Where would we be without books? A good book is like a best friend: perfect company, reliable, and entertaining.

Today is a reminder to me that I spend far too much time writing and not enough reading – and, as I indulge my passion, Stephen King’s words echo guiltily in my mind: “If you don’t have the time to read, you don’t have the time (or the tools) to write. Simple as that.” The book is the writer’s muse. I must, I must, I must read more.

But before I start, I’ll just write another few words, (it’s okay for a day such as this to inspire writing, not just reading, isn’t it?)….

If you were a book you’d be a romantic thriller,

You’d be a murder mystery without the killer

You’d be erotic fiction, you’d be Dickensian prose

You’d be the book that everyone knows

I’d read you and read you till it hurt my eyes

If you were a book you’d win the Man Booker prize

You’d get critical acclaim around the globe

You’d be Lady Chatterley meets The Book of Job

You’d be unputdownable, a rip-roaring pace

I wouldn’t use a bookmark to keep my place

I’d be lost in your pages, read you cover to cover

Your heroine would be an erudite lover

You’d be by my bedside, I’d dream of the plot

The twists and the turns, all the drama it’s got

If you were a book, you’d be blinding not bland

You’d always be new, not second-hand

I’d never crease your dust-jacket, or damage your spine

I’d never dump you in Oxfam or flog you on-line

You’d be Highly recommended, not to be missed

You’d be top of the bestseller list

If you were a book, you’d be a first edition

The literati’d give you recognition

You’d as epic as Homer, funny as Fry

A Festival winner at Hay-on-Wye

You’d get five stars on Amazon, rave reviews

You’d have a worldwide book-tour and a spot on the news

You’d have chapters on yoga and being a foody

You’d get a gold medal from Richard and Judy

You’d be the critic’s choice, book of the week,

You’d have a chapter on very cold feet

Your every word would be a work of art

Your ISBN would be etched on my heart

If you were a book, I’d read you for ages

I dip into you, I’d thumb your pages

If I took you from the library, I’d pay the fine

There’s no way on earth I’d return you on time

If you were a book, I’d cry at The End

And I’d want to go back to the beginning again

You’d be leather-bound, soft, elegant, slim.

You’re my good book – and I’m just a few chapters in.

 Happy World Book Day.

Al Brunker is a trainer at Creative Training. He has had communication and creativity at the heart of his work since school, where he discovered his love of writing through short stories, poetry and plays. He has worked as a journalist, technical writer and copywriter, and loves nothing more than crafting scripts for stage and performing his own silly poems. He is a recovering lawyer, having worked for over 15 years as a corporate solicitor.

We spent the day with our friends at Creative Training, a company that specialises in training business people to write creatively with more confidence. Trainer Al Brunker told us that:

“once a business writer gets out of the office and into the countryside, they relax into the role of ‘creative’ writer – and can, for the moment, forget about business.”

A day of creative freedom allows us to experiment, try new things and loosen up our writing. Of course, in the end it all relates back to business communications, but by bringing a refreshed perspective can put the sparkle back into even the most mundane of communications.

Creative Training’s workshop studio is an inspiring space where you can to let go of fear, discover your voice and, ultimately, use words to become an ambassadors for your business. The trainers are positive and encouraging – giving feedback all the way through.

You dive straight into practical exercises and explore why the written word is so powerful. You look at who inspires us as writers, and what makes their work so readable and you discover that at the heart of all good creative writing is story; whether it’s a company press release, internal memo or a letter to your most difficult client, a compelling narrative will get your reader to the end wanting more.

Part of the workshop is spent on technique: use of creative language and metaphor, editing and structure, as well as the key ingredients of successful storytelling. And the rest is spent on writing.  Some of this will is business writing, but you look at poetry, short stories and scripts, as well as journaling and blogging.

The course works, because as Al says, ” If we get into the habit of creative writing, we raise our awareness of ourselves and those around us. We get into the habit of framing our thoughts in new and imaginative ways. And we get out of the habit of writing the same old stuff in the same old way.”

If you’d like to find out  more, take a look at the Creative Training website.

Men Shop on Mars, Women Shop on Venus

When working in the creative departments of agencies including Saatchi & Saatchi, Ogilvy and Bates Dorland, Gail was always one of a small minority of female creatives.

Things haven’t changed. Although 85% of all purchase decisions are made by women, 90% of advertising is still created by men. This is a problem for clients – a recent Mumsnet survey showed that 91% of women thought advertisers didn’t understand them.

As well as being Creative Copywriting’s Head of Copy, Gail also runs Madwomen, an agency that gives clients a female perspective on their marketing and advertising challenges.

Together with Chris Arnold, Creative Director of London agency, Creative Orchestra, Gail delivered a thought-provoking session titled “Men Shop on Mars, Women Shop on Venus’. This entertaining talk featured live audience interaction to demonstrate the way men and women take totally different paths to purchase.

We’re pleased to be involved with Bristol Media in organising this event – not only did we write copy for the marketing materials, we even helped get a couple of speakers on board too (we’re expert schmoozers!).

Our Senior Copywriter is particularly interested in hearing Rachel Bridge speak on “How to make a million before lunch”, we hope he doesn’t learn too much … we want him back in the office by 5pm.

Hope to see lots of our clients at the Arnolfini on Wednesday and Thursday.

Oh, and our Director, Gail Parminter runs Madwomen, an ad agency specialising in the female market and she’s speaking at Vision on the differences between the way men and women make buying decisions. Called ‘Men shop on Mars, Women shop on Venus’, the talk is co-presented by Chris Arnold from Creative Orchestra and promises to be interactive and entertaining.

Our work for Vision 2011