Work samples, published writing, assorted curiosities
My extensive portfolio is a direct result of my versatility and prolificacy. I've written towering heaps of UX and marketing copy, a 174-page travel guide about San Francisco and the Bay Area, thousands of newsletters, 100-plus photo-narrative extravaganzas, speeches here, brochures there, you name it.
It's also worth noting that for 10 or 11 extra-caloric years awhile back, I scribbled down 1.5 million* words about San Francisco burritos and taquerias for my website, Burritoeater. This turned me into something of a local folk hero — a mantle I quietly absorbed, but never really stopped snickering about.
All this, plus I've written authoritatively about music, Montana, and mayonnaise.
* No kidding.
UX copy | Marketing copy | Directional copy | Colleague chatter | Editorial content | High school essays
Document access modal (PandaDoc)
No matter how straightforward the message, I like to add a dash or two of seasoning whenever possible. Otherwise a brand's bound to go bland.
Cancellation flow (PandaDoc)
Whenever a customer makes moves to cut ties, it becomes an opportunity to uncover why — and through gently inquisitive copy, hopefully prompt them to rethink their decision.
Product discovery (PandaDoc)
A few adventurous iterations of a hero card nudging customers to try a feature they're unfamiliar with. (The second version performed best, incidentally. But I also quite liked the first.)
PandaDoc UX copy style guide
A thorough reference document I created from scratch (and frequently updated) during my lengthy era as guardian of PandaDoc's product voice and tonality. Exhaustively detailed, yet delightfully readable.
404 page (Healthline)
When the time came to update Healthline's version of the most common website error message around, I answered the call with this on-brand, single-word header. (Design by Pichamon Chamroenrak)
Wellness Wire (Healthline)
One of hundreds of punchy intros I composed for Healthline's twice-weekly flagship newsletter, which boasted two million subscribers as this edition published.
Newsletter signup flow (Healthline)
This one-stop page for readers looking to sign up for multiple newsletters simplified the whole process — and helped further increase Healthline's already robust subscriber base.
Facebook driver (Healthline)
A native placement designed to effectively expand Healthline's social media communities.
Throw pillow with Great Mustache logo (Burritoeater Merch Bazaar)
"Arm yourself for battle when that colossal pillow fight breaks out at your next sleepover. Also serves as a patient listener in the wee hours."
Office entrance sign #1 (Healthline)
Fun outlier project: A greeting placard placed at the foot of the stairs to save office visitors a bit of time and energy. (Design by Pichamon Chamroenrak)
Office entrance sign #2 (Healthline)
Fun outlier project, the sequel: A follow-up message at the top of the stairs for anyone who'd blown right by sign #1. (Design by Pichamon Chamroenrak)
Revised button copy = 43% usage increase (PandaDoc)
I made a simple, but sorely necessary copy revision. A major uptick in feature usage ensued. As did a spirited shout-out from the breathlessly enthusiastic designer I'd collaborated with.
Inside the copywriter's studio: An illuminating look (PandaDoc)
Creative discussions can occasionally run the risk of turning salty. Here's how my detailed reasoning, calm diplomacy, and direct manner have routinely helped me sidestep copy drama.
Text is woohoooo (PandaDoc)
Then there are those times when my first take wins everyone over right away — a cheery case of one and done.
Travels with Charles
Since 2010, I've done my share (and yours) of voyaging near and far. This elaborate, engaging, and ever-growing collection of photo narratives shares my swashbuckling road stories, singularly.
San Francisco burrito review #1000 (Burritoeater)
I took the final bites of my professional burrito-eating career on the afternoon of December 7, 2013 at one of San Francisco's most failure-proof taquerias, La Espiga de Oro. Here's how the event tasted. And sounded.
Superlative Slabs of the Aughts (Burritoeater)
A superultramega-condensed compendium of the best and worst burritos encountered by Burritoeater's "esteemed judges panel" (ie. yours truly) throughout the 2000s.
Blocker (SFist)
For this two-year series, I got under San Francisco's skin block by granular block — researching, writing, photographing, and producing dozens of detailed pieces for news and culture site SFist in its popular heyday. (Sadly, full versions of these pieces are no longer available online.)
I Become a Better Citizen (Osmosis)
A six-part travelogue about a 48-mile trek I undertook through a particularly remote area of Yosemite National Park — and my story of getting there from San Francisco (and back) entirely via transit.
