The Transcript

4 Things That Make Writers Famous

Demian Farnworth: Hi, welcome to Rough Draft, your daily dose of essential web writing advice. I m your host, Demian Farnworth, Chief Content Writer for Copyblogger Media.

And thank you for sharing the next few minutes of your life with me.

So this is Episode 18. It s called The Exceptional Writers Club. It s a club I m pretty certain you want to join. If you are not in it already.

It will be a series. Five parts. This is the first part. An introduction. I want to open by reading the introduction I mentioned two episodes ago.

The one that I had an idea for after watching the documentary It Might Get Loud. This was a scene in the movie that the moment I saw it I knew I needed to use it.

An Elegant Quote from Jack White on the Essence of the Battle for Online Attention

So here s the opening:

A man and boy sit in an old house crowded with furniture, sunlight, and dust.

The man stomps his foot on the hard-wood floor. He s wearing a white shirt, black jacket, and black derby hat.

The boy is wearing the identical outfit. A guitar rests on his tiny knee. Tiny fingers grip the strings. Tiny fingers pluck the strings.

The man is nodding, rocking as the boy plays.

The man is Jack White of The White Stripes, The Ranconteurs, and Dead Weather fame.

The boy is his Jack s younger self.

Jack White is one of our best living guitarists. And he is teaching his son how to play.

This scene is part of the documentary It Might Get Loud. Jack White is the youngest of three generations of guitarists showcased.

Jimmy Page and The Edge are the other two. It doesn t matter. The best part of this film happens in this old house crowded with furniture, sunlight and dust.

It happens when Jack White is teaching his younger self how to play the guitar. It happens when Jack White says, You have to fight the guitar

And you have to win.

I love that. That s an incredible piece of advice for playing guitar.

For writing. For life. It s back alley wisdom. A tip you might get from an older brother in a vacant lot before your first fistfight.

You have to fight. And you have to win.

What it Looks Like to Turn Someone Else s Idea Into Your Own

The reason I like this some much is it reflects the essence of the battle for attention online. Overcoming obscurity. Conquering neglect.

It s a war of attrition. When everyone has a voice. No one has a voice. So you have to fight guitar. And you have to win. You have to subdue. The victory goes to the last man standing.

That s the essence. In other words, fight until you win. There is hope, but you have to fight.

It could take three months. It could take three years.

But it s not enough to just fight.

The 4 Things That Make Writers Legendary

You don t become one of the greatest living guitarists without a little strategy, technique, a lot of knowledge and a pinch of flair.

These are things that make guitarists world famous. And writers legendary.

So, next week we ll look at how these four categories can help you become an exceptional writer

An Event That Will Help You Become an Exceptional Writer

And you know what else can help you become an exceptional writer? Attending our Authority Rainmaker live event this May in beautiful Denver, Colorado at the exquisite Ellie Caulkins Opera House.

This Opera is something else. In fact, it makes me want to sing in opera the lineup of speakers.

Chris Brogan, Dan Pink, punk legend Henry Rollins, fascination aficionado Sally Hogshead, Danny Sullivan, Joanna Lord, Scott Brinker Ann Handley, Sean D Souza, our very own Brian Clark, Sonia Simone, Pamela Wilson, Jerod Morris and, so on.

This is a one-track, graduate level education in online marketing. Traffic, design, conversion, writing. In two days. But you gotta register. At rainmaker.fm/event.