Most legendary artists are unknown in their own time. Many people regard that as ironic. I regard it as causal.
My point is that good art isn’t designed for an audience; it has inherent value. I believe copy is different - it’s (ultimately) for making money, and ought to be designed for a target audience - but I believe that if you want to write great copy, you can’t lose sight of the original point. To focus too much on audience is to forget about art… to forget about producing great writing that speaks to any reader, no matter their age group or interests.
Advice: speak naturally to humans, about your passion, and about your passion-induced product… and you’ll produce artful copy. It’ll work.
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note: or maybe it won’t work - maybe you’ll die broke, alone and depressed.
Two more quick things on perfection:
1. I talked a little about the specifics of achieving perfection in part 3, but I thought it might be helpful to go through my exact process here. Of course, this is just what works for me - it may not necessarily work for you. Give it a try, and [...]
In Part 1, I said that writing can be perfect. In Part 2, I’ll talk about how to get there. This is dangerous territory though, if for no other reason than every writer is different. Some write best in secluded silence, others write best blasting AC/DC. Some write 30 pages a day, others write 10 [...]
Writing can be perfect. That is a fact. And it’s a well-kept secret.
What do I mean by perfect? Obviously, I’m not talking about words fitting into some sort of pre-designed mathematical formula, or words fitting into someone else’s perception of what they should be. I’m talking about words that come together harmoniously, according to your [...]
political fervor has struck America. it’s time for our once-every-four-year presidential campaign. it’s an exciting, and also often overwhelming time: parades, conventions, signs, speeches, donations, critics, pundits, idiots, yahoos, and on a good day, just maybe, a well-thought out and intelligent discourse on American society.
in an effort to find some sense amid the chaos, or [...]
