Lisa Brunette

Résumé

As a professional freelance writer for 20 years, I have written: articles for print and online news sites and magazines, two corporate histories, text for a major interactive exhibit gallery, voice-over scripts and in-game text for video games, and thousands of social media status updates. I am a seasoned, advanced editor who has managed staff and freelance writers as well as trained executives. My experience includes a tenured position as English instructor at Pierce College, where I also managed a tutoring center, and publication and major grants and awards for my poetry and fiction.

Work and Project History

July 2009-present

Full-Time Writer / Narrative Designer at Cat Daddy Games

Reporting to the studio head, write all in-game text and voice-over scripts; provide research and creative input on game development; write design specs, business proposals, game manuals, social media updates, and materials to support marketing efforts. Write for Carnival Games franchise titles, the third best-selling third-party game on the Wii, with more than 6 million copies sold worldwide. Started as freelancer and shifted to full-time in Oct 2009.

 Credits:

(2011 release) Unannounced project

(2010) New Carnival Games for Wii

(2010) New Carnival Games for DS

(2009) Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus for Wii

(2009) Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus Friends: Asian Elephants for DS

Aug 2005-Oct 2009

Freelance and Part-Time Projects

Served as localization writer on the critically acclaimed, best-selling video game developed by syn Sophia for Nintendo called Style Savvy, for the DS handheld gaming system. Wrote thousands of records of onscreen dialogue for hundreds of boutique customers and runway models as well as a fashion journalist main character. Named in-game text elements, including 10,000 items of clothing, headlines for three magazines, and fashion street names.

Edited several technical manuals for the Seattle Public Schools Safety and Security Department and a book-length curriculum guide for Seattle Deaf-Blind Service Center.

Coached writer Leonard Lambert through development of a cable TV pilot themed on the merchant marines. Also edited and prepared a pitch leading to the successful publication of his book, The New Hausepipe: Merchant Marine Licensing and Documentation with Cornell Maritime Press.

Edited and served as consultant to Milliman on the launch of a health-care blog for the actuarial industry and to J. Garner Photography on two blogs to support business lines in wedding photography and custom photographer’s bags.

Edited and wrote articles for Crosscut.com, including HTML code and selection and preparation (using Photoshop) of accompanying artwork. Identified and cultivated new contributors and expanded content. Assessed new material for publication on Crosscut, directing writers through revision when necessary. Wrote summaries and headlines for national and local news items for Crosscut’s Clicker section. Worked with leadership on site architecture and the Daily E-Mail campaign.

For Seattle-based book publisher Documentary Media, researched and wrote Beyond the High-Water Mark: General Construction Company's First 100 Years. This heavy marine construction company built iconic dams such as Grand Coulee, Owyhee, and Hungry Horse as well as the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge and all four Washington state floating bridges. Publication expected in 2012. Contracted directly with Wilcox Family Farms on another project to write a comprehensive history of this 100-year-old, family-owned dairy and egg farm.

Wrote articles regularly for Seattle Post-Intelligencer, Seattle Woman, City Arts, Lewis and Clark College’s alumni magazine, and Blogcritics.com and occasionally for Poets & Writers, My College Guide, Boston Globe, Wearwine.com, Progressive Populist, and Tacoma Weekly.

For Premera Blue Cross, wrote copy for a wellness guide for employer groups, marketing collateral for the Know Your Numbers campaign, and a member how-to guide.

Edited and wrote for Fishermen’s News, the West Coast’s oldest fishing industry publication. Cultivated a stable of writers and photographers covering the entire West Coast.

April 2006-Oct 2009

Full-Time / Contract Editor at Moss Adams LLP and FA Insight

Edited and served as technical writer for articles, columns, client recommendation reports and more than a dozen annual industry research studies, including the 2007 Moss Adams Compensation and Staffing Study of Advisory Firms. Wrote press releases, other marketing collateral, and content for the group’s Web site. Trained client service staff in report writing. Transitioned to contract status June 07 and continued to edit for them until the consulting group was jettisoned. Then freelanced for an offshoot, FA Insight.

Aug 2002-Aug 2005

Full-Time, Tenured English Instructor / Writers’ Center Director at Pierce College

Taught courses in college composition, U.S. popular culture, British literature, fiction, and Shakespeare. Served on committees to govern the Academic Support Center, to renovate the library, and to promote technology in the classroom. Served on editorial board for student literary magazine. Spearheaded effort to bring Seattle’s acclaimed multimedia production, bodyBODY, to campus. Managed tutoring staff of ten and $60K budget. Tenure granted March 2005.

Jan 1991-Aug 2002

Freelance and Part-Time Projects

Wrote, edited, and/or coached business executives for several publications/clients: Journal of Laboratory Medicine, GMAC Insider, Exhibit Builder, Bedford/St. Martin’s Press, Teaching for Success, St. Louis’ Intermission Magazine, Absolutewrite.com, Missouri Public Interest Research Group, Union of Concerned Scientists, Forest Park Forever, St. Louis Art Museum, Millikin, East-West Language Service, Health Partners of the Midwest, and Mosby Times-Mirror. Also taught classes as a faculty adjunct at St. Louis Community College.

