Posted by BJ
In my opinion, some of the best television programs available in the US are imported from Britain. These include, Faulty Towers, Monty Python, Are You Being Served, Benny Hill, and of course, the Office*, among many, many others. I recently had the pleasure of seeing a new British talk show, Spectacle: Elvis Costello with…**, presented by Elvis Costello.
On his program, Elvis interviews and then plays with singer songwriters. On this particular program, the quest artist was Lou Reed. During the interview process, Lou and Elvis were discussing the process of writing lyrics. Lou commented, and Elvis strongly agreed, that lyrics often just “seem to just come to me” and he had long ago learned to “just let it happen and not interrupt the process.”
I think this is true of writing for proposals. Once you have determined the appropriate strategic position, theme or benefit, you can often let the pen take over and the “good stuff” will flow. Thinking too much about what you are writing or continually revising what you’ve written will ultimately weaken the writing. Next time you write, try letting it “flow” and see what happens.
* The hugely popular “The Office”, created by Ricky Gervais, was originally done in England. Ricky then created an American version. For a recent Top Ten segment on David Letterman, Ricky recently wrote and presented the “The Top Ten Things Americans ask the British.” #1 on his list was, “Why doesn’t England develop its own version of The Office?”
** Spectacle: Elvis Costello with…” is showing on the Sundance Channel (where I live, this is Comcast).
In my opinion, some of the best television programs available in the US are imported from Britain. These include, Faulty Towers, Monty Python, Are You Being Served, Benny Hill, and of course, the Office*, among many, many others. I recently had the pleasure of seeing a new British talk show, Spectacle: Elvis Costello with…**, presented by Elvis Costello.
On his program, Elvis interviews and then plays with singer songwriters. On this particular program, the quest artist was Lou Reed. During the interview process, Lou and Elvis were discussing the process of writing lyrics. Lou commented, and Elvis strongly agreed, that lyrics often just “seem to just come to me” and he had long ago learned to “just let it happen and not interrupt the process.”
I think this is true of writing for proposals. Once you have determined the appropriate strategic position, theme or benefit, you can often let the pen take over and the “good stuff” will flow. Thinking too much about what you are writing or continually revising what you’ve written will ultimately weaken the writing. Next time you write, try letting it “flow” and see what happens.
* The hugely popular “The Office”, created by Ricky Gervais, was originally done in England. Ricky then created an American version. For a recent Top Ten segment on David Letterman, Ricky recently wrote and presented the “The Top Ten Things Americans ask the British.” #1 on his list was, “Why doesn’t England develop its own version of The Office?”
** Spectacle: Elvis Costello with…” is showing on the Sundance Channel (where I live, this is Comcast).
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