Listen to the voices inside your head

I still use my old mum as a benchmark to check my copy. Bless her, she’s been dead for two years.

Why do I still use her as my sounding board? It’s not because I’m suffering from some kind of Norman Bates-like syndrome or ‘cos I can’t let go. It’s simply because I knew her so well.

 If I’m in any doubt about whether any of my copy or creative ideas are crystal clear, I just think, ‘What would my old mum have made of it?’

 She wouldn’t have wasted a second telling me that it was ‘complicated’ – or ‘that it didn’t make sense’. Or the classic, ‘That’s just stupid, Andrew!’ (always Andrew, never Andy).

All the tech in the world won’t ever replace real writing for real people. So always keep someone in your head when you’re scribbling away. Someone you know really well. It’s a great way to make sure your thinking stays human and to keep you well grounded.