Writing I

Writing has never been something that I have done or wanted to do voluntarily, reading also, but not to such an extent. As a child I was often unsupervised so I watched a ridiculous amount of television. My mom would kick me out of the house and tell me to go play but very rarely would she tell me to read a book. Between the excess TV, lack of Ritalin and a surplus of sugar I developed a classic case of ADD. Over the years I have realized that reading and writing are a necessity and should not be viewed as the hassle that I used to think of them as. I have accepted them and put forth goals that require me to read and write for the purpose of gaining knowledge on subjects of my choice. Furthermore, acknowledging that ADD and making the effort to conquer it has helped substantially in my efforts to remain in front of my computer, a magazine or book for more than 15 minutes at a time. I've wanted to write so that I can convey information in a sensible, reliable and matter of fact format. I've wanted to tell a story that is cohesive, has a body that leads the reader down a road with somewhat clear directions but leaving room for interpretation and speculation.
My writing philosophy has a few aspects, but most important to me are the facts that are presented that inform about an event, person or place. The other is the story that tells of who, when, where and most significantly "why". I want to write in a manner that matches what I like to read. I prefer non-fiction, I like the facts that support who a person, place or event are defined by. However, after saying that, it will be strange to hear that my favorite film genre is science fiction.
Writing has induced an unusual type of creativity and I feel that it has begun a process that will pair my visual creativity with textual. I have always told stories through photography and recently decided to supplement a certain set of images with my own thoughts, lyrics and quotes appropriate to the imagery. One thing this accomplishes is that it slows the viewer down and gives them more insight into the image through the text and insight into the text via the image. There are certain elements throughout my life that I desire and require. It is that form of structure that has paved the way for me to develop a better understanding of what I like to write about as well as how. I have always thought about my photography leading the way and my writing to be something that complimented the imagery. This may be true as far as artist statements and exhibitions go but in the editorial world it seems to be opposite. Fantastic imagery should support a story, but no matter how great those photos may be, a shitty story is still shitty, and it may in fact bring those photos down with it.
There are hurdles placed in front of us everyday of our lives. It is our choice to prioritize those hurdles and chose which ones we attempt to conquer for our own specific, individual reasons. Sometimes we have a choice and other times we have to jump that hurdle whether we want to or not. In the end one thing becomes clear, if we do not even attempt those hurdles, we know that without putting forth the effort that we will never know what we are capable of attaining.