Jan-Oct 1997

Full-Time Retail Advertising Coordinator at Health Resource Publishing

Redesigned Access database to track nationwide network of pharmacy retailers. Launched ad campaign to promote the work of non-profit health and wellness organizations.

Sept 1994-Jan 1999

Full-Time Development Associate / Freelance Writer at St. Louis Science Center

Researched donor and prospect histories and wrote solicitation materials toward a $1.1 million annual fund raising campaign. Assisted in planning for meetings, dinners, galas, and public celebrations. Transitioned to contract status Jan 1997. Then wrote articles for general membership and upper society member newsletters, designed an Access database to catalogue items in the Space and Popular Culture Gallery, and researched and wrote text for a 44-station interactive exhibit gallery on the history of information technology, Cyberville, which opened in Jan 1999.

Education

May 2002

Master of Fine Arts, Creative Writing, University of Miami

May 1994

BA, English, and BA, American Studies; Certificate in Professional and Creative Writing, St. Louis University

 

From freelance to flying bear

It's been more than three months since I've posted to this blog, but through the magic of the Web, somehow about 20 people land here every day. Howdy.

In November of last year I took a full-time job, betraying principle and purpose and pissing off every freelancer out there who wants confirmation that you don't have to work for The Man in order to get along in the world. To all of you, I say: Relax. It wasn't out of desperation that I took a FT job. Hey, my gross earnings last year as a freelancer are about equal to what they'll be this year as a FT schlep, and I have a good job with a good company. I was doing quite well on my own, thank you very much.

So, why'd I take a FT gig? Oh, let me count the ways.

1. I was bit hard by the game industry, and one of the best places to work within it is Nintendo, but the big N is not freelancer-friendly. Its NDA (non-disclosure agreement) for freelancers is the same one governing full-time staff, and that means you can't work for any other game-industry clients while working for Nintendo. Which makes it hard for anyone to do anything in Seattle for the casual game industry besides work for Nintendo, or else some other place, as a full-timer. I opted for the latter.
2. I've been gearing up for this kind of work my whole life. From the Choose Your Own Adventure novels I loved as a child to the gaming I did in the 80s to the work I've done as a freelancer writing interactive science exhibit text and writing for online media--the running threads here are text and technology. I wanted the chance to focus all my energy in one place that would hold my interest and speak to my unique blend of experience.
3. Casting around for the next big thing after Style Savvy for the DS, which turned out to be a huge hit, by the way, I met up with a quirky little studio with a big-ass track record. The studio head is notoriously hard to impress, but somehow I did just that. Only thing is, I have to keep impressing him, and that ain't easy.

Who knows where this will go. I'm very fortunate to get a job as a scribe at any time, and especially in this market. All I can say is, I'm smart, creative, talented, and experienced. I'm no pushover, but I'm manageable. I can take direction, especially from people who inspire me. I can't always bring the funny, and in the right way, and just like most writers, I struggle with how to say a thing differently when it's all been said before. But I'm here, and I'm ready to knock a few socks off.

Now all I need to do is come up with something as good as flying bear. No pressure, though.

Stuck in My Craw #poetry

Switchpole lies in three-four time. Fluorescent backing

the agents of destruction. The angels we have heard

while high; the demons we never knew. Inside the stagehand’s

mind. What callouses are these, what wrinkles?

I dreamed the death of a president, an assassin’s

passion. Eavesdrop on this, dear ol’ Dad:

We stand above an empty grave, signing

Wish You Were Here. No one writes

protest signs on this mission, and the peace pole

is a stake through your vampire heart—the garlic braid

unravels. How far I’ve traveled just to find you

tucked into my luggage. I shed

such baggage, your skin

sloughing off in my

claw.

The Clothes Make the Man #poetry

This is the first in a series of poems I'm going to publish here on the blog (and on Facebook). While I've published poetry with plenty of lit mags in the past, I've decided to publish them myself this time. See how it goes. I'm not so concerned with the publishing designation or prestige as I was in the past, so why not? Interested to know whether these find an audience. Here's the first one, written I think in summer of 2008, during the time I was working at Crosscut.com half-time while also writing a corporate history for Documentary Media. It's one of only a handful of poems I penned that truly busy year. Please feel free to comment or critique. Mainly, I just like to play with words and story.

The Clothes Make the Man

Don’t be sorry that you
snagged the sari,
tripped the swatch,
switched the workstyle
while wearing a habit.

Dagnabit, the prospector said,
while filling his gold tooth
decay of our moral fiber.
They found trace metals
on his coat, linking him to the time.

A screech, a roar, a gurgle:
what children have to say.

He swayed in the wind,
getting stronger. I wish
the world would cut me
some slacks.

Nintendo's Style Savvy

I just got word that the game I worked on for Nintendo will be in stores Nov. 2. Here's the official game Web site, with a fun sneak-preview video:  www.stylesavvyds.com

Cool bridge/earthquake sim video

For the past two years or so, I've been working on a book for General Construction Company, chronicling its 100-year history. One of its latest projects is major upgrades to the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge, which recently reopened. Here's a cool video simulating how cutting-edge seismic mechanisms in the bridge will work: