In Anne Lamott's, Shitty First Drafts, the sentence that stood out to me the most was that, "Very few writers really know what they are doing until they have done it." I have never related to a thought so much regarding my writing due to the fact that I am the last person with ideas shooting into their head with clear direction of where I am headed with my piece. I am the type who thinks as I go. Being that I am not the most confident with my writing, reading Lamott's selection was sort of a sigh of relief. It was comforting to learn that even the highest paid and most talented writers struggle to make elegant first drafts. It is liberating in a way to be able to write a first draft without rules and limitations. What I discovered most is that the importance of writing a "shitty" first draft lies within the need understand how to edit yourself when that is what it all comes down to. Shitty First Drafts was a very helpful read for me because it assured me that brilliance is born from shit and well-- we all produce it.
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.
I agree that reading this piece was encouraging for a non confident writer like myself, and the part about how writing a first draft without limitations is liberating! This was a very helpful read.
ReplyDeleteI too think as I go and would struggle with what to write, but like you this reading reminded me that even the best of writers start off with their works flawed.
ReplyDeleteThe sentence "Very few writers really know what they are doing until they have done it," also stood out to me when I was reading this piece. It made me feel less insecure about my writing actually. I agree that this piece was very encouraging to a non confident writer.
ReplyDeleteI was able to relate to your response when it comes to the whole "thinking as I go" and not having a clear direction of where my writing is going when I start. I also agree when you bring up the fact that writing a first draft is liberating.
ReplyDeleteI can relate with the ides where you say you are the last person to have a clear idea of the direction you are taking with your writing because I am the same way when I start writing for anything
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