h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Hi Dmitri and other folks! Thanks for the kind words you say about me there. I wouldn't know about genius, but I do try and become better. I would like to try and be better as a writer too. What I'd like to mention in the context of sketching, which may be relevant to writing too: I always have a goal in mind with everything I sketch. I want to:

- Work to get the lines, shapes, proportions, textures and overall impact of my subject right
- Work with elements of composition, mainly dark/light and positioning of various objects, and where to emphasize details
- Work on the mechanical skills, mainly, 'hardwiring' certain drawing processes so as to be able to reproduce them easier and more fluently later
- Work on speed and accuracy
- Familiarising myself with every aspect of my subjects, being able to draw/paint them from different angles, in motion, performing various activities.

That, and more. I never ever get such a thing as 'painter's block'. I sometimes wonder what to work on next as a big painting, and my sketches often supply me with ideas and inspiration.

Is any of this applicable to writing? I think the idea of goal-oriented writing practice could work, but then one has to realise that there are intrinsic differences between writing and visual art. But I do think that when one considers the 'elements' involved in writing, and if one thinks of the specific goals one wants to achieve in any particular piece of writing, one could self-criticise and figure out what needs work, and then do little writing projects to practice that, and submit them to others for criticism. This could in fact be quite an imaginative exercise! What do you think?

Oh, I agree with that.

For instance, I was just note-taking on a short film we were watching from an archive. I was choosing a few quotes, and making snarky comments about them. That's one kind of writing - and, as you can see from the often rather feeble attempts you run across online, one that could well be improved on most humorous 'review' sites.

Working on descriptions, dialogue - even merely practicing to get better at being succinct - are all worthy forms of 'sketching', I think.