When I was a kid, I wanted to be an animator. I loved drawing Looney Tunes characters. I did it so much that I can still draw them, years later, though having done it seldom in the interim.

Of course, I changed my mind and decided to be a writer. I would still draw and doodle, and I even had a cartoon strip in the university newspaper later, but I tended to write a lot more than draw.

A couple of weeks ago, I decided that I wanted to get back to drawing on a regular basis. The best way to fit that into my schedule and make sure I actually did it was to spend a few minutes each night sketching and drawing before I go to bed.

I have received compliments on and some small awards for drawings before, so I suppose I’d say I have talent in the area. People have said, “I wish I could draw like that.” For years, I’ve been convinced that most people could “draw like that” if they really wanted to.

Okay, maybe they wouldn’t draw exactly like me, but they could draw well. My opinion is that many people can develop artistic talent if they tried it and kept at it.

A big part of drawing well, I realized about the time that I started sketching again, is observation. When you see a drawing done by a child, it can look wrong and twist your eyes a bit. If you think about it, you may decide that it’s because the perspective is wrong, or objects are the wrong sizes in proportion to each other. That’s because often, children haven’t quite learned to transfer what they see onto paper the way they see it. (Some adults do that on purpose, but I’m not getting into a discussion on interpretation and personal perspective here.)

I believe that if a person were to take the time to really observe the world, he could draw it—with some practice, perhaps. I’ve never taken an art class with focus on anatomy, but I look at people and think about where their joints are in relation to each other and where the curves and lines are, so I can draw decent human figures. Drawing well can be helped by also observing what other people create and analyzing their techniques.

For me, drawing and writing have a number of parallels. One of these is the fact that doing it well takes careful observation, to see things as they are, and even to see beyond what’s apparent to the eye or other senses. When we say someone is observant and we’re not being sarcastic, we’re usually saying not that the person sees what’s apparent, but that she sees what’s below the surface.

Particularly, in technical communication, much of our work is about observation. We interview, we watch users, we ask ourselves questions, we get as much of the audience’s perspective as we can so that we can provide the right information—so our writing is effective. Much of the time, good content means getting past what’s apparent, especially if it’s what we think is apparent.

So what I think about drawing applies to writing too: If you want to do it well, take the time to look around and observe. Look beyond the surface, make connections, and establish relationships. You may find a talent or reach a higher degree of effectiveness and satisfaction in what you’re already doing.

Related entries:

The Auditory Learning Style in Tech Writing

Writing Documentation Like a Real, Live Person

Visualization Can Improve Writing

The Tactile Learning Style in Tech Writing

A Way to Get Technical Writing Practice