can get conventional writing wisdom all over the place. I want more of the rebellious stuff. I think she has it in her.

Result: Two points from the top of the key.

John August

By dividing his blog in two, one for the professional and one for the personal, August provides the best of both worlds. Those who simply want to learn more about screen writing and the movie industry can just read those posts. Those of us who love August’s humor can wander off-topic with him as well.

Result: August get the easy layup and an extra point at the stripe for keeping his off-topic posts separated.

John August extends his lead to10-7.

Personality

John August

August has a great sense of humor, which comes out more in his off-topic posts than his industry posts. His mocking of Parade Magazine sums up everything I hate about show biz fluff. You don’t need to love August’s sense of humor to enjoy his site, but it helps. He also gets a pat on the back for being willing to help out aspiring screenwriters, the least loved people in Hollywood if you don’t count paparazzi.

Result: August makes it look easy as he scores another three.

Quiet Rebel Writer

Lillard writes in an engaging style that does make you feel the person behind the blog. Lillard is an interesting writer, and that makes her worth reading. If she embraces her rebel status a little more, I think this blog will really benefit from her personality.

Result: QRG dunks a two-pointer.

John August opens it up to 13-9.

Five Most Recent Posts

Quiet Rebel Writer

The Power of Outlines: Developing Your Own System

Lillard discusses the use of outlines for fiction and how outlines can lead to more effective storytelling. I like how she uses other sites for references, but also writes a full story.

Salvation through Deposits: Why You Should Always Collect Upfront

Getting deposits for professional freelance work is a good idea, and Lillard discusses the reasons why. This works well for business writing, but can be more difficult to mange if you write for magazines, which tend to pay as late as they possibly can.

Weekly Link Roundup: 9 Links on Writing, Creativity and Good Business

Link Love is a blogging staple. Lillard provides relevant excerpts from the articles she is recommending. It gives the post a reasonable amount of substance.

Monday Inspiration: Creative Word Kick

Lillard provides us with three wonderfully evocative words to use this week: ruddy, inveterate and abscond. This is her way of reminding us how wonderful words can be. I like it, but I prefer her old title: word porn. That felt more rebellious.

Rant: Writers Aren’t That Desperate

As a rebel, Lillard needs something to rebel against, and in her “rant” she disusses some of the clients she refuses to work for, including glossy women’s magazines that promote a poor body image, and wedding magazines because she thinks, “These companies encourage women to put all their energy and focus toward one day, one magical day that must be exceedingly planned, plotted, micromanaged and organized. Once that day is over, the real marriage starts. But after years and years of building up towards that one wedding day, the real marriage is a let down.”

I’m glad Lillard’s rant made the list, otherwise I would have felt disappointed in the level of rebellion. Outlines are a good idea, but not particularly rebellious. The word kick is cool but it felt more fun when she called it word porn. Her rant though, is exactly what I would expect from a rebellious writer. All of QRW are from the past week, so there is no problem with frequency. All of the posts are longer than the average blog post, which I respect.

Result: Lillard sinks a three, her rant putting her beyond the line.

John August

Two-hander

August explains an “industry” term that was most likely coined by the slick writers at Variety.

One-sided dialogue

A screenwriter comes up with a thorny dialog format problem. August goes over the options with him.

Script frenzy

August takes the time to promote Script Frenzy, the NaNoWriMo of the screenwriting world.

Rethinking motivation

August’s discusses some of the methods people use to determine character motivations. It is aimed at screenwriters but would be helpful for anyone writing a fictional work.

Shot an indie pilot. What’s next?

August explains to an aspiring screenwriter and filmmaker exactly what his options are for pursuing distribution for his finished half-hour independent sitcom pilot . He also points out that it may be more useful as a tool for finding an agent or even finding work on a different project. That is solid advice.

These are all relevant posts and most of them require a level of experience that the average blogger could not match. You won’t find this sort of information in many places. The oldest post is less than ten days old, so there is no problem with frequency.

Result: August hits another three pointer.

The final score is 16-12.

Post Game Analysis

John August is a powerhouse and it shows. QWR is an excellent new blog though, and demonstrated it with the five great articles in the final category.

What They Can Work On

John August

John August needs a few more user features. The blog is a little bare bones in that area. It would be especially nice if August managed to put together a few archive pages that really lead people through the key topics.

Quiet Rebel Writer

QWR is slowly establishing itself. It was only ranked as low as it is because the fan base is still building. I would recommend that Lillard embrace the rebel nature of her blog a little more. She also needs to work on adding a few more user-friendly features.

Next up on the block is a 4-5 battle. Editor’s Blog versus How to Start a Successful Freelance Writing Career.