#2: Copywriting versus creative writing
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Part one sees us talk about the terrible tussle faced by those writers who try to combine a copywriting career with literary ambition. The two of us agree, then disagree, and then I go through a little unintended writerly therapy. Everything turns out fine in the end.
In part two (18:53) we talk about a couple of posts from other blogs. We reveal our worst writing distractions to follow up on 7 Writing Distractions I’m Kissing Goodbye, which featured on Fuel Your Writing (which I shamefully refer to as Fuel My Writing – sorry!) and was written by Suzannah from Write it Sideways.
We then talk about whether writers should blog every day, following Bubblecow’s assertion that we definitely should.
Finally, in part three (28:40) I talk about the future of Write for Your Life and how you can contribute, either to the podcast or by writing a guest article.
We want your feedback!
This is our first real foray into the world of podcasting, so your feedback is very important. If you think this episode is great, tell us why. If you think that there’s a problem or you have a suggestion, we want to hear about those too!
The aim is to both provide and prompt useful discussion, so please feel free to use the comment area below this post to let us know your thoughts.
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Hiya Iain,
Any chance of a direct MP3 download? I don’t use iTunes, ya see. And Apple doesn’t like Linux, so I can’t listen to the podcast at the minute.
Thanks in advance.
@Matt Yep, no problem. The direct mp3 download can be found here: https://www.buzzsprout.com/519/3918-2-copywriting-versus-creative-writing.mp3
Nice one, thank you Iain. Greatly appreciated. Feedback coming later, though I’m sure it’ll be awesome!
And just as I expected, a very good podcast. A very natural feel to it, which is always nice to hear. And rather informative, I think.
I especially enjoyed the first section. An interesting point of view that can perhaps, I think, apply to anything computer based – I know that when I was working in front of a computer all day, it was hard to sit down and write at the computer. The balance is difficult, but as Manuela said, it’s all about the motivation.
And, on that point… Welcome, Manuela! You have the perfect podcast voice (Hope I don’t sound too creepy when I say that, not intentional!). Looking forward to hearing more from both of you.
I’m certainly looking forward to the new Write For Your Life layout. Should be exciting times, especially considering the new format as well. I’m pretty excited and have a few ideas in mind already.
Favourite part of the podcast: The unbelievably cheesy music! Made me smile.
Least favourite part of the podcast: Having to bug you about a direct download. If possible, as I’m sure I’m not the only non-iTunes person around, it would be nice to include both an iTunes link and a direct download.
Overall, well done both of you. Looking forward to hearing more.
@Matt thanks for the feedback – most kind and helpful. There should be a link to ‘Download the MP3′ directly beneath the player in the post. However, it’s being pulled in from Buzzsprout via their embed script, which is done in JavaScript. This means that if you have Javascript switched off, you won’t see thi info, and it also won’t appear in RSS readers I noticed this morning. I shall work on a solution!
Another great podcast from you guys. Thanks!
Iain,
You folks are naturals. Good banter and you both sound relaxed. It was pleasant to listen to, the volume levels were just fine and there wa no annoying background noises to contend with.
I love the idea of podcasts. I’m able to listen in the background whilst doing my other computer work.
Cheers
George
.-= George Angus´s last blog post: The Story of Charlie Z – Write The Ending =-.
Hey, I wrote that “7 Distractions” post! Thanks for mentioning it, and I’m downloading the podcast right now.
Great podcast. Given me lots of brainfood to work through! Thanks Iain and Manuela!
@Creative writer Well no – a-thank you!
@George Thanks George! And I agree about podcasts – I really like them and find I can learn a lot in a relatively short space of time. I listen in the background, like you, but I also listen in the car when I’m driving to and from work. Marvellous.
@Suzannah Hello! Sorry, I should have referenced you as well as Fuel Your Writing. I’ll make amends with a link in this post. Thanks for listening!
@KeeperOfTheHDB Thanks! And great news – that’s what we’re aiming to do! Tune in next time…
I can’t tell you how excited I was to hear this podcast when Iain tweeted it. It didn’t disappoint. I’m a copywriter for a marketing agency who is also working on a novel in the evenings.
The day job has helped shape certain aspects of my writing, but it is certainly a huge challenge to work myself up to sit in front of the computer for a few more hours in the evening and be creative. What I love about the novel, though, is that in those few precious hours I get to go where I want to go and spend time in a world I love. I try to keep that as my motivation because once I get myself there, I’m hooked.
That said, there are definitely days when I feel like I’m totally out of words. Thanks so much for the insight and the excellent podcast; it’s refreshing to hear from others in the same boat!
Thank you my lovelies for all your wondrous and generous comments. You’ve puffed us up a treat and we be very grateful for you taking the time to listen and speak up. Keep those thoughts a-coming!
@Lisa Thanks so much for the kind words Lisa. You’re right, it can be so, so tough to spend all day writing and then try to flip ‘modes’ when you get home. It’s a real balancing act and a tricky one at that, what with family and, you know, having a life to think about as well!
Thanks again for the feedback – much appreciated.
No, no, no, I wasn’t meaning you should have referenced me when linking to my article, I just meant I was excited to see it mentioned! Thanks anyway, but totally unnecessary.
@Suzannah I know you weren’t complaining, but I had genuinely meant to reference you!
Great work here, lovely blog
@Short Thanks!
a great podcast, it was the first time I’ve visited this blog
This is the first time I’ve listened to a pod cast, believe it or not, and it worked for me:-) good volume and clarity, well done!
It must be difficult, but by freelance writing surely we are ALL balancing one form of writing with another. For example, we write mostly for business and money in the day, but focus on pleasure at night. I feel copywriting is just another balance to consider, but doable because it makes you appreciate the opposing form.
Yeah I’d agree with that, although it depends on how much you like being a
copywriter I guess. If you absolutely love writing copy as you do fiction,
poetry or whatever, you’re absolutely laughing!