#208: Write Like a Painter
The initial sketches that an artist does in preparation for a painting look almost nothing like the finished product. For writers, the lines are a lot more blurry. A draft â the first or the very last â is always just a bunch of words on paper.
When youâre reading a story, you may imagine the writer sitting at his desk, writing those beautiful sentences down exactly as you see them. But that rarely ever happens. What the author wrote down in the first draft has been rewritten and edited many times before publication. In fact, you probably wouldnât even recognise the story by reading a passage from the first draft.
Writers and painters have a lot in common when it comes to the creative process. Hereâs what you can learn about writing by watching painters at work.
Most painters start with a rough sketch. They erase it so itâs barely visible and do another one on top. Then they start blocking in the colours and adding more and more detail.
The initial sketches guide the artistâs hand later on when sheâs adding new layers on top. Without the sketches, it would be very hard for the artist to create the image. Even though you wonât see it in the finished work, the sketch is an essential part of the process.
Think of the first draft as the initial sketch â something to guide you when shaping the story to its final form. By the time youâre finished, you may have removed, replaced or rearranged every single word. That doesnât make the first draft any less valuable. The finished story wouldnât exist without it.
The Importance of the First Draft
As I said, the first draft is critically important, but it also isnât. The details arenât important at all. A lot of the polishing and editing writers do while working on the first draft can be a waste of time. Often, youâll have to cut entire chapters.
A painter wonât spend hours adding detailed shading to a sketch only to cover it with a layer of paint. Thatâd be ridiculous! As a writer, itâs much easier to fall into the same trap.
Painters use the initial sketches to set the perspective of the image and find the right shapes. Writing is much the same â the important things in the first draft are the broad strokes that will define the shape of the narrative. You want to get your main characters in and hit all the crucial plot points. But thereâs no need to agonise about what does your protagonist order at Starbucks in scene 12.
Thatâs not to say that the details donât matter. They can make or break a story, but they arenât necessary when youâre working on the first draft.
Itâs ok to leave things unfinished or keep writing even if you canât decide or simply donât know something. Skip it, wing it, do whatever it takes so you can keep going. The first draft just has to exist. You can fix anything later.
Many writers (myself included) spend way more time and energy on the first draft than is necessary. Iâm not entirely sure why, to be honest. Perhaps our brain gets somehow confused because the first draft looks a lot like the final draft. Theyâre both just words on a page, and yet, they couldnât be more different.
Hi, Iâm Radek đ. Iâm a writer, software engineer and the founder of Writing Analytics â an editor and writing tracker designed to help you beat writerâs block and create a sustainable writing routine.
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#207: On Being Stuck, August 2021
#206: 4 Reasons to Keep a Journal, August 2021
#205: Itâs just Writing, July 2021
#204: What Will Your Story Look Like?, July 2021
#203: It Will Take Longer Than You Think, July 2021
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