I didn’t begin my “career” as a writer.
Nor did I study it.
In fact, I started on the dark side of the moon: photography. While others read the Iliad, I learnt how to make photographs, look at photographs and read photographs, a little like a book. I then fell into the world of white walls, wrapping and unwrapping and hanging artworks until I knew the ideal height to hang a picture better than I knew my own height.
But it was also in galleries where I started writing: PR, emails, reviews and those wall texts that almost never make it past gobbledygook (mine weren’t, I promise). But because photographs are almost always of something, I inevitably ended up writing about more than just pictures. From American road trips to mythological monsters. Which kindled a curiosity I couldn’t throw off.
And at its heart, I think that’s what writing is: being curious and finding the perfect words to express what you find. Looking back, I still think pictures were the best training ground for writing. Not because it was easy — pictures don’t write the best briefs — but perversely fruitful because of that. You have to think hard, reach far and write clearly.
Soon after, I found myself writing for brands. For neighbourhood restaurants, really-private VPNs (not all are — who knew), packaging pioneers, fitness apps, Dutch startups and beyond. And now, for Reed Words. Which, they may blush, is special. After all, they’re the only global agency using words and words alone to make brands stronger.
So whilst I’ll always tip my hat to pictures for opening the writing door, I think I’ve found my new training ground.
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