From photography to writing
In the middle of SoFoBoMo I made a realization: when it comes to a creative pursuit that I could see myself doing for a living, writing is really where it’s at for me. The difference between writing, photography, and music for me (all of which I have studied seriously) is that I can see myself writing almost *anything.* Music and photography I only enjoy if I feel I’m doing something “artistic” and even then, I fight for inspiration. Writing is an interesting craft for me at all times. I’d love to develop skills in writing fiction or other more “artistic” authoring pursuits, but it’s not necessary for me. I spend hours helping my wife edit emails and documents for her work and it’s just plain fun for me. I love finding the right word or reworking sentence construction to make a point as clear as possible. When I was in academia, laying out an argument leading the reader from A to Z was one of my most satisfying challenges.
I admit that I struggle between my inner geek who loves gadgets (e.g. cameras, lenses, synthesizers, instruments, etc.) and my Yankee/Scottish upbringing who loves the idea of creating with just a pencil and paper.
This struggle has currently found a meeting in my trying to find the perfect notebook. Over the past few years, I have been a fan of the ubiquitous Moleskine, but a combination of my frugal and iconoclastic tendencies have made me feel less enamored with the Moleskine line. A like-minded soul writing over at Black Cover is on a similar quest. If you are a fellow seeker, check out the posts there for some interesting alternatives to, or replacements for Moleskine notebooks.
As for me as a writer, I’m trying to write regularly, every day, although I’m not posting what I write (yet). That day will come, too. I can feel it.
