(written November 17, 2014)
Brevity is key. Clarity is power. The message is the cake. Humor is the cherry. Clever feels good. Slacking is inspiring. The blank page is a detriment. Mental roadblocks put you in park and throw the keys in a bush. Bad ideas are good. Good ideas are bad. Great ideas are great. Criticism is addicting. Writing is never perfect. Satisfaction is elusive. Collaboration is gold. Brainstorming is a wandering path. Second guesses are idea-killers. Editing is improvement. The budget rules all and limits most. The client is always right. The client is always wrong. The client has the last word. Creativity comes and goes as it pleases. Weird is good. Lightning strikes thrice. Start long. Finish short. Write to impress yourself. Emulating award-winning ads won’t make an award-winning ad. Originality is prime real estate. New territory is liberating. Repetition is boring. Repetition is boring. Repetition is boring. Write today, edit tomorrow. Revisit the good ones. Trash the bad ones. Pull the bad ones out of the trash and revisit them. Make the bad ones good ones. Four eyes are better than two. Put it all on paper. Don’t stop writing. Proofread. Do it again. Get off track. Clichés are cliché. Coffee is fuel. Don’t overthink. Don’t underthink. Read it aloud. Good reading makes for good writing. Write 100 times more than you need. Don’t let guidelines limit you in the first round. Let yourself suck. Have a purpose. Keep the message in mind. Think at home. Be grateful. Be eager. Be hungry. Analyze ads. Be relentless. Know what’s good. Forget what’s bad. Don’t force it. Get on a roll. Lose your train of thought. Chew on a pen. Stare out the window. Let inspiration strike. Bring it home. Rinse and repeat. Look from a different angle. Find your voice. Take advice. Seek it out. The creative director knows best (until he doesn’t). The desire to improve is fundamental. Distractions are good. Initiative can impress. Skill will impress. Remember an ad has a job to do, or else you won’t. Perfect diction ain’t so important. Grammar neither. Write like you talk. If it becomes a chore, stop writing. If you laugh out loud, keep that line. If you have to read it twice, so will the audience. Lose needless words. Make adverbs work. All hail Shrunk & White. Know the audience. Know the product. Know what’s been done. Be interesting. Be interested. Talk to people. Gain perspectives. Take liberties. Take risks. Take it in. And always wear sunscreen.