Imagine a reticent young man walking into a new monthly magazine office to submit his second or the third article… and from the rows of cubicles where serious sub-editors sat, one gets up suddenly, stops him and says, ‘Your article left an impression. Wonder if you can share the secret of staying true and creating a balance between thoughts, words, and actions?’ The young man stops and lets the praise sink in, smiles and then says, ‘I guess I write about what I believe in.’
So true. Writing is all about richness of character and a perfect balance. It is all about writing from the heart and in your own voice. The young man I mentioned is me more than twenty years ago and the necessity to stay true is once again reinforced today as I watched this romantically honest Ballantine’s video:
Staying true isn’t about getting into an aggressive mode or being brutally honest about anything… we can all do it through self-belief and conviction. It is quite simple really. Writing is not so much a crafty art as it is about a hearty craft! The goal of a good piece of writing isn’t leaving an impression at all but to allow the organic truth of life blend in with creative ideas and tell everything honestly with the help of the right words. It is almost what is done by Master Blender Sandy Hyslop, continuing the brand’s tradition of Master Blenders that dates back to 1827. A writer is a master blender really!
As I watched the video embedded with this post, I realised that true expression deftly makes its way through a rather hazardous route lined by howling sycophants and false turns that lead into the sly heart of shifting loyalties. The only way to scramble to the true route is navigating back perched on self-belief. If you think this is becoming too abstract for writing which is more of a practical art of choosing and placing the right words at the right spot, let me just say that the right words tend to come astride character and integrity. Only then do they come together to create a piece that stays true and leaves an impression, so to say. This is almost what Gabriel Macht, the protagonist in the video, said, “It is an honour for me to shoot for Ballantine’s well-crafted campaign in line with its philosophy of ‘Stay True’. This association is a perfect match as I truly relate to brand’s attribute of staying true to one’s character and maintaining one’s integrity. Ballantine’s is one of the finest whiskies with unique richness of character and perfect balance. It has been a memorable experience shooting for the campaign and hope the Indian audience will appreciate it too.”
The campaign video did make me think about what forms and all that does not form the crux of good writing. It also made me think of all the new ways I try to stumble upon to write even one sentence that has the power to walk in and make friends with strangers. Almost like the new Ballantine’s Brasil, a spirit drink made from selectively cask steeping Scotch whisky with Brazilian lime peel… because it is new, yet undiscovered flavours that give a written piece its unique existence. Haven’t I written earlier that a writer is truly a master blender?
So what if I am able to write only a few hundred pieces of good writing every year and not sell over 70 million bottles as Ballantine’s, the No.1 Scotch whisky in Europe and the No.2 Scotch whisky in the world, does? So what if I am happy with a few heart-felt comments on my blog and haven’t won more than 130 trophies and medals at international competitions in the past 10 years as Ballantine’s has done? I think I am still a master blender who cares for each sentence and each paragraph and knows that every word chosen to be a part of them needs to do its job well. I need to cask my thoughts well to give them their unique richness of expression… after all I am not just any writer but a master blender!
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The writer as a master blender
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Arvind Passey
21 May 2015
