Introduction
My name is Mark Barrett. I am a writer and storyteller.

In order to help establish trust with my clients I encourage conversation. What you want to know is that I will not put your project at risk or fail to meet my responsibilities. What I want you to know is that I am qualified and responsible. If we have a dialogue I can answer your concerns and questions, as well as demonstrate that I know my craft.

Answers
Because of the custom nature of most projects there is no standard rate I can post. What I can tell you is that I have twenty-plus years of experience writing and telling stories in a variety of mediums, and my rates fairly reflect that experience.

Most of my work is invoiced at an hourly rate. I work hourly because it’s impossible to predict how long most projects will take. When localizing translated texts I offer a per-word/project-fee option that allows projects to be quantified by word count. For large-scale projects I accept traditional stepped contracts for drafts or milestones.

I usually work at my location. If you need me on site I invoice expenses for travel, transportation and lodging. I do not invoice for food or per diem.

Services
My focus is always on meeting each client’s individual needs. My work history includes:

• Original content for motion pictures and interactive entertainment

  I have written scripts and design documents for slated projects, projects under development and projects already in production. When working from a blank page I have a solid history of meeting both commercial requirements and project deadlines, and I understand the importance of making sure that key team members are regularly updated.

• Interactive narrative design, scriptwriting and dialogue

  It’s not enough to be a good writer in interactive: you have to understand interactivity as a process and the inherent demands of the medium. I understand how interactivity and narrative can and cannot work together, I have written extensively on that subject, and I know where the obstacles are.

• Interactive design consulting, mission design and play testing

  My experience in interactive includes aspects of design which are not limited to dramatic structures and scenes. A storyteller can integrate your gameplay mechanics into the narrative experience you are trying to create by helping to shape both the overall design as well as the mission and level designs of a title.

• Localization of translated texts to American English

  Moving content from one language to another necessarily involves two steps. First is translation, which I do not do, but which is always necessarily done. Second is localization, which translation companies often promise, but almost inevitably fail to deliver when the content being translated is fiction. Putting the original drama, comedy and emotion back into translated texts is not a translator’s job, it is a storyteller’s job.

• Editing and consulting for all dramatic mediums

  It’s easy to get lost in the middle of developing any creative work. If you need an objective assessment, or have questions or concerns about the results you are getting, I can provide feedback from line editing to overall dramatic structure.

• Web writing

  I have worked on web projects large and small. As with any creative project the end goal in web writing — whether corporate, small business or personal — is delivering the right information in the right context in a way that meets the intended audience’s needs and expectations. If you are refreshing content, I can match the tone and style of the rest of your site; if you are creating a presence from the ground up I can help you establish a voice appropriate to your goals and audience.

• Blog/community moderation

  Because blog and community moderation involves interactions which not only meet immediate informational needs, but also establish tone and voice, knowing how to project those attributes without invalidating members of a community is critical. Storytellers are trained to shape conversations using voice, tone and narrative context, and can use these skills to positive effect in even the most contentious online communities.

Common to these services is my ability to envision the objective and to deliver that vision through words. Whether those words are in the service of art, craft or commerce, and are delivered as either a blueprint or end product, is simply a function of intent.

Philosophy
In the same way that a carpenter uses wood to build a house or renovate a room, I use words to create from a blank page or to revise and rewrite existing texts.

My approach is craft-based. Most of the time it’s as complicated as knowing which nail to drive into which board to keep the walls plumb and the floor from sagging. When I pound nails I don’t bend many, and mostly that’s what my clients need.

I work on a first-come, first-served basis. If I know your project is coming up I can usually move things around to accommodate schedules and deadlines.

I know how to drive imagination and creativity as work processes.

I have never blown a deadline, I do not work from ego, and I care about each project.

I have never had a client complain about my invoicing or billed hours. I have never had a client question my effort or production when working remotely.

Almost every client who has hired me once has hired me a second time. In my collaborative work I am more proud of that fact than any other accomplishment.

If I can’t solve your problem I will point you to people who can.

Complementary Skills
Apart from my writing ability and experience, I bring the following skills to every project:

• Experience adopting and adapting to retail and proprietary tools.

  All content mediums are moving toward or already immersed in technological development environments. I know how to quickly embrace new technologies and tools, and how to design or adapt narrative solutions to meet the strengths and weaknesses of underlying technologies.

• Experience on collaborative and commercial projects.

  A lot of writers have talent. Far fewer can explain how they do what they do, or why they made a given narrative choice in a particular situation. I have the ability to explain decisions and to articulate options and solutions that may arise during the collaborative design and development process. This helps other project members understand not only why choices are being made, but how those choices may affect their roles.

• Experience making changes in pre-production in order to protect project goals.

  The most cost-effective time to make changes is at the design stage. Changes made during development or production cost more and put the project timeline at risk.

• Experience with asset management, version control and backup.

  I do not lose documents and I do not assume anyone else maintains backups.

• Experience joining projects on short notice or in the middle of production.

  I can usually get up to speed on a project in a matter of hours. I am always cognizant of deadline pressures as they relate to my own responsibilities and the responsibilities of team members waiting for documentation.

• Experience working across language barriers.

  I speak, read and write only English and do not work as a translator. When localizing translated texts, however, I have a great deal of experience working with individuals and teams for whom English is a second language. If at least one member of your project team can speak basic English, I can ask and answer even complex questions in ways that will eliminate any language barrier.

The Quality Question
At some point every prospective client wants to know how long I think a particular job will take. If the concern is budgetary, I can usually work within a budget. If the concern involves time constraints, I believe I can meet any deadline. The unspoken question, of course, is whether the end result will be any good.

Having been judged against, and judged myself against, various subjective and (relatively) objective standards, and having found those comparisons of no practical utility, I have developed a craft-based approach to judging the quality of writing, and in particular storytelling. Simply put, the minimum level of competence is one that supports suspension of disbelief in the audience. The optimal level of competence is one which creates and sustains the audience’s emotional involvement, moving them to care. I believe I can meet both standards in almost every case.