Guest blogger Steve Spatucci applies a watercolor concept to writing.
I was an Illustration major in college, and one of the classes in my major was Intro to Watercolor. Painting with watercolors has a surprising amount of rules and idiosyncrasies – different colors blend in different ways, and some have unexpected qualities when laid on paper. One technique I learned is the "wet edge". Watercolors tend to dry quickly, and once an area dries completely, its edge becomes defined - even if you try to expand it later. So, if you're painting a large area and you don't want visible separations, you have to retain a wet edge by continuously adding water to the boundaries you're working on, never letting it dry.
Only recently did I make the connection from the wet edge technique to writing. When I'm stuck on a story, I've found that the longer I stay away from the piece, the harder it is to get back into it – and sometimes it even winds up being abandoned.
Most writers have noticed this; the write-anything-even-if-it's-bad concept isn't new. But thinking of the wet edge when I'm having a hard time continuing is a nice little extra reminder that adding even just a sentence or two will prevent my story from being finished before it's complete.
If you’d like to learn more about Steve, his website is http://www.stevespatucci.com
Steve has a brand-new website for screenwriting and film treatments:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.stevespatucciscreenplays.com/