If you want to concept TV commercials, you've got to start with premises. Do not write scripts. Let me explain... Forever ago, I did a...

I this presentation together for my Scriptwriting class. The slideshow doesn't seem to be displaying correctly, so here's the link ....

Barbara Tuchman is not a copywriter. She is a writer of history. This is the opening paragraph of her famous book on World War I, The Gun...

My mother corrects my grammar. Still. If I send an email and incorrectly use  I  as an object, she will let me know (I did the other day,...

He's talking about fiction. But still applies to advertising. (The video's choppy, but worth listening to.)

I still love to write radio. I know that seems like an incredibly old school medium. But I love writing it. And I love hearing my spots on a...

"What is written without effort is read without pleasure."

If you have a good idea that the client doesn't buy, don't throw it away. Keep it in a file somewhere. If it's really a great id...

All creative people know the importance of generating lots of ideas to get to the good stuff. I think the same is true with writing, whether...

His blood smells like cologne. He can speak French in Russian. He's a lover not a fighter. But he's also a fighter, so don't g...

There are those who believe you shouldn't use negative words in advertising because it will repel the audience and decrease sales. Thi...

You’ve got to be honest with yourself when you write a script. Take out a stopwatch. Don’t rush your read. Allow for breathing room. Fix wha...

Here's a short piece that has great copy and great art direction. [The link to this video was removed. But you can watch it here .] Simp...

Years ago I read an interview with Dan Wieden. He said for years he'd been trying to write like Whitman (or was it Faulkner?) and hadn...

If you're not reading Steven Pressfield's Writing Wednesdays blog, you're missing out. Even if you're an art director or a ...

We all hit walls. We all reach a point where the ideas just aren't coming. Usually, this is the point where we go for a walk, or pick up...

During my brief stint as a mechanical engineering student in college, I had a professor tell me that I should avoid being a monkey wrench. ...

Copywriters should read poetry. Frequently. Unlike most prose, poetry is less about telling a story and more about using language in unexpec...

Recently I was watching an interview with Monty Python’s John Cleese, and he was talking about the success of Fawlty Towers . (If you’re not...

I encourage my writing students to really experiment with their process. I find that things like the time of day that I write, what kind of ...