Thursday, October 16, 2008

Babies

As a writer, I sometimes get a little too attached to my copy. I start to think of the words as my babies, born from my brain and nurtured onto the page with loving fingers. It can be painful, then, to remember that they're . . . just . . . words.

I'm writing the copy for a direct mail piece that one of my clients will be sending this month. Because of the timing, the mailer has a Halloween theme. My client liked the first draft, but felt there was "too much punchline" and not enough of a selling message to the copy. Going back to my baby analogy, I was faced with the difficult task of deciding which babies to keep, and which had to left at the orphanage.

Two of the lines that didn't make the cut:
  • Self-sabotage is the monster in the closet.
  • The status quo is the creature under the bed.

*sigh*

I'll miss the little guys.

4 comments:

Angie Ledbetter said...

It is tough to cut those babies loose...but, never fear, they're not really being abandoned! Save all those juicy nuggets in a file for reuse in a different piece. That way, your babies are just going off to a great little camp for awhile. :)

Lori said...

Yet here they live in cyber-infamy. ;))

They must go in order for others to live, right? :))

Amie said...

Yeah--to quote Dr. Frankenfurter, "It was a mercy killing!" The piece is stronger without that bit.

Melody Platz said...

It's an interesting balance, writing for people who want to sell things. I try to stretch my brain into the marketing and sales world because writing IS a business, but I often get carried away by the sound of a sweet sentence. Ah!

Melody Platz
www.writerscomfycorner.com