The recurring writer’s block
Words by Frank Lottermann, Managing Director | Creative Director
The recurring writer’s block
Words by Frank Lottermann, Managing Director | Creative Director
Writing between ambition and doubt
For several years now, I have had the pleasure – or rather, the honour – of writing for FAZ Magazin and DIE ZEIT. As much as I love writing, it is also an immense source of stress for me. This is because I am regularly plagued by the same dream: that I can’t manage to finish the article, so I have to ring the editor-in-chief and, in tears, beg to be replaced by someone else who can do it better. In the dream, I see my fellow writers in the office, looking at me from the side, shaking their heads and muttering something about ‘cobblers’, ‘lasts’ and a quiet ‘Why?’.
After all, it’s about more than just writing a snappy headline or an attention-grabbing subheading. It’s a piece published in Germany’s two leading daily and weekly newspapers. This article must therefore stand up to scrutiny alongside the numerous outstanding articles in these publications. That’s why, every time I sit down to write – and believe me, I spend a very, very long time working on each article – I ask myself: ‘Why on earth are you putting yourself through this?’
A critical examination of one’s own self
What we tell our clients’ purchasing departments…
Lorenzo Bizzi, a business graduate, and Frank Lottermann, a design graduate, met whilst at university. They soon discovered their shared passion for design and events – and founded the agency Nordisk Büro in 1996.
Today, the full-service agency – with over 30 staff and offices in Frankfurt and Hamburg – specialises in strategic brand communication with a keen eye for presentation. It has received numerous international awards for its work.
… and how it really was
Lorenzo and Frank met in the late 1980s. They became friends – and stagehands. At the Offenbach Theatre, later at trade fairs, somewhere between cable reels and backdrops.
After completing their studies, they briefly tried the conventional career path:
Frank went to MetaDesign in Berlin, Lorenzo to Accenture in Frankfurt.
After finishing their degrees, they briefly tried out the conventional career path:
Frank went to MetaDesign in Berlin, Lorenzo to Accenture in Frankfurt.
That lasted exactly until Lorenzo rang Frank:
“Mate, come back to Frankfurt – we’re doing something awesome.”
The financial basis for this idea was modest at first. In other words: parties.
They rented a vacant building with a 600-square-metre warehouse next to the freight station. They told Deutsche Bahn they would be “storing event equipment” there. Deutsche Bahn believed them. They were given keys, a contract – and, remarkably, never a rent invoice. Perhaps that explains Deutsche Bahn’s empty coffers.
What we tell our clients’ purchasing departments…
Lorenzo Bizzi, a business graduate, and Frank Lottermann, a design graduate, met whilst at university. They soon discovered their shared passion for design and events – and founded the agency Nordisk Büro in 1996.
Today, the full-service agency – with over 30 staff and offices in Frankfurt and Hamburg – specialises in strategic brand communication with a keen eye for presentation. It has received numerous international awards for its work.
… and how it really was
Lorenzo and Frank met in the late 1980s. They became friends – and stagehands. At the Offenbach Theatre, later at trade fairs, somewhere between cable reels and backdrops.
After completing their studies, they briefly tried the conventional career path:
Frank went to MetaDesign in Berlin, Lorenzo to Accenture in Frankfurt.
After finishing their degrees, they briefly tried out the conventional career path:
Frank went to MetaDesign in Berlin, Lorenzo to Accenture in Frankfurt.
That lasted exactly until Lorenzo rang Frank:
“Mate, come back to Frankfurt – we’re doing something awesome.”
The financial basis for this idea was modest at first. In other words: parties.
They rented a vacant building with a 600-square-metre warehouse next to the freight station. They told Deutsche Bahn they would be “storing event equipment” there. Deutsche Bahn believed them. They were given keys, a contract – and, remarkably, never a rent invoice. Perhaps that explains Deutsche Bahn’s empty coffers.
The answer is quite simple: it’s a task that really challenges me and forces me to step out of my comfort zone as a Creative Director. I don’t have a client sitting opposite me with whom I can gradually work through a topic in conversation. Instead, there is a publisher who, quite rightly, expects a text that they essentially just need to edit. The process of working through the topic therefore takes place primarily with myself, and I am very critical of my writer’s self.
Strictly speaking, my wife is to blame for these recurring stressful situations. She’s part of the photography duo Lottermann & Fuentes and keeps telling the FAZ or DIE ZEIT: “Sure, Frank can write the article.” The first time, it was a piece about Erwin Wurm, our Austrian artist friend. “Great,” I thought to myself at the time, “let’s start with Erwin Wurm – it doesn’t have to be anything too demanding straight away.” This was followed by conversations and meetings with Dakis Ioannou, Jeff Koons and Adam Cohen, Leonard Cohen’s son – projects which, as it turned out, didn’t necessarily make things any easier.
You might think that with regular practice, writing such articles would become second nature. But that’s not the case – at least not for me. Rather, with every new assignment, my respect grows for the writers at the FAZ and ZEIT, who publish exciting articles every single day, maintaining a consistently high standard of quality. Hats off to them!
The answer is quite simple: it’s a task that really challenges me and forces me to step out of my comfort zone as a Creative Director. I don’t have a client sitting opposite me with whom I can gradually work through a topic in conversation. Instead, there is a publisher who, quite rightly, expects a text that they essentially just need to edit. The process of working through the topic therefore takes place primarily with myself, and I am very critical of my writer’s self.
Strictly speaking, my wife is to blame for these recurring stressful situations. She’s part of the photography duo Lottermann & Fuentes and keeps telling the FAZ or DIE ZEIT: “Sure, Frank can write the article.” The first time, it was a piece about Erwin Wurm, our Austrian artist friend. “Great,” I thought to myself at the time, “let’s start with Erwin Wurm – it doesn’t have to be anything too demanding straight away.” This was followed by conversations and meetings with Dakis Ioannou, Jeff Koons and Adam Cohen, Leonard Cohen’s son – projects which, as it turned out, didn’t necessarily make things any easier.
You might think that with regular practice, writing such articles would become second nature. But that’s not the case – at least not for me. Rather, with every new assignment, my respect grows for the writers at the FAZ and ZEIT, who publish exciting articles every single day, maintaining a consistently high standard of quality. Hats off to them!