Burrito Obscuro (San Francisco Bay Guardian)
A would-be grand tour of San Francisco's unlikeliest taqueria locations, as published in the city's longtime, long-retired alternative weekly.
Excerpt from introduction to Pocket Rough Guide: San Francisco
"As inspiring and charismatic as its singular setting, San Francisco stands apart from other US destinations; in fact, you'll struggle to find many places like it anywhere in the world. The famed city is surrounded on three sides by churning water and threaded with a grid of streets that courageously tackles thirty-degree gradients, elements that transcend geography to infuse San Francisco with the boldly independent spirit for which it's known. This impression is evident not only in the city's clanging cable cars and charming pastel-hued Victorian architecture, but also its reputation for championing progressive ideals and gay rights. Even the weather patterns here are idiosyncratic: Summer sometimes doesn't arrive until mid-September."
Excerpt from The Rough Guide to Yellowstone & Grand Teton
"With its minimal civic services — there's no police station in sight, and the smattering of local kids are educated in a one-room schoolhouse — Cooke City's naturally insulated environs dictate far more than just its complete lack of cell phone reception. The town's rough edges are the stuff of Montana legend, from its hardscrabble beginnings as a mining outpost through its long-held romantic image as an end-of-the-highway enclave. In recent years, it's seen a changing of the guard in terms of business ownership, with a number of 'newer' arrivals who showed up in the 1990s having taken over bars and cafes from true Cooke City old-timers. But it's a testament to the town's identity how, despite these changes, things here haven't changed all that much through the decades. Indeed, spend a short time poking into the few shops and eating (and drinking) around town, and you're bound to sense before long that everyone here really does know everyone else."
Excerpt from review of U2's Achtung Baby (Super Deluxe 20th Anniversary Edition) (Blogracket)
"Few artistic reinventions have been as successful as U2's between 1989-91. Their leap from frowny-faced, black-and-white-portrayed galvanizers of strident high school and college kids the world over, to funtime-loving, color-portrayed messengers of groove with a fusillade of televisions backing them up...it was all a calculated risk. But it completely worked. Achtung Baby has aged better and sounds fresher than anything else from the near-endless smorgasbord of early '90s rock. It's still a monster record — of any era."
Excerpt from review of Centro-matic's South San Gabriel Songs/Music (All Music Guide)
"Centro-matic's fifth album recalls the nervous anticipation that comes between snowstorms in the high plains, imploring the listener to get out for some 20-degree fresh air while you can before the next 16 inches arrive. The tension-filled mood peaks on the penultimate track 'Innocence Kindly Waits,' a lovely, barbiturated waltz punctuated by Scott Danbom's screaming fiddle. The gently strummed epilogue 'Destroyer' foreshadows the imminent snowstorm, just as the album's opening sounds of staccato typewriter keys on 'Ninety Secretaries Down' hint at the tempered calm ahead. South San Gabriel Songs/Music paints the most beautifully grim picture imaginable, as these atmospheric, wintry songs suggest that sometimes nothing feels so warm as the cold air on the back of your neck."
Excerpt from review of R.E.M.'s Around the Sun (MP3.com)
"Around the Sun sounds like a rewrite of its 2001 predecessor, Reveal, which itself was a pulseless way to spend a listening hour. It's clear to anyone who's been paying attention since former drummer Bill Berry rode off into the sunset in 1997 that R.E.M. has chosen to permanently switch off the rock-it launch on its recording console. But the real tragedy is the songwriter's droop that has apparently set in on the veteran band. On 1992's Automatic for the People, the band turned down the volume considerably and yet proffered all-timers like the gorgeous 'Nightswimming' and the brooding 'Drive'; today, we get month-old breadsticks like Around the Sun's 'Wanderlust' and 'Aftermath.'"
Mayonnaise (ChefsBest)
Sorry, no link. But I solemnly swear: I once crafted a 400-word treatise about what makes a great shelf-stable mayonnaise. And yet, I'm a dedicated mustard man myself.
My Least Favorite Pastime: Cleaning Venetian Blinds (Justin-Siena High School)
Assigned to write my first essay in Honors English III on the activity I dread most, I turned this pressurized task into opportunity, grumbling comedically (for a teen, anyway) about a tedious domestic chore my mom used to hand down to me annually. Result: A perfect grade of 50 on the essay, and newfound confidence spurred by this limitless creative outlet. Hooray for writing!