Skip to main content

Shitty First Drafts Reader Response

Syvannah Boland

     After reading Anne Lamott's article, it made me feel a lot better about upcoming essays and the process of writing them. I have always tried to make sure that my first drafts were well put together and cohesive (almost well enough to turn in on my first try), and this has only caused me panic and stress. I found relief in reading that everyone, including professional authors, struggle in the beginning of their writings. I now know that I can throw all of my ideas and thoughts on paper, even if it is unorganized and doesn't make sense, and submit it as a first draft. I had always thought that there was a higher standard to be held to, which only caused me to spend way too much time on a draft that isn't even graded for it's quality. Reading this has completely changed my mindset about this class and any writing classes I am going to take, because it has caused my fear and intimidation of pieces of writing to disappear. I am excited to write with a new mindset in how I can begin my writing, and knowing that I will not be judged based off of what my mind comes up with at the beginning.

Comments

  1. UnknownJanuary 14, 2018 at 3:28 PM

    I agree with you in every aspect. Similarly, I struggled with turning in first drafts that I knew weren't my best. However, as you said, after reading the article I no longer will second guess my initial ideas and their validity.

    ReplyDelete
  2. UnknownJanuary 15, 2018 at 2:17 PM

    Like you, I always tried to make my first drafts very well put together. This always stressed me out as well, trying to perfect my writing in a short period of time. This reading also changed my mindset and has made me feel a lot better.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Writing Activity March 27, 2018

My writing process for project 2 was different from project 1 because I had to conduct research towards my argumentative topic. I also was required to use the Florida State university database in order to find peer-reviewed article that would provide me with correct information. This essay also had several sources whom mad me sound more credible towards my audience, which enabled me to write more about my topic. The personally think that writing a first draft and then revising it in order for it to be my final draft to be very helpful when writing a research essay. I was able to carefully go over any grammatical or punctuation errors as well as make sure that all my sentences made sense and were not random. I enjoyed project 2 the most because I was required to conduct research on my topic, which allowed me to expand my knowledge towards an argument that is personal to me and it made me sound even more credible when discussing this argument face to face with someone.
5 comments
Read more

The Bedford Book of Genres

Throughout chapter 1 of “The Bedford Book of Genres,” I learned that there are a variety of ways to improve one’s writing. Several writers tend to get carried away while writing that they forget who their audience is and what message they are trying to deliver. This is when one must ask themselves what their purpose of writing is, do they want to present a narrative/ tell a story, inform, or persuade. After figuring out ones purpose they must choose a genre to be able to shorten their idea and be concise. In order for this to occur one must know the basic qualities and agreed-upon rules about the genre they are composing. Once one makes those decisions they move on to the rhetorical situation which mainly explains the idea. This allows the writer to provide support on their purpose such as saying what is great about it or provide statistics, which will automatically make their writing more interesting for the audience to read, as well as, get t...
5 comments
Read more
Jamica Williams What are some subversion examples the author mentions? A few books the the author mentions It's just a plant, Heather has two Mommies, and Gloria Goes Gay Can you think of other 2 books or movies that are subversion? Scary movie 1 and 2 Why are they subversion? Scary movie is subversive because it takes into account the the rhetorical factors in most scary movies and joke on them. Its more of a comedy than a "scary" movie. Each of the characters do exactly whats expected. They run the opposite way like up the stairs, trip and fall multiple times, and even live with the ghost that is haunting them. What do you think "GO THE FUCK TO SLEEP?" Who should be the target audience for this book? The audience of this book is any adult/parent. Because its probably R-Rated its targeted to older people, and anyone can find this humorous.
2 comments
Read more