The Thoughts From series of interviews are simple: I ask someone ten questions and they respond. It works very well and I hope that you’ll learn some new things from the people featured in these interviews.

Hugh MacLeod runs the incomparable GapingVoid.com website.  Hugh’s succinct and pithy cartoons are all over the Internet.  He’s written a book called Ignore Everybody; blogs in copious quantities; talks about evil plans; creates cube grenades; and is CEO of Stormhoek USA.  He is a creative instigator, striking fear into slow, rigid, arrogant bureaucracies everywhere.  Here are Hugh’s thoughts about ten questions that he graciously agreed to answer for our readers.

Do you follow the work of any political cartoonists or other comic strips like, say, Doonesbury (Garry Trudeau) or Dilbert (Scott Adams)?  If so, have they had any impact on your work?

Doonesbury hasn’t been interesting in over 20 years, though his early stuff- circa 1970-75- was REALLY good. I love Dilbert. But no, I never really connected with the political cartoonists. I always dug the stuff that was about the universal human condition. People like Steadman or Steinberg.

What is one thing that virtually everyone does wrong with blogging and other creative work?

They confuse blogging and Twittering and Facebooking with their actual business. I’m guilty of that, constantly.

On the comedy side, are there any comedians of any stripe that you enjoy and who may have influenced your work, either in writing or in drawing/cartooning?

I’ve never been much into stand-up. I always liked ensemble stuff, like Monty Python or Saturday Night Live. Traditional sitcoms have always left me a bit flat, with the exception of Andy Griffith.

A couple of years ago you abandoned Twitter temporarily.  What made you change your mind about it and come back?  Do you see yourself using that service for the long term?

I acted rashly. I was freaking out that the damn thing was sucking too much of my time. But then I was soon missing the people on Twitter I was talking to- many of whom I was doing business with. I’m better balanced about it, now.

Is there any significant difference between the content in Ignore Everybody and your earlier essay “How To Be Creative”?  If so, could you elaborate?

“Ignore Everybody” has forty chapters. “How To Be Creative” has twenty six. The former has more cartoons, and is more edited/polished. It also is printed on paper, which alters the experience, somewhat.

What do you think of the ending of The Prisoner (the original ITV series, not the recent remake)?  Was Patrick McGoohan taking too many drugs, was he running out of time, or was there a clear point to what he was doing?

I never saw The Prisoner. I watched the first half of Episode One when I was about sixteen, but soon lost interest when my girlfriend showed up.

What’s one advantage that Britain has over the USA (and vice versa?)

A nice glass of real ale by a real burning fire in an old country pub. After that it’s all downhill for you Limeys. I can’t speak for the entire USA, but the thing I really like about living in Texas, is how much MORE the small entrepreneur is respected, appreciated, and looked after, compared to Europe (and a lot of the USA). It’s pretty much off the scale compared to what the Brits are used to.

Why do you think Americans have a fascination with British culture?  The accent(s)?  The attitude?  The tea?  Ingrained racial memories of the Beatles and the British Invasion?

They don’t, for the most part. That’s a British myth. Sure, there may be a few Anglophiles out there- especially on the North East Coast, but they’re no more numerous than, say, Battlestar Galactica fans.

Pretend that the Internet is completely destroyed overnight.  What do you do when you wake up the next day?

Same as I was doing before the internet. Drinking beer, hanging out with my friends, and drawing cartoons. I’d probably have to go out and find a real job somewhere, which would suck, but nothing I couldn’t handle.

Any final thoughts for our readers?

This is it. Fight like hell.

Other posts that you might enjoy reading:

• The best bloggers are world builders
• How to start 2010 by doing better work
• Captions on the front of digital photos
• In review – How To Be Creative by Hugh MacLeod
• Book Review – Ignore Everybody – Hugh MacLeod