How does drawing what we see relate to writing what we experience? Are we as self-conscious? (See below.) In a question I posed here called "Why can't we draw what we see" I asked why Piaget and other developmental psychologists noted a falling off of attempts to draw at the age of puberty. Also self reporting of how it felt to draw register more dissatisfaction with one's one efforts at this age and on. In college writing classes I would start with this "ice breaker" to get students acquainted: DRAW A FISH. Just a cartoon fish or whatever. Would they draw a big fish or a tiny one and would they include context (background.) No grades. They would look at partner's fish and see what it told about the partner. Several students usually protested that they couldn't draw and showed evident drawing anxiety. They alluded to experiences outside class of not being able to draw. In writing what we experience are similar self-doubts inhibiting writing? Are the two activities connected cognitively in close ways? I wish I could have tracked whether the same people who said they couldn't draw also showed writing anxiety.
References:
Journal of Projective Techniques and Personality Assessment 25.3
Handler, Leonard and Joseph Reyher. “Figure Drawing Anxiety Indexes: A Review of the Literature.” Journal of Projective Techniques and Personality Assessment 25.3 (1963): 305-313.
There is also the factor of taboo and denial. I mean that these influence inability to write on certain topics as well and any writing skill considerations or more general self-esteem issues.
College writing instructors in general feel that writing can help resolve quandaries and painful past issues.
Drawing is claimed to demand that both parietal lobes are activated but people differ in this aspect.
There is an interesting, dated, discussion from the University of Iowa about anxiety in art education that may be relevant, at https://ir.uiowa.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1042&context=mzwp
I appreciate the varied ideas you have on this topic. Often people have a kernel of a story and just bog down because they don't know how to write what they have experienced. The are different emotional reasons for this, of course; but I think the cognitive requirments in many cases are less than having the desire to write and valuing that activity enough to make a couple drafts.
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