Lately I have been trying to make time to write more. Thing is I failed. Every time I had an idea I found I had little to no time to develop it and I would reach a dead-end. The latest essay about historical awareness and political correctness is a small miracle because I thought I could not finish it at first. Then I thought “fuck it” and finished it anyway. Dead ends and new ideas are part of the writing process.

One thing I did was changing my methods. When I have the time to write I tend to simply sit down and write. Well now I have a full-time job and there is less time to sit down and write. So when there is something I want to work on I take a sheet of paper and reel off the topic, title, keywords and structure in a quick draft for further development. Reminds me of the “mis-en-place” concept in hospitality. “Mis-en-place”, in short “m.e.p.” means “put in place.”

Also when I mention “changing my methods” I mean literally everything. In my student days I had more time to think. Nowadays I have less time and more pressure to get things done, working life. Even getting inspiration for an idea to develop it in to a topic has to go faster. Sometimes I need a picture and sometimes I need a sentence that says everything. These days I draw much inspiration from photography because the process of “idea-development-something” goes faster.

Despite changing methods and a different approach to blogging I am still a slow writer. Writing slows everything down and directly confronts me with the dead ends and my ideas in several states. In recent weeks, more specifically December 2015 I have not been able to write as consistently as expected.

Monday I left home earlier to make some test shots with my new lens. Then I saw this alley in the city centre near Nieuwezijds-Voorburgwal, left of the Dam boulevard. I saw what I saw and focused. Between focusing on the composition and pressing the shutter button there was no thought. In the blink of an eye light was captured.

I saw a dead-end and new ideas…