I Create Videos for a Living, but I Also Love To Write. Here’s Why.
I’m a full-time video producer, so why do I write?
Two computer screens lightly illuminate a black desk.
The aroma of white cranberry and musk fills the room as tired fingers swiftly cross one another on a clicky mechanical keyboard. A small candle lightly illuminates the keyboard as the soundtrack from the film Vice, by Nicholas Britell, plays in the background through big over-ear headphones.
Typing abruptly stops.
The fingers begin to twitch restlessly. I stare out the dark, cold window for a beat grabbing my fingers to calm them down. Silence fills the room. I take a deep breath, stretching my fingers as I exhale. The now rejuvenated fingers begin typing again…
I may not be the best writer out there, but I love to tell stories and I love to write.
There’s something about thinking of an idea, like the scene above, and then immediately being able to paint your idea through words on a page.
I’m a video producer by trade, so don’t get me mistaken; I still like creating videos. However, I occasionally traverse other mediums to tell stories and to get my thoughts out to hone my creative muscles.
I do this to avoid creative burnout.
When your creative passion, in my case filmmaking, becomes your full-time job, you may lose the spark you once had now that your passion becomes the way you make a living. When this switch occurs, you may view your passion differently and sometimes in a negative light.
I can still tell stories or communicate my thoughts and emotions as I do in my videos, but I’m using a different medium.
What I truly love about writing is that there isn’t always an accompanying visual. Often, the visual is created in the reader’s own mind by their own interpretation of the words on the page.
If you’re a creator and you’re experiencing burnout, challenge yourself. Try creating in a different medium then leave a comment and let me know how it goes!
The finger stop clicking on the keyboard. The flame in the candle dances for a few more beats before a cool, light breath exhales over the flame extinguishing the sole light in the room.
