Great question! (And that’s awesome you’re a copywriter. I’ve studied copy as well — both when doing voiceovers and when writing for myself and other people — and it totally tightens up other writing.)

There’s a quote that I heard somewhere which really made sense to me and it goes something like this: I write to figure out how I feel. Some writers are obsessed with outlining before they start. I sometimes use that, but it’s usually after I’ve engaged with the idea by writing some passages. I’m not sure what I’m really thinking until I’ve written.

And I get the impulse to write when something has pissed me off in ways large and small. I have the thought and then grab whatever paper and pen are near and begin.

If I may suggest a book on writing? How to Write Funny has been so instructive. It gives you strategies to gets laughs. I write a lot of satire in my sketch comedy characters voices (both in video and in print) and even though I have a lot of experience with comedy and good writing, this book has been a recent guide to bump up the laughs even more. Sometimes having concrete structures around writing and help generate ideas.

Finding inspiration, especially for a writer, is sometimes very difficult. But I try to be inspired by simple things – a book, a film, the view outside the window, nature, people. It seems very simple, and the truth is, in fact, we often do not notice all that is beautiful that surrounds us and is our inspiration.

When people be like “hey mate you wrote a good one”

At least I’m honest