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Why creativity can ruin a writer’s career — before it starts
I don’t want to write literature. I’m not rich enough to pretend I’m a poet. I’d rather bite off my own earlobe than go to a literary party. Make that both earlobes. I hate arty talk with a venom. You...
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Bookshelf – the book
It’s important to choose your words (and your wordsmiths) carefully, but for many of us there is actually no more vital an issue than where to put our books. In the last 10 years we have lived through...
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“How long have I been looking at this baby?” A tip for business owners
When our eldest son was a baby, the poor kid often had to put up with my company. I loved it. We’d go to the park, take long walks round London and always find time to have a nap. But because on those...
View ArticleI’m bored OF pedantry
I won’t send you to sleep with talk of politics, but recently I fought and lost a campaign to get elected as a local councillor. I had a lot of fun writing leaflets, which I shoved (with much help)...
View Article‘All new goods, nothing stale or shop worn’— a copy tip from 1916
We often wise up after making our own mistakes, but we so rarely learn from other people’s. Forgive the moan. It’s because I’ve just read two wise paragraphs in a book called Sales Promotion by Mail —...
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Does ‘misery make for better copy’?
I was reading Philip Collins’ opinion piece in last Friday’s Times (subscribers can read it here) when a couple of phrases caught my eye. “Misery makes for better copy,” Collins noted, before adding:...
View ArticlePodcast: How to write your way to freedom
On 19th April 2013, I spoke at the Who Needs Copywriters? conference, organised by the UK Speechwriters’ Guild and copywriting agency A Thousand Monkeys. My topic was the first real ‘killer copywriter’...
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#PCN2013 – for copywriters, marketers and smart businesses
Well, it’s finally happening. The Professional Copywriters’ Network — the first online association for UK copywriters — is holding its first conference. It’ll be on Friday 11 October at Haberdashers’...
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“That very beautiful medium, the English Language”
When I was a teenager, two of my favourite writers were Max Beerbohm and Lytton Strachey. Put aside their subject matter for a moment. What thrilled me about these two was the structure, the cadence,...
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PCN Conference Flashbacks
Some flashbacks, thoughts and recycling inspired by the tweets and speakers at the Professional Copywriters’ Network Conference on Friday… 1. What the fuck is creativity? "Everybody talks about...
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