“An actor entering through the door, you’ve got nothing. But if he enters through the window, you’ve got a situation.” – Billy Wilder, Born Jun. 22, 1906. This is the secret of telling a seductive story that uses curiosity to suck the audience in like a cross between a vacuum cleaner and a blowjob metaphor…. Read More →
Why Being a Good Writer is a Dangerous Power
“Words are loaded pistols.” – Jean-Paul Sartre, Born Jun. 21, 1905. I like this quote a lot as it relates to persuasive writing. Much better than that Shakespeare bullshit about the pen being mightier than the sword. That just makes people cocky and ineffective. Good persuasive writing paints the untenable scenario for the reader. Wronged…. Read More →
How to Become Impervious to Copiers and Plagiarists
“Someone gave me a piece of advice once, my first manager Lucien Hold. He said, ‘If you do stand-up about your own life, no one can steal it.’ I always thought that was the best piece of advice.” – Mike Birbiglia, Born Jun. 20, 1978. Here is a neat trick to turn practically any piece… Read More →
The “Cult of Copy” Is The Title of a Story and You’re The Main Character
“Stories in families are colossally important. Every family has stories: some funny, some proud, some embarrassing, some shameful. Knowing them is proof of belonging to the family.” – Salman Rushdie, Born Jun. 19, 1947. Belonging. People want it. Especially people online. Of the people online, especially the ones on social media. Social media is a… Read More →
How To Make Even Strangers Come To Trust Your Every Word…
“People crave trustworthy information about the world we live in. Some people want it because it is essential to the way they make a living. Some want it because they regard being well-informed as a condition of good citizenship. Some want it because they want something to exchange over dinner tables and water coolers.” –… Read More →
How To Never Write Yourself Into a Dead End or Blind Alley
“I am a big proponent of writing a great outline. That way you can avoid hitting a roadblock. There is no worse feeling than writing yourself into a corner but if you’ve figured it all out in the outline then you won’t have that problem.” – Michael Showalter, Born Jun. 17, 1970. Showalter is talking… Read More →
Show Prospects What You Stand Against, and They Presume You Stand For Them
“I learned early in life that you get places by having the right enemies.” – John Shelby Spong, Born Jun. 16, 1931. Who or what do you hate? What will you absolutely not stand for? What are you sick of? What grinds your gears? What gets your goat? What gags your giraffe?… Not in general,… Read More →
Chimpanzees In Shoes: Or Why This Job Is So Easy…
“I think those who object to my characterizing man as simple want somehow to retain a deep mystery at his core.” – Herbert A. Simon, Born Jun. 15, 1916. You are a chimpanzee in shoes. Your “self” is a hallucination being had by a computer made of meat. Civilization is a byproduct of… Read More →
Turn Your Pitch Into Gossip, and People Lean in Closely
“Gossip is essentially storytelling: storytelling about people whom we know.” – Mona Simpson, Born Jun. 14, 1957. I think gossip – as a tone – is an under-appreciated angle when it comes to persuasion and influence. *leans in to closer* Listen… Gossip isn’t just a story about people we know – it can be the… Read More →
The Gamepocalypse Already Happened and It’s All a Game Now
“I jokingly call this convergence of games into reality the ‘Gamepocalypse:’ the moment when every moment of life is actually a game.” – Jesse Schell, Born Jun. 13, 1970. Did you know that you can already do this now? Basically you can gamify your own life. It makes a lot of the dull bits of… Read More →
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