OMG, I wrote a book!

And I think you're really gonna like it, because I wrote it for you.

Sarah NIsbett, Drawn On The Way, Subway, Author, girl reading book on train

Drawn On The Way: A Guide to Capturing the Moment Through Live Sketching

plant, drawing, cafe, drawn on the way — It's just you and me, plant ... let's do this

It was March 2020 and the U.S. was aswirl with rumors and reports about a novel coronavirus. I had just come back to Michigan for a “couple weeks” to wait for everything to blow over (hah). But I wasn’t even thinking about that, I was way more concerned with *how* I was going to write an entire book about how to draw.

I was terrified of starting, so to counter the fear, I took myself out to breakfast because I, like most dogs and well-behaved children, am food-motivated. I figured I’d allow the process that had gotten me here -- relax, look around, find the story that speaks to you, draw it -- help me to begin this next important step.

The first thing that caught my eye in this little cafe was this plant. And I began to draw it -- noting the way the top set of leaves had a reaching, optimistic quality. How they burst forth from the long, spindly “trunk”, like little pom-poms cheering on the plant to grow. These leaves became something I call “the hook” -- the emotional and physical starting place of a drawing. I used this drawing to illustrate and teach this concept in the book, and the accompanying text was the first copy I officially wrote for the book.

In some ways, this drawing -- and the experience of facing the fear to make it -- became “the hook” for my book. A place to start on something that would unfold in ways that I couldn’t yet know for sure, but if I stayed true to the reason for beginning, I would certainly be pleased at the end. And that is how it is with any good drawing -- or with anything we face in life: Relax, look around, listen to what is speaking to you, and follow it.

I can’t wait to take you through this joyful process of turning your world into a work of art. I'm excited for you to discover the strange and wonderful ways that a simple pen and sketchbook can teach you so much and help you see your world anew.

This has been a wild and wonderful journey; from that first commute, to the day I opened my email to find a note from my wonderful editor asking me if I’d like to write a book, to the moment I started drafting inside a folder titled “OMG I’M WRITING IT!,” to the day I turned in the final draft.

While I know that we never truly arrive, we are always on the way to the next thing, in this moment, I'm mighty glad to be here.

I’m humbled to call myself an author and I’m eternally grateful to each one of you who gave a like or left a comment to let me know that this idea resonates. I'm even gladder still for those of you who stuck around to be a part of this community dedicated to creativity and kindness.

I hope this book inspires you to find extraordinary in the everyday and to believe in the creativity inside of yourself. Together, we'll make a more artful world, and I can't wait to see what you draw on your way!

Oh, and look, here's that plant again ... this time, it's rooted firmly where it belongs: inside my first book.

Keep scrolling for a sneak peek inside this book -- and please share your drawings by tagging me @drawnontheway or using #drawnontheway!