Outlines

Today I went with a friend of mine to watch her get a tattoo. She went to fix up an older tattoo of an arrow, and replaced it with a stemmed rose. In addition to being a cool thing to watch, it got me thinking; first, the idea of getting one myself is now very tempting, but also, the concept of outlines. 

Outlines are important. Before the artist started tattooing on the side of my friend's body, he first made a rough sketch on paper, then he transposed that image via sharpie to her skin. It took four revisions of that sharpie drawing before she was satisfied with it, and then the artist began the actual inking. 

Meanwhile, here I am at my laptop now, sitting with a half-finished outline of my paper. I continually learn that without an outline, my papers turn out disorganized to the point that I can't even figure out what I'm trying to say, let alone other people. It would be like getting a tattoo without deciding on placement, size, or even the image concept, and just letting the artist do "whatever".

Now maybe there are some artists that can produce something brilliant without an outline, but I'm not one of them (and that goes for both physical drawings, and my writing). 

Like the tattoo artist today, I need to revise the outline enough times until it is at the point that it will translate well to the finished work- the paper itself. 

Wish me luck.