BE a Writer

Photo of yours truly, by Vince James Photography

Photographer and awesome friend of mine, Vince James, has just revamped his website and blog.  Yes, the very Vince James who did my author photos (and my couple shoot, and my family photos and yet another shoot coming up this weekend... Can you tell I love his work?)

He is currently taking an online Pro class from yet another amazing photographer (Brooke Snow) and has redesigned his entire site in preparation for the weekly posted assignments.

(First assignment of which he should be posting anytime now.  I had the chance to video this shoot and let me tell you: it was too much fun!)

A few days ago Vince wrote a post about 5 things he has learned in regards to being a photographer.  Though it is written with a photographer in mind, every thought he wrote can easily (and perfectly) be applied to all us creative types out there.  It has literally been stuck in my head since first reading it.

I won't repost the entire post.  If you would like a chance to read his thoughts, check it out here.  (Do it.  Just do it.)  I do want to share the 5th point he made though.  In Vince's words:

BE a photographer, cherish those unique experiences. Driving home from a shoot with that amazing feeling, knowing that you nailed it. Seeing your photos in print and realizing how much they mean to your clients. Shooting a session for free because the person honestly needs it and cannot afford it. Looking back at your old work and marveling at how bad it looks to you now, but being grateful that it got better. Those moments make everything else worthwhile.  Hold on to them and remember them, for those days when seemingly everything goes wrong.

Now, I know not all of you are photographers out there.  This is a writing blog.  All about writing.  Books.  Literature mayhem.  So let me take a moment to translate me thoughts into Vince's, so you can all see what I read in my hectic mind:

BE a writer.  Cherish those unique experiences.  Finishing that final chapter with that amazing feeling, knowing that you nailed it.  Seeing your writing in print and realizing how much your words mean to your readers.  Writing a simple poem, blog post, email or letter solely to share yourself with the people who will read it.  Looking back at your old work and marveling at how bad it is to you now, but being grateful that it got better.  Those moments make everything else worthwhile.  Hold onto them and remember them for those days when seemingly everything goes wrong.

See?  Even advice written for photography can so easily bleed over into our writing world.  Thank you Vince for your words of awesome inspiration.  One artist to another.

I hope you all take a moment today to BE a writer.  I know I sure will.

Happy Writing!