Being an effective writer derives from being a voracious reader, despite the penchant to edit everything you read.
It comes from being in the right place at the right time and the need to know. How do things work? What drives people? Why did this happen?
It requires minute timing to catch the right glance, word, message. It is born of an innate gene to hone in on input. It permeates our cores where a need for answers drives us relentlessly.
And yes, a large part of it may just be due to a lifetime of curiosity. However, fine-tuning is imperative. People not only read what we have to say, but they should also be compelled to do so. Often that occurs through my photos, although more frequently through my words.
I live among you with a microscope on the absurd, the mundane and anything else that falls in my path. I walk through life as others do, but am more energized by running and jumping. I talk--with relish!--but hear more than the average person does when I listen. I hear the grass grow. I hear hearts break. I hear the whispers of the past, the uncertain promise of the future, and what is the only relevant constant, the present.
I find life continually interesting; it's always necessary to tell the stories.
It's noisy most of the time, though - life is messy.
I've worked in all of it -- from newspapers, magazines, books and online to creating copy for brochures, websites, catalogs, public relations gigs and greeting cards. Each was uniquely challenging and I've loved it all. The true soul of a writer doesn't entail penning reviews about vampire movies or blogging about my little microcosm. Writers shouldn't box themselves in creatively.
A successful day is one in which I have learned; I welcome every sunrise that delivers interesting things that I can then reflect back through words or photos.
Enjoy what I consider accomplishments and the moments that stand still in my photographs. When it's all said and done, know that I did my best to tell the stories. And, let them stand the test of time.
Wendy Clem is a Michigan-based writer/photographer whose greatest joy is laughter. She especially loves culling today's news and interpreting it for people with intelligence. She profusely apologizes, but she really can't help herself.
After all, she's an Aquarian, with Libra rising, the sun in her head and moon in her pants. And when she speaks in the third person, she needs chocolate. Stat.
