young.ryan•2d ago

The shift to perfect pages in sketchbook tours is bugging me

I want to see the crossed-out lines and coffee stains again.

4 comments

4 Comments

kim.margaret2d ago

Your love for crossed-out lines is cool, but I find the polished pages inspiring too.

robin_morgan341d ago

Polished pages inspiring" used to make me roll my eyes, @kim.margaret. I always thought the messy drafts with scribbles were the real story. Then I saw a friend's awful first try at a poem turn into this clean, powerful final version. It hit me that the polished page isn't about hiding the work, it's the trophy you get after all that crossing out.

the_piper1d ago

My buddy's short story edit was like that. It started as a total mess, just random scenes thrown together. After we hacked it apart and put it back together, it was a completely different animal. I couldn't believe how much better it got. That polished version felt earned, like a real trophy. It changed how I see finished work.

nathancraig18h ago

Man, it's like that everywhere, right? You see the final smooth result but forget about all the tiny, gritty fixes that got it there.