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Shitty First Drafts Discussion


I enjoyed reading “Shitty First Drafts” by Anne Lamott’s because it made me feel less insecure about my writing. She talked about how many experienced writers that have had their work published and viewed by hundreds of people run into the same problems that students run into when constructing a paper. Most people assume that experienced writers sit down for a couple of hours and automatically start writing a perfect piece when they really don’t, they go through the same cycle students do when writing a piece. Beginning a paper is the toughest part in writing a paper because many ideas are all over the place and I am focused on perfecting my first draft so that I do not have to put so much effort into the other drafts when it should be different. A first draft should be a mess but should hold the basic concepts and ideas that one plans on talking about within the paper. Once the first draft has been finalized the other drafts will enable the writer to input more intellectual words as well as fix any grammar problems. Even though a first draft is dreadful, it helps a lot with the papers outcome. I do not enjoy writing as much as other people do and came into this course with a negative mindset but after reading this piece my perspective has changed and I am looking forward to improving my writing. I plan on applying what I learned through this piece to my present life when starting to write a paper.

Comments

  1. Megan HellerJanuary 15, 2018 at 2:31 PM

    This article did shed some light as to what happens behind the works of some of the best selling novels out there and that those exact words did not go on the first draft as planned. It definitely made me feel better about my writings in their first draft phases and I agree that this is indeed the most difficult stage out of all aspects of writing.

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  2. UnknownJanuary 16, 2018 at 10:03 AM

    Yes! Exactly what I said! The way Anne Lamott wrote this piece definitely made me less insecure about my writing. She does a great job reassuring the audience that nobody's first draft is good. Spending too much time trying to perfect the first, or even the second draft, can hurt not only your time management, but your creative process. You have to let your ideas flow before you can worry about perfection.

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