“I’ve written in every imaginable location; a repurposed closet, the kitchen table, the bleachers while my kids had basketball practice, the front seat of the car when they were at soccer. In airports. On trains. In the break room when I was supposed to be wolfing down dinner. In the back of classrooms when I […]
Destroy Your Writing Rituals to Set Your Skill Free Read More »
“Television has a real problem. They have no page two.” – Art Buchwald, Born Oct. 20, 1925. What Art was talking about is how TV can only give you the page one stuff. Deeper commentary and lengthier coverage, or less prominent stories get passed over. Or a least, they did. That was the nature of
How We Can Provide “Blood” AND “Meat” to Feed Our Hungry Prospects Read More »
“You can’t make experimental work by copying past work.” – Trey Parker, Born Oct. 19, 1969. This is probably a lesson better suited to “advanced” practitioners of the persuasive arts, but it may well be useful to the intrepid beginner among the readers of these words. It’s becoming increasingly important to find and publish as
Copy THEN Experiment With What You’ve Swiped… Read More »
“Knowledge is not skill. Knowledge plus ten thousand times is skill.” – Shinichi Suzuki, Born Oct. 17, 1898. If you want to get good at something, study less and practice more. Study is great, don’t get me wrong. But practice is where improvement actually occurs. Discipline creates routine. Routine creates comfort. Comfort creates quality work
The Secret Shortcut To Securing Sublime Skill Read More »
“If you can’t describe what you are doing as a process, you don’t know what you’re doing.” – W. Edwards Deming, Born Oct. 14, 1900. A lot of people who get into copywriting mistake it for other kinds of creative writing. They believe it is all art, and invention, and creative genius. And hey, work
Let Your Processes Become Your Secret Weapon Against the Betrayal of the Fickle Muse Read More »
“There are three principal means of acquiring knowledge… observation of nature, reflection, and experimentation. Observation collects facts; reflection combines them; experimentation verifies the result of that combination.” – Denis Diderot, Born October 5, 1713. I’ve said it before – on the Internet, information is cheap if not free. It’s abundant. Readily available on demand, and
Knowledge Is Power, So Learn How To Brew Your Own Read More »
“The race is not always to the swift, nor the battle to the strong, but that’s the way to bet.” – Damon Runyon, Born Oct. 4, 1880. Want to hear a certified true “Secret of Success(TM)”? Originality is overrated. Creativity is overrated. Innovation is overrated. People love the story of the one special person who
Stop Making Bad Bets Against Your Own Success Read More »
“Reciting lines is hard; making stuff up is much, much easier.” – Zach Galifianakis, Born Oct. 1, 1969. The most valuable skill you can start developing now is performing. As in, being comfortable on stage or on camera. And that can be intimidating. I hated it. It was scary when I was first starting out.
Become Skilled at Winging It, and Outshine Every Over-Scripted Try-Hard in Your Niche Read More »
“I think it’s a fallacy that the harder you practice the better you get. You only get better by playing.” – Buddy Rich, Born Sep. 30, 1917. The time for practice is over. The time for getting ready is done. You’re ready, so start working. Don’t just write, finish. Don’t just finish, publish. Don’t just
People’s Persistent Problem: Too Much Practice, Not Enough Playing Read More »
“For my stand-up, I always have my notebook with me and if something strikes me, I’ll write it down.” – Janeane Garofalo, Born Sep. 28, 1964. Some of these essays go for deep, profound quotations. But this one is just a great, compact piece of professional advice that will have a PROFOUND impact on your
Writing Even Your Brain Farts Down Will Change Your Life Read More »
