Q: "How do you eat an elephant?"

A: "One bite at a time"

I received another article via email from Ron Balagot today. Ron is the author of the article that was featured in "Songwriting Idea #14 - Using Your Subconcious Mind"

This next article deals with a technique used by a famous advertising copywriter Eugene (Gene) Schwartz. It can be easily applied to our songwriting process

Gene never suffered from writers block and neither should you.

(Ron, thank you for emailing me the article. Keep them coming if you can)

You may not have heard of the late Eugene (Gene) Schwartz, but he’s considered one of the greatest copywriters who ever lived.

(By the way, Webster’s New World Dictionary defines a copywriter as: A writer of copy for advertisements or promotional material. And copy, according to the same dictionary, means: The words of an advertisement, as distinct from the layout, pictures, music, etc.)

The truth is, with a single sales letter, he helped build Boardroom Inc. to a $50 million a year direct mail publishing company. (You’d be surprised to know that Boardroom’s owner, Martin Edelston, only had $3,500 left in his pocket when he asked for Gene’s help.)

Yes, he was that good.

In fact, he was such a good copywriter that he became one of advertising’s highest paid consultants. (Rodale Press, another publishing giant, once paid him a commission of $54,000 for 4 hours of work. That’s $13,500 an hour.)

Furthermore, he authored a book called Breakthrough Advertising...which many copywriters/marketers consider a marketing classic. (Believe it or not, one reader from the financial industry is said to have raised his net worth from $100,000 to $10 million within a year of obtaining the book.)

But what’s most impressive about Gene is the fact that he had an amazing 85% hit ratio when it came to writing advertising copy. Meaning, out of every 100 ads he wrote, 85 were winners (which is quite an achievement in the direct marketing industry).

Now, would you like to know what helped him create those winners?

Would you like to know what one of his biggest secrets was to writing winning advertising copy?

During his writing sessions, he would set a timer for 33.33 minutes...and when the timer went off, he’d take a 5 minute break. Then after the 5 minutes, he’d get back to work. (Basically, he’d go through this routine throughout his writing sessions.)

According to Gene, people can’t work for a very long period of time without interruption. Plus, when they do work for long periods, they end up exhausting themselves too quickly (mentally, that is).

This 33.33 minute routine not only helps keep the mind fresh, it gives inspiration a chance to sneak in.

Gene never experienced writer’s block (something many writers have problems with). In fact, he was able to create 12 to 15 mailing pieces a year...without having any trouble starting on them. (And he only worked 3 to 4 hours a day.)

I mean, if this technique could help improve your creativity (and productivity) in a big way, wouldn’t you agree that there’s a bigger chance you’ll end up with better songs? Winning songs? The way Gene ended up with winning advertising copy?

I’m pretty sure you’d say yes.

Actually, at first, I never really thought about the different benefits of this idea. But after a short while, not only did I notice a dramatic improvement in my creativity and productivity, I also experienced fewer neck/back pains...and less eye strain (the frequent rest periods helped a lot).

Of course, you don’t need to set the timer for exactly 33.33 minutes (I actually set mine for 30). But something close to those numbers would probably be a good idea.

The point is: You want to give some time to your “subconscious mind” to work on what you were writing. (In other words, you want to keep your “conscious” mind focused on things other than what you were working on...so it will not interfere in the creative process.) And the best way to do this is to take a break and do something else.

Here, consider these related quotes:

(Tip: I highly recommend that you use this technique in conjunction with the one I talked about in my earlier article, Write Songs Like The Pros With This Powerful And Proven Technique. I found that when I combined the two, I got maximum results.)

Well, now that you’ve learned how this technique can help you write winning songs, go ahead and give it a try.

You’ll be amazed with the results.

About the Author:

Ron Balagot is a songwriter/musician/writer and a graduate of the world-renowned Grove School of Music. Through articles like this, he hopes to help aspiring songwriters attain their songwriting goals. You can reach him at: balagot.ron@gmail.com

You’re free to reprint this article on your website, or in your newsletter/ezine—provided the article’s contents are not altered in any way—and that you include this resource box at the bottom of the article.

Now you know why I'm calling it the 'stop/start' technique. I never would have thought that working in short 30 minute spurts would be so productive.

I love the quote "creativity is what happens between your thoughts", it is so very true. I am going to give this a go myself. I will let you know what I come up with.

Until next time, happy writing,

Corey Stewart
Singer/Songwriter/Musician
www.coreystewartonline.com
www.soultradermusic.com
www.theliarsbench.com

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