When I was 22 I read Wonder Boys by Michael Chabon. The professor character's wife is a copywriter in Downtown Pittsburgh. I remember thinking that sounded so glamorous! A copywriter. Wow.
Of course in the story the Mrs. hates her job because her whole life she was aspiring to be a "real" writer. And to anyone who graduated with an English degree a "real" writer means "novelist." It's a stereotype that all writers want to eventually publish a novel. And it's true. Many people look down on advertising and marketing and the media in general. But guess what?! If Apple didn't get so much publicity and hype every time they launched a product so that millions of geeks lined up to buy them, y'all would be paying three times as much for those overpriced miniature flat-screen "pads." In a way, advertising actually lower prices. Of course, the flip side is that it raises prices. Just look at GEICO.
Fortunately I graduated with a degree in journalism, so I'm happy doing the lowest of the low when it comes to "real" writing: blogging! And copywriting at an ad agency! How horrendous! It's like the equivalent of Talk Soup in the news world, but whatev! I love it.
Back to why "real" writers hate blogging. Stephen King wrote that when he taught writing classes at universities, he hated to assign personal essays. Why? Because the students enjoyed them so much. He hated the elated drivel that ensued.
Hmm . . . That is pretty much all that I do here at samlivesinnola. Whatev, Stephen King. Under The Dome s*#ked.
In other news, Buddy! is not housebroken.
In other news, we are are walking in the Barkus parade this Sunday! I am Dorothy and Buddy! is Toto. And Elbow is Dorothy, too! We got costumes. We'll have pics.
As a writer myself, I hate the "levels of glamour" imposed upon the craft both by people inside and outside of the industry.
ReplyDeleteOne who write copy is no less a writer than one who write magazine pieces, or newspaper reports or a blog. A writer is someone who makes use of constructing language in such a way as to illicit the appropriate thought or realization, whether that be fact or fiction. There is good writing, and there is poor writing, but that is a matter of quality, not a matter of where the writing is done, and for whom.
I have two blogs, am writing a novel, and have been a journalist. I also write for a local magazine. I am all over the place when it comes to writing, and none of it is any more or less noble than the rest. You are as much a writer as I am.
Plus you had the sense to major in something related directly to writing. I wasn't even that smart.