Game 30: #1 Seed John August Versus #5 Seed Men With Pens

The Matchup

Top-seeded John August has the reputation and the goods. John August the man (rather than the blog) is a successful screenwriter with a pocket full of hit movies. His blog has fended off all of its opponents thus far, but the underdog, fifth-seed Men with Pens, has the support of the crowds (at least in the comments).

Best Headlines

JA isn’t known for great headlines. Over the past 10 headlines, there are several that really wouldn’t tell you what the content of the article is about. MWP writes descriptive titles that pull you into the article. The headlines aren’t flashy, but they are simply more descriptive than the ones at John August.

MWP works the ball inside and scores on a short jumper. The score is 2-0 in favor of MWP.

Best User Experience

The strength of JA is the simplicity of the design. There are some nice graphic touches that let you know some work and skill went into the design, but the site isn’t flashy, just readable. The lack of ads (except for an Amazon link or two) also keeps the look pure. As for features, the pages at JA have only subscription options, featured articles and a few key links. He includes, however, a wiki that allows you to explore screenwriting concepts.

MWP is an attractive site as well. It doesn’t have the simple elegance of JA, but it does have plenty of features such as subscription options, recent posts (yeah!), top 10 commenters and recent comments. They also incorporate graphics into their site and their posts to keep things visually interesting. They have to work in a lot of ads too, which makes the site a little busy.

Jump ball! Neither blog is the clear winner. MWP remains in the lead, 2-0.

Best Community Experience

Both web sites have active, knowledgeable communities. These are definitely sites in which you read the comments as well as the posts. The community sizes are about the same, with fifteen to twenty comments on the average post and occasional spikes of 40 comments or more.

Another jump ball! The score remains 2-0 in MWP’s favor.

Best Branding

Men With Pens does a great job of getting their brand out. They actively comment on their own articles and articles on other sites. They write with personality and passion. Their posts are almost always informative and helpful. John August has something most other blogs dream of – authority. His blog helps position him as an authority, but his string of hit movies is what puts him on top. He also put his name on the blog, so there is no avoiding him as a brand. He writes with authority as well. His articles show his level of expertise in his craft.

JA finally answers back with two points in the paint. The score is now tied 2-2.

Best Archives

When it comes to finding past articles, MWP is loaded with options. There is an entire column of featured posts as well as a new recent posts widget that you can access from individual posts. The actual archive page is excellent. It has an extensive list of posts as well as the ability to scan by page, category or month. JA has a list of featured articles and a Screenwriting 101 list as well as a category archive at the bottom of each page.

MWP goes for the alley oop, Chartrand lobs it up to McLeod who goes above the rim to drop the ball in the basket. MWP leads 4-2.

Best Post

Fiction Writing: Overactive Imagination

James Chartrand writes about the benefits of having an overactive imagination when it comes to creative writing. He encourages readers to embrace their imagination, not suppress it. The article is an appealing look at creative writing.

The six-hour scene

John August discusses a single scene that took him six hours to write. His post centers on the difficulties some scenes present, and the ways to get through writing them. He also discusses what he would have done if he hadn’t had the luxury of time and was forced to put the scene out in an hour. It is a great mix of philosophical and practical advice.

JA breaks to the basket, laying the ball in just as the buzzer sounds. The score is tied at 4-4. We have to go to the tie breaker.

Tie Breaker

Even the margin of comments was extremely close, but John August wins out, 240 to 236. In case you are wondering, yes, that is total comments including comments by the authors. I said I would go by total comments. Even if I had weeded out author comments, it wouldn’t have changed the outcome. MWP clearly replies to comments more frequently than John August, who tends to respond once a day and do so with a massive comment rather than respond individually.

Post Game Analysis

These were two very well-matched blogs. This was the first time we had to go to a tie breaker and even the tie breaker was extremely close. I will miss MWP, which has become one of my new favorite blogs because of this competition. We have out final matchup. Two top-seeded blogs will duke it out for supremacy. Tune in tomorrow for the exciting conclusion of Writing Blog Madness as Daily Writing Tips takes on John August.

The Articles

So people can compare for themselves, here are the past 10 articles from each site:

John August

1. A somewhat derivative challenge
2. Secret history of the Kleinhardt Gambit
3. Off-topic tweaks
4. Screenwriting 101
5. Time spent thinking
6. The six-hour scene
7. Grand Theft Auto
8. Uggh
9. When friends read your script
10. Were I to seek examples of the subjunctive…

Men With Pens

1. Our Small Business (or Reading with Your Monitor Off)
2. Fiction Writing: Overactive Imagination
3. What Hasbro Can Teach You About Repeat Clients
4. Drive-by-Shooting Sundays: Blog Badly
5. What Is Niebu: The New Way of the World
6. Targeting Your Market with Generational Writing
7. How to Promote Your Business and Win Clients
8. Heading into the Finals at March Blog Madness
9. Feed Reading and RSS for Dummies (Like Us)
10. Fiction Writing: Discover Your MonkeyBoy

Related links

• March Writing Blog Madness (0.500)
• March Writing Blog Madness Explained (0.500)
• March Writing Blog Madness Seedings (0.500)
• Game 1: #1 Seed Copyblogger Versus #8 Seed The Struggling Writer (0.500)
• Game 2: #4 Seed Confident Writing Versus #5 Seed Renegade Writer Blog (0.500)