Hello,
Thank you so much for agreeing to be a part of The Writing Desk Blog.
Now, imagine I’m about to introduce you to an auditorium, filled with the smiling faces of folks fuelled by caffeine and an eagerness to learn. What would I say?
“Hello everyone, I’d like to introduce…”
“Mike Garner, I’m a copywriter and erstwhile translator…”
Here’s the part where we’d sit down and try and look comfortable next to the microphones. Are you sitting comfortably? Then let’s begin…
Can you name the business book that’s always on your desk? (I’m talking about the one that’s covered in pencil marks, coffee stains and has turned down corners…)
John Simmons: We, Me, Them & It, How To Write Powerfully For Business. The first book to introduce me to the power of using words in a brand.
What’s your all-time favourite advertising campaign?
I don’t like saying it, but it’s all the ones people hate like those Persil ads, even the damn meerkat – simply because they work, although David Ogilvy did some corkers.
“Everyone has a book in them…” Or so the saying goes. What do you think/know/believe is the secret to good writing?
Reading! Also, turning up. Practice makes you better. I’ve just started using www.750words.com. It’s a great help.
If you were just starting out, what advice would you give yourself? Which book or books would you read first?
Don’t be so self-conscious; trust in your own individuality. Stephen King – On Writing
Silence? Radio? Or music while you work?
Music, but no words, classic ambient – Brian Eno, Harold Budd – Steve Reich’s Music for 18 musicians or a bunch of curated lists on Spotify
What are your top three novels of all time – and why?
- Gabriel Garcia Marquez – 100 Years of Solitude. It’s such a wonderful, wide-reaching and ambitious yarn.
- Paul Auster – Moon Palace. Read in the few days after my daughter was born; another yarn (there’s a theme here).
- Anything by Philip Roth
Although that list might change next week!
What’s the best thing you’ve ever written? Why did it rock your world?
Haven’t written it yet.
What’s the last thing you bought? And yes, that packet of chewing gum counts.
Fizzy water.
Who was your teenage crush?
Does it sound cheesy if I say my wife? We met when I was 14. I did have crushes a bit later on two French actresses Catherine Deneuve and Miou Miou.
Describe the best meal you have ever eaten.
Filet steak on an open fire in a restaurant in France whose name I can’t remember but not far from Marcel Proust’s Château de Germantes.
What’s your favourite tipple?
Oh dear, gave up the booze this year but I love a Saint Nicolas de Bourgueil.
If I were to give you a private jet, David Attenborough as a tour guide and a month off work – all expenses paid – where would you go and what or who would you write about – and why?
India; so much stuff to take in.
What’s in your pockets?
Car keys.
Pen and ink, pencil and paper or keyboard and screen? What’s your writing style?
Bit of everything, jump between Evernote, Moleskine and now, www.750words.com.
Do you read any blogs or magazines about writing? (And I mean read, not just subscribe to and delete/leave on your desk and recycle?)
Tea or coffee?
Coffee. Black. Strong.
Do you have a favourite cup or mug? Can you describe it?
I still have a large Superman mug from when I was a student. It has my pens in it now.
What was your most adored children’s book? And character?
Famous Fives as an ensemble work.
Your favourite word?
Apart from a cuss? Possibility.
Your most loathed word? (You know, the one that makes you shudder and say “Ew!”?
Passionate. People claim to be passionate about ridiculous things.
Where can we find you? – Browsing online or lost in the aisles of a bookstore?
As much as I use my Kindle, I still love bookstores, especially second-hand ones.
Favourite song lyric of all time? And why?
Jacques Brel’s Ne Me Quitte Pas (in French). Pathos embodied. Woefully under translated as If You Go Away.
Ne me quitte pas
Je n’vais plus pleurer
Je n’vais plus parler
Je me cacherai là
A te regarder
Danser et sourire
Et t’écouter
Chanter et puis rire
Laisse-moi devenir
L’ombre de ton ombre
L’ombre de ta main
L’ombre de ton chien
Mais
Ne me quitte pas
Name the artist who is guaranteed to get you up on the dance floor.
Dancing? There’s a concept; probably The Rolling Stones.
Do you have any strange writing rituals you’d like to share with us?
Not so strange. I like writing at times when no-one else is awake.
What are you working on today? What’s in the pipeline?
A photographer’s site, content for internal comms and an exciting project I know nothing about. The client said he had a “cunning plan”.
Describe the last photograph you took.
A bunch of sunsets.
What piece of advice really changed you as a writer?
Don’t worry about being perfect.
What was the last thing you wrote that had nothing to do with your job?
Some musings on www.750words.com. That allows me to indulge in free writing to my heart’s content.
What’s your favourite quote about the process of writing?
“Be yourself, everybody else is already taken.” Oscar Wilde
Who is your favourite Mad Man – or Woman?
Probably David Ogilvy because he was the first one; or possibly Joan Harris or Roger Sterling, it depends on whether you take the question seriously or not.
Name your favourite film.
Monty Python and the Holy Grail – just because it’s silly.
Which book or books is/are by your bed today?
The Power of Habit – fascinating.
Who was or is your greatest teacher?
The big outside world; everybody I meet. My day has been a success if I’ve learnt something.
Who is your favourite artist?
Varies, but I have a big Jackson Pollock reprint on my office wall. Love the splash of colour.
Where do you like to work best – is it at a desk, in an office or in a coffee shop? And would you send us a picture of where the magic happens?
In my office, although a nice quiet area overlooking the sea would come a close second.
And finally, where can this caffeine-fuelled audience find you?
www.brandingwithwords.com
www.facebook.com/brandingwithwords
www.twitter.com/mikegarner
uk.linkedin.com/in/brandingwithwords
[gravityform id=”2″ title=”true” description=”true”]
0 Comments