Rage Against the (Content) Machine:
Use Your English-Degree Like a Writer
Why Your English Degree Counts
When I was in college, I dreaded telling people my major. I hated the bemused or condescending looks on their faces when I told them, “Creative Writing.” Their responses ranged from the genuinely confused, “But what are you going to do with that?” to the somewhat polite, “So, you’re going to be a teacher?”
These practical people with their valued career paths seemed to have everything figured out. But if there’s one thing 2020 has taught us, no one has anything figured out when it comes to career and economic security.
I know of non-writers who’ve lost their jobs or had to dissolve their businesses thanks to COVID-19. And you know what?
Those people didn’t make the wrong career choice and neither have you.
What Our Culture Tells Us About Writing
· You can’t make a lot of money as a writer
· Anyone can be a writer
· Writing is just entertainment or escapism
· Literature isn’t relevant to marketing & sales
· Copywriting isn’t creative writing
I could argue all these points and more, but for the sake of time (and my rising blood pressure) let’s just dissect a few.
“Literature isn’t relevant to marketing & sales”
The commonly held belief that there’s no relationship between English-Literature and successful copywriting is absurd. Even the experts have bought into this.
In a blog post on shady copywriters, top influencer Neil Patel argues that an English-Literature degree is no indication of quality copywriting. “Degrees don’t matter,” he says, “Results do.”
As usual, point well-taken Mr. Patel! I agree that a degree alone doesn’t prove you’re a quality copywriter. Hell, it doesn’t prove you’re a good writer period.
But does this mean that an aspiring copy and/or creative writer should skip the English degree all together? Of course not! If anything, my hard-earned Creative Writing major prepared me for a life of publishing and copywriting more than any free webinar.
Why? Because like copywriting, all literature is persuasive. And my four-year degree gave me ample time to practice persuasive writing! I learned that the writing process takes imagination and results-driven thinking. English-Literature taught me everything from Catalan history to mastering the Three-Act Story Structure.
Creative writing techniques show us how to construct consciousness. We create lifeforms out of thin air and gift them real-life challenges and victories. Character development is where imagination meets confrontation. For me, character development and the buyer’s persona/ journey go hand in hand.
The buyer is your protagonist, and like any good protagonist the buyer will have doubts, baggage, needs etc. in need of transformation. That’s where you, the writer, step in. Character development/Buyer’s Persona is one of my favorite steps in literary copywriting. There’s nothing more powerful than resonating with others (real or imaginary).
“Copywriting isn’t creative”
It there’s one belief I wish I could wipe clean from the collective, it’s that copywriting is not a type of creative writing. (Well, that and all the racist, homophobic nonsense running this planet amok).
In her letter to an aspiring, college-aged copywriter, Susan Greene points out that professional writing is a form of creativity because it engages readers directly. She argues that if the copy isn’t creative, the reader won’t take much action.
Using Your English Degree Like a Writer
As a literary copywriter, I have certain needs and expectations for myself. Chief among them is embracing literature as a gateway into the human condition.
If you’re feeling stuck on a creative project or are wondering how to rekindle your love for the creative life, I recommend the following:
Behold the Art of Intimacy
Intimacy is self-annihilation. There’s nothing more intimate than literary works and the people who write them. The creative person is a selfless person. Think of the last time you were really engrossed in a project. Maybe you were writing a poem or a character’s inner monologue. How did you feel?
Chances are, you felt as though you were no longer there. The work just flowed through you. You were more spirit than matter. Time was irrelevant.
And paradoxically, you never felt more yourself.
The following passages come from contemporary works I feel best exemplify our shared capacity for intimacy. The first comes from Richard Nelson’s The Island Within. The second is a passage from Deborah Eisenberg’s short story collection, All Around Atlantis. Both teach me how to build up my tolerance for dissonance and intimacy.
Richard Nelson:
“The bird’s placid demeanor gives rise to an idea. A gray skeleton of a tree leans beneath his perch, making a ramp I can climb to get closer. His eyes fix on me as I ease to the leaning trunk’s base; but he holds fast to the branch. I’ve never been this close to a wild, free eagle. I think of the ancient hunters, lying hidden in loosely, covered pits with bait fastened above, waiting to grab the descending talons. But I seek no blood, no torn sacred. Closeness is my talisman, the sharing of eyes, scents twisted together in the same eddy of wind, the soft sound of a wheezing breath, quills ticking in the breeze, feet scuttling on dry bark, and the rush of air beneath a down-swept wing.”
Notice how you felt reading this. Did your mind wander or could you feel the dry bark and rush of air against your skin? I admit the first time I read this passage, I had a hard time focusing. I’m not sure why. The prose is so present, clear, and alive. Perhaps I didn’t fully-understand Nelson’s power. Perhaps I was afraid of losing myself.
Deborah Eisenberg:
Opening the white-paper bindle; pouring, more carefully than ever, the contents into her silver spoon; drawing the water all the way up into the syringe and discharging it gently over the pure white powder. The match bursting into flame, the softly boiling solution, the needle pointing heavenward to coax the air bubble up and out, the bubble moving higher, higher…the precious liquid glittering for a moment at the tip. The rubber around her arm, good and tight, the pumped vein rising, the seeking needle, the stunning penetration, the drop of hungry blood, released to commune in a faint whorl with the contents of the barrel and plunge back into her body, step by teasing step: the first floating radiance with its delicious burn, the second, and, finally, the third, lighting up the spending corridors.
In this section, I see Eisenberg as a writer at the height of her intimacy-powers. The passage is dark, intense, and undeniably beautiful. She almost makes me forget about the character’s heroin addiction. I have nothing in common with this narrator and yet I resonate with her excitement, desire, and anticipation.
I consider this piece a perfect example of Amor Fati, or falling in love with your fate. Jungian psychology calls this process individuation. I see reading and writing good literature as ways to expedite our own personal, individuation processes. Quality literature makes the unconscious conscious, balances the light and the dark, and gives voice to the powerless.
To put your English-degree to use, you’ll want to reconnect with your creative space. I recommend reading 30 minutes of literature a day. To take this challenge a step further, spend 30 minutes reading just one page of a book. Watch what happens to your mind when you read this way.
Like a young Richard Nelson in the presence of an eagle, let closeness be your talisman.
Optimize Your Obsessions
There’s no way around it. A writer is an obsessed individual. Acclaimed short story writer Kelly Link says the best/weirdest story ideas come from your own obsessions.
Some of my obsessions include:
· Unrequited love
· The illusion of surveillance
· Climate change
· Survival
· Feminism
· Mysticism
· Fairy Tales
I explore all these obsessions and more in my work. In this week’s Literary Copywriter Spotlight, Megan Barlog showed us how she turned her Disney-obsession into a digital marketing project. The Disnerd Movie Challenge, a movie analysis blog “satisfies my inner English major who misses writing analytical essays,” she says. “And it lets me practice using different digital marketing tools and strategies.”
There are many exercises you can do to retrieve story ideas from the ether. Just think of your twisted, unconscious mind as your own personal blog topic generator ;)
In Sean Ogle’s fabulous lifestyle business, Location Rebel, he encourages aspiring writers to make a list of their hobbies and interests. This is one of the precursors to his very helpful copywriting courses for any writer anywhere.
More from The Literary Copywriter
If you’re a copywriter with creative pursuits, I’d love to hear from you!
Your Friend in Craft,
Emily