Farewell to a maverick

Long before it became an industry where talented graduates pursued a career, advertising was home to mavericks.

And one of the most maverick of them all was Kurt Vonnegut, who sadly passed away this week.

Long before he became an author Vonnegut worked in PR, did a stint as a copywriter and also ran a Saab dealership.

Here are some of the Slaughterhouse Five author’s finest tips for writers:

“Start as close to the end as possible.”

“Write to please just one person. If you open a window and make love to the world, so to speak, your story will get pneumonia.”

“Every sentence must do one of two things — reveal character or advance the action.”

And last of all, my personal favourite:

“Use the time of a total stranger in such a way that they will not feel the time was wasted.”