Copywriting UK | TENFOUR blog

TENFOUR’s been reading a lot about writing recently. As copywriters, it’s great to refresh ourselves every once in a while.

The most recent book was a cracker: Roy Peter Clark’s Writing Tools (see it on Amazon). Over 250 pages, he details 50 ‘essential strategies for writers’. Sounds serious, doesn’t it. But the book’s really well put together. And each tool is just a few pages long, so it’s the perfect public transport read.

To give you an example, Tool 20 covers the number of elements we include in any list we write. He talks about using one element for power (’the girl is smart’); two for comparison or contrast (’Tom and Jerry’); three for completeness (’beginning, middle and end’); and four or more to list, inventory, compile and expand (’that girl is smart, sweet, determined and neurotic’).

Think about it next time you use any number of listed elements in a sentence.

Clip from Tool 20:

“Tom Wolf once told Willian F. Buckley Jr. that if a writer wants the reader to think something is the absolute truth, the writer should render it in in the shortest possible sentence. Trust me.”

If you’re into any kind of writing, this book’s definitely worth a look. For sure.

TENFOUR likes books about writing. Not just about copywriting - the day job - but also about creative writing, story writing and the like.

We’ve come across a really good book about story writing recently: Bird by Bird, by Anne Lamott.

This one’s not the usual two hundred pages on systematically plotting your piece and developing characters. It’s more about the actual process of writing: how difficult this can be, how things get in the way, and how to approach it all with a little bit of humour and compassion for yourself.

There are tips that cover the important elements of story. But, more importantly, Lamott tackles the problems writers can have even before they’ve put pen to paper. “Try looking at your mind like a wayward puppy that you are trying to paper train,” she suggests. “You don’t drop-kick a puppy into the neighbor’s yard every time it piddles on the floor. You just keep bringing it back to the newspaper.”

If you’re into creative writing, have a quick read of this one next time you’re in a bookstore.

TENFOUR picked up a great little magazine over the long weekend [please read ‘little’ as literal rather than condescending].

Published in the South West, it’s not surprising that Stranger owes some of its personality to surfing. But the editorial doesn’t stop at waves. The publication’s strapline - life earth sounds surf inspiration - gives a little hint of what’s inside. And, getting our noses into the May edition, we were treated to short, well-written articles on film (Fast Food Nation); music (The Libertines and Luke Toms); society (this summer’s smoking ban); the environment (the future of city design); and more.

For a change though, it wasn’t words that drew TENFOUR to a magazine. Printed on environmentally-friendly paper and with vegetable-based inks, Stranger looks and feels so damn good. Seriously, we were stroking the cover all the way home.

Check out the Stranger site at www.stranger-mag.com.

This isn’t strictly a book about copywriting. But, it is a great read about telling stories, tips on what works in writing and what doesn’t.

McKee’s book is crafted around penning screenplays. Try this quote for size, though:

“When talented writers write badly, it’s generally for one of two reasons: either they are blinded by an idea that they feel compelled to prove, or they are driven by an emotion they need to express. When talented people write well, it’s generally for this reason: they’re moved by a desire to touch an audience.”

Thinking back to the first few points in our article about writing press releases - namely, (1) have you got a story?; (2) what is the real story people want to hear?; (3) who’s your audience - you’ll see there are gems to be discovered about any type of writing. Whatever you commit to paper, it should always:

• have structure
• tip its hat to the reader
• attempt to hold this reader’s attention
• sidestep cliche
• try to tell a story

And this is what the book attempts to clear up for us.

Why not pick it up and have a look next time you’re in a bookshop? You might be inspired to write a screenplay too - it’s about time someone took on Richard Curtis’ mantle, don’t you think?

‘A simple guide to writing for your website’ (by Susannah Ross) is great if you’re looking for a short and sweet web writing tutorial. We like this book in particular because it majors on clear writing. And we reckon you could get through it in half a day, so that’s a bonus too.

Topics include: sorting out ideas (the who, what and why of your site), web language, editing down the number of words, choosing the right words and their function, punctuation, structure, and the look of the page. As the title suggests, there are no brain surgery revelations in ‘A simple guide…’. But, why pump the topic full of technicalities when the best writing is always uncomplicated writing?