The Bates College Musuem of Art presents

Putting it All Together

After you have gone through Lessons 1-8, you will have acquired a set of techniques to approach writing in a way that is analogous to how artists make pictures. But each technique was viewed separately. Now, let’s put them all together, working from a single picture.

Choose one of the images that you find interesting.

1. The first thing that both writers and artists must do is to observe. Look at the picture intently.

2. Make a list of objective observations about the picture—single words or small groups of words are fine. Complete sentences are not necessary.

3. Play with words a bit, searching your vocabulary for the best words to most accurately or artfully describe the picture. Use a thesaurus and dictionary.

4. Make lines—complete sentences—from your list of words. Can you make any lines that are similar to the kinds of lines in the picture?

5. Play with rhythms and motifs. What things does the artist repeat that you might return to frequently in your writing? Can you use sounds of words to make interesting, accurate, and entertaining word combinations?

6. Make another list of observations—this time subjective ones. How does the picture make you feel? Why? What is the mood of the picture? Why? What do you think the artist wanted you to think and feel? Why? Do you like the picture? Why? What are some other questions you can ask that demand subjective answers?

7. Sketch out your ideas. Which sentences belong with which paragraphs? How should paragraphs be arranged?

8. Make some studies of particular parts of the picture that are very important and which you need more information on for your writing project. Look carefully at details. Can you make studies of only objective information, or can you study subjective things, too?

9. Using all of your material and write a draft.

10. Read over your draft. Will revisions make it better? Do you need more information in some paragraphs? Do you need additional paragraphs? Is there any superfluous material that you can delete that will sharpen the focus of your written project? Check spelling, grammar, and punctuation!

11. Repeat step 10. Like the artists you’ve looked at, be very critical about what works and what doesn’t. Your best work will come from sustained effort.

12. Have someone else repeat step 10 for you. That person might catch mistakes that you’ve overlooked.

13. Make any final revisions and submit your final composition.

14. Just for fun, you might count the words in your essay. More than a thousand?