Happy New Year!!

Now that the decorations have been packed away and life is more or less back to normal, I’ve resolved to get back to writing content for my own blogs again. For years, I’ve been writing blogs for various clients and neglecting my own blogs (in addition to this blog, check out my foodie blog, So Many Flavors), which is just not a good idea for a copywriter. I admit it – I was feeling uninspired and overwhelmed. Yet, through it all, here I am, blogging again.

You may have noticed that I finally gave this blog a much-needed makeover, which is still a work in progress. Just to give you an idea of how long I’ve been blogging, the original template I used was hot pink and it perfectly matched the graphics on my super-awesome MySpace page, minus the flash and autoplay of Christina Aguillera’s Candyman. Leave me a message in the comments and let me know how you like the new look.

Writer Gone Rogue

I think part of why I took a hiatus from my own blogs is that I’ve been writing them for several years, and because it seemed like virtually everyone was blogging, it started to feel kind of stale. Taking time off made sense. And then it became a way of life. I went for longer stretches of time without blogging and even had a recruiter gently remind me that it was time to get back to it.

This past fall, in addition to my 9-5, I started teaching a copywriting class a couple of nights each week at the Columbus College of Art and Design. During new faculty orientation, the Provost spoke about the importance of staying true to your craft — writers need to write, painters gotta paint, sculpters have to sculpt, etc. I have thought about that speech pretty much every day since. Writing is not just what I do. It’s who I am.

As for my students — they are primarily junior and senior design majors who need to take my class in order to graduate. Rather than the typical college class, I don’t give tests and quizzes, but I do make my students write in class. Often. I make them take creative risks and I teach them not only about the mechanics of copywriting, but the business of advertising and how to generate creative solutions that meet business challenges. Two students declared copywriting minors last semester and they said it was because I was their favorite professor and that I taught them to love to write. Mentoring these students is what helps me keep the creative fire alive in my own belly, so to speak.

So I’m curious — how do you stay true to your own craft, regardless of your field or calling? Leave me a comment and let’s keep the conversation going.