This is not a rant. Or a whine. Just saying.
A couple of days back, someone put up a flex-poster (that's how specific you get in advertising, apparently) with some of Henry Miller's quotes on writing. By itself, these Commandments are an interesting read. Inspiring even. But, in the context of an ad agency, they seem a little smarmy.
Right off the bat, there's no doubt that Miller knew his onions when it came to writing, and from what I gather from his Wiki page, living a pretty bohemian life. A great writer who knew it. Therefore, when confronted with his thoughts on the subject, the man on the street can safely read, appreciate, agree, admire and move on. Which I did, the first time around. After a couple of days' hard labour, working towards the demands of the nutters passing themselves off as our discerning patrons, the charm wears off. I was tempted to add a little bit of graffiti suggesting that Mr. Miller ought to interact with some of my clients and then apply his beliefs. Considering his personality, he probably would, have. He'd have enjoyed the subsequent spell of unemployment too, I reckon.
When I first started working in my current job, my head was buzzing with ideas. Not the crazy, half-cocked, pseudo-edgy stuff, mind. But I remember thinking that cracking a creative idea was like a piece of cheese being worried from various angles by rats. I wanted the buzzing in my mind to take a rest. Nowadays, there's silence in there all right. But its sepulchral, not blessed. The volume of work has got to a point where my brain has gone into creative stasis. I just trundle out whatever copy is needed, without giving it much thought. Not a great situation to be in, but then again, neither is unemployment, eh?
I took a leaf out of Miller's book (Point no. 7, to be precise) and saw Carnage yesterday. Had a proper laugh, after a long time. Maybe there's something in what the geezer said after all.
Song for the moment: Somebody that I used to know - Gotye
A couple of days back, someone put up a flex-poster (that's how specific you get in advertising, apparently) with some of Henry Miller's quotes on writing. By itself, these Commandments are an interesting read. Inspiring even. But, in the context of an ad agency, they seem a little smarmy.
Right off the bat, there's no doubt that Miller knew his onions when it came to writing, and from what I gather from his Wiki page, living a pretty bohemian life. A great writer who knew it. Therefore, when confronted with his thoughts on the subject, the man on the street can safely read, appreciate, agree, admire and move on. Which I did, the first time around. After a couple of days' hard labour, working towards the demands of the nutters passing themselves off as our discerning patrons, the charm wears off. I was tempted to add a little bit of graffiti suggesting that Mr. Miller ought to interact with some of my clients and then apply his beliefs. Considering his personality, he probably would, have. He'd have enjoyed the subsequent spell of unemployment too, I reckon.
When I first started working in my current job, my head was buzzing with ideas. Not the crazy, half-cocked, pseudo-edgy stuff, mind. But I remember thinking that cracking a creative idea was like a piece of cheese being worried from various angles by rats. I wanted the buzzing in my mind to take a rest. Nowadays, there's silence in there all right. But its sepulchral, not blessed. The volume of work has got to a point where my brain has gone into creative stasis. I just trundle out whatever copy is needed, without giving it much thought. Not a great situation to be in, but then again, neither is unemployment, eh?
I took a leaf out of Miller's book (Point no. 7, to be precise) and saw Carnage yesterday. Had a proper laugh, after a long time. Maybe there's something in what the geezer said after all.
Song for the moment: Somebody that I used to know - Gotye
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