There's always something there to remind me

To the disbelief of many who observed my early development as a human being, I make my living as a writer and have done for nigh on 15 years. For me, making a living from writing means crafting a marketing brochure, shaping a website, inventing a strapline, capturing that essence rare. And those are the good days. People who don't write for a living but have to write on a daily basis (most people who work in offices) ask me how I do it day in day out. How do I focus on such things? How do I block things out and narrow things down so that what I'm describing is what it is and nothing else? Bizarrely, I tell them that, far from blocking out and narrowing down, I open up. I let the world in and work with whatever is there. It's the only way to achieve the pitch necessary for this writer to begin his work. Interference or inspiration? Both, probably. This week, I've been enthralled by Shakespeare's The Tempest and Boyle's Slumdog Millionaire. And, one way or another, I will bring their influence to bear on the work I'm doing for my clients. I'm no slave to circumstance. And far from a puppet on a string. But, when it comes to the importance of remaining human when writing for brands, there's always something there to remind me.

Mark Griffiths www.idealconsulting.co.uk