If you’ve got the pitch but no cash, apply for financial assistance through The Nation Institute Investigative Fund.

In J-school, we wrote within strict limits. Headlines had to be a certain number of points wide, paragraphs a certain number of words long. I grew to love those limitations, which challenged me to squeeze maximum meaning into a small space.

As the years go by, I find myself in a solid habit of writing to length. It’s part of my organizational strategy now: Receive an assignment to write 600 words on a topic. Research article and create an outline of sections. Assign each section a rough word count. Write the piece to length. Voila: Word count is met, client is happy, I’m happy. I almost never go significantly under or over, and when I do, it’s for special circumstances - and then, I’ll call the client and discuss our options.

Business-wise, I think this is a fine approach to take. But creatively, I’m wondering if it’s a little stifling. Would it hurt me to just write something once in a while, not thinking about length, and then slicing and dicing later? I’m considering it.

How about you? Do you work well within limitations, or do you roam free and then rein yourself in later? I’d love to hear your creative style.

Brian Clark has penned a terrific post: “The Nasty Four-Letter Word That Keeps You From Writing” on copyblogger (which happens to be a terrific blog if I haven’t already mentioned it). This would be an excellent topic for an upcoming discussion (if we haven’t already had it). Sorry but my brain cells are saturated with stuffing and gravy so I may be repeating things.

Take a couple of minutes for some comic relief. Visit http://www.whoneedsdesigners.com/

You may have seen ads for the Disney movie “Enchanted,” which premieres in theatres tomorrow. My cousin Bill Kelly wrote the screenplay, so we’re very excited about it. Hoping it will be a holiday hit!

Happy Thanksgiving.

bq. “If we took a holiday, oh yea, oh yea, took some time to celebrate, come on…let’s celebrate…Just one day out of life, HOLIDAY, it would be…it would be so nice!” - Madonna, “Holiday”

Thanksgiving is just around the corner, and I’m wondering how many ideaXchangers will truly take off a couple days to relax and enjoy life. As a home office chick, I find it’s tough to take time off without wandering into the office to do little tasks that I know await me. But this year, I’m closing the door on my office and walking away for FOUR WHOLE DAYS. Shocking!

How about you? Will you take the time off? If not, why not, and how will you spend it? If so, do you do anything specific to take your mind off work so you can truly relax?

If you don’t read BL Ochman’s whatsnextblog.com,
you’re missing a great post on blog ads.

Just goes to show you….even the big guys screw up. Someone got paid to design this ad!

The August 2007 issue of HOW magazine had a great article on planning your professional future (Plotting Your Course, by Julie Sims). It’s geared toward graphic designers, but the tips can apply to other creatives as well.

One of points mentioned is to keep your portfolio up to date. Her suggestion: regularly collect samples of your work and write descriptions to go with each. I think it’s a great idea, as it’s easy to forget details (or to request samples) post-project. And the descriptions come in handy when writing copy for your website or other promotional pieces. (For graphic designers, it’s also useful to note paper stock or other production details)

I’ve created a section in my To-Do List, where I note completed projects, as a reminder to request samples — and now, to start writing descriptions for each!

… at least where design RFPs are concerned. I just read a great article on the IdeasOnIdeas blog about just that. It detailed why RFPs are not only bad for designers, but also for those who are “purchasing” creative services as well. I’ve included a few excerpts below, but encourage you to check it out. As a bonus, they’ve even included a well-crafted (and quite polite) boilerplate response. If for no other reason than that, their blog entry is worth the read!

The challenge with creative work, however, is that the solution is often informed by the process, and as such is difficult to postulate prior to beginning.

RFPs are endemic of an oppositional structure that rewards those who fill boxes, but not those who look for deeper awareness or insights that might result in a more effective solution. In our experience, organizations that use the RFP process to purchase creative services often find that their expectations are not met.

The New York Times article Don’t Throw Out Your Broken iPod, Fit It via the Web speaks about a topic that, sadly, many of can relate to: what to do when that iPod or computer breaks down… just days after the warranty has expired.