Dear Sir:
I like words. I like fat buttery words, such as ooze, turpitude, glutinous, toady.
I like solemn, angular, creaky words, such as straitlaced, cantankerous, pecunious, valedictory.
I like spurious, black-is-white words, such as mortician, liquidate, tonsorial, demi-monde.
I like suave “V” words, such as Svengali, svelte, bravura, verve.
I like crunchy, brittle, crackly words, such as splinter, grapple, jostle, crusty.
I like sullen, crabbed, scowling words, such as skulk, glower, scabby, churl.
I like Oh-Heavens, my-gracious, land’s-sake words, such as tricksy, tucker, genteel, horrid.
I like elegant, flowery words, such as estivate, peregrinate, elysium, halcyon.
I like wormy, squirmy, mealy words, such as crawl, blubber, squeal, drip.
I like sniggly, chuckling words, such as cowlick, gurgle, bubble and burp.
I like the word screenwriter better than copywriter, so I decided to quit my job in a New York advertising agency and try my luck in Hollywood, but before taking the plunge I went to Europe for a year of study, contemplation and horsing around.
I have just returned and I still like words.
May I have a few with you?
Robert Pirosh
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Robert Pirosh's cover letter is a masterpiece.
It's a perfect example of the mantra: SHOW DON'T TELL
Written in 1934 after he'd quit his job, he sent it to as many Hollywood directors, producers and studio executives as he could find.
The letter led to his first screenwriting job at MGM. 15 years later, he won the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay.
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If you're a creative, selling yourself can be embarrassing.
Don't be embarrassed. Be like Robert Pirosh and make it art.
