“Sometimes it’s enough to offer clues.” – Rick Rubin #writing

“There’s a tremendous power in using the least amount of information to get a point across.”

“No need to take the audience by the hand and walk them through the work. Sometimes it’s enough to offer clues.”

Two insightful quotes from the legendary record producer Rick Rubin.

When we write corporate or marketing content, too often we fear the friction. Everything must be laid out and explained at a primary/elementary school level.

We’ve forgotten about the “intelligent layperson”, let alone the informed target audience we intended to engage. We create marketing muzak, fast food for the mind, content that’s easy, friction-free, inoffensive and, ultimately, forgettable.

Rubin has just published The Creative Act: A Way of Being which feels like a must-read. It’s already on its way to the top of my already Christmas-heavy Must Read Pile. The eternal challenge of tsundoku.

Image: CBSInteractive.