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Dare to live beyond your means, attract a level up by nature
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Ladies and gentlemen! Surprise! I am pleased to announce that I will be have a conversation with Mandisi Dyantyis this afternoon via @moziakafrica IG Live! I'd appreciate it it you join in If you have any questions feel free to drop them in the comments below or during the live I will do my best to read them all ❤️ Please follow @MoziakAfrica, share this post and tune in Let's go! https://www.instagram.com/p/CYn1N_UNqa0/?utm_medium=tumblr
#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 — the first or the very last — is always just a bunch of words on paper.
When you’re 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 wouldn’t 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. Here’s what you can learn about writing by watching painters at work.
Working in Layers
Most painters start with a rough sketch. They erase it so it’s 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 artist’s hand later on when she’s adding new layers on top. Without the sketches, it would be very hard for the artist to create the image. Even though you won’t see it in the finished work, the sketch is an essential part of the process.
Think of the first draft as the initial sketch — something to guide you when shaping the story to its final form. By the time you’re finished, you may have removed, replaced or rearranged every single word. That doesn’t make the first draft any less valuable. The finished story wouldn’t exist without it.
The Importance of the First Draft
As I said, the first draft is critically important, but it also isn’t. The details aren’t 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, you’ll have to cut entire chapters.
A painter won’t spend hours adding detailed shading to a sketch only to cover it with a layer of paint. That’d be ridiculous! As a writer, it’s 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 — 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 there’s no need to agonise about what does your protagonist order at Starbucks in scene 12.
That’s not to say that the details don’t matter. They can make or break a story, but they aren’t necessary when you’re working on the first draft.
It’s ok to leave things unfinished or keep writing even if you can’t decide or simply don’t 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. I’m not entirely sure why, to be honest. Perhaps our brain gets somehow confused because the first draft looks a lot like the final draft. They’re both just words on a page, and yet, they couldn’t be more different.
About the Author
Hi, I’m Radek 👋. I’m a writer, software engineer and the founder of Writing Analytics — an editor and writing tracker designed to help you beat writer’s block and create a sustainable writing routine.
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Past Editions
#207: On Being Stuck, August 2021
#206: 4 Reasons to Keep a Journal, August 2021
#205: It’s just Writing, July 2021
#204: What Will Your Story Look Like?, July 2021
#203: It Will Take Longer Than You Think, July 2021
[The Unconventional] road to post graduation. Bending the rules of the system, being black is a constant reminder to reprogramme yourself in the lens of defiance 🗞️ #writer #student #culture #scholar (at Oblivion) https://www.instagram.com/p/CSBXmuHtUr5/?utm_medium=tumblr
Ngesinye iskhathi kuyasiza uk'thula, ngesinye iskhathi kuyasiza uk'bika icala udlule, mukhuluma, khuluma kanye🐐 #poetryinsta #spokenwordspoetry #cashmerethoughts #jaguarscave (at No Mans Land) https://www.instagram.com/p/CR8dXlFN3Mv/?utm_medium=tumblr
Fear the army you can't hear, fear him when his garments swallow the heart he wore on his sleeve. Wisdom lies in the dogma of silence, listening and effective response. Speak Less Do More🕯️ #poetryinsta #spokenwordspoetry #cashmerethoughts #jaguarscave (at No Man's Land) https://www.instagram.com/p/CR5nwSCsm9f/?utm_medium=tumblr
I've never known a Pheonix to burn out, the status quo says, we rise from defeat and we exercise our right to fight the fuck back✨ #poetryinsta #spokenwordspoetry #cashmerethoughts #jaguarscave (at No Mans Land) https://www.instagram.com/p/CR1Y8b9tugL/?utm_medium=tumblr
The game will teach you one thing for sure: in no man's land? Everyone is a snake to at least one person, the cost of progress is hefty 🐐 #poetryinsta #spokenwordspoetry #cashmerethoughts #jaguarscave (at No Mans Land) https://www.instagram.com/p/CR3FG5iMH-u/?utm_medium=tumblr
Ultra Instinct is a state of being, it is the personification of self actualization. A S É N D to who you are❤️ #midnightthoughts💭 #lordwhis (at Cosmos) https://www.instagram.com/p/CQUTCsFtMyM/?utm_medium=tumblr
New Article Alert! This time I address corrupt culture within the youth as a means for us to take accountability for how we can contribute to the problem if we submit to the norms that sustain corruption at its helm. Youth Day Commemoration, Link In Bio #youthday #corruption #youthculture #sociopolitical #journalism (at Pietermaritzburg, KwaZulu-Natal) https://www.instagram.com/p/CQLeKmrn9Nl/?utm_medium=tumblr
I have been weighing on the realities that have slipped the minds of the youth of '76, the history that often repeats itself and gotten to a point where silence and sitting by the sidelines serves me no purpose or progress. Join me on Instagram Live with Wombanifesto tomorrow at 5PM to share poems and practical conversations to not only commemorate those who died for our freedoms but to take stock of the education, employment and youth issues we are facing and gather our thoughts to providing a solution. Some food for thought for now. https://culture-review.co.za/freedom-corrupts-absolutely https://www.poetrypotion.com/a-crime-that-paid-off-by-k-i-n-g-cedric/ [A S É N D] (at Pietermaritzburg, KwaZulu-Natal) https://www.instagram.com/p/CQJ2IAJtfXP/?utm_medium=tumblr
Always writing letters to my future self toasting my inevitable success. Remember me for optimism if nothing else ❤️✨
I haven't figured out what to do with my WordPress, I figure I can secure my bag with it,but my private writing space, my diary, my reflection haven should be this. I like the quiet here ❤️