George Dila’s approach differs greatly from Anne Lamott’s. He finds value in a strong foundation and the first draft represents the “foundation” of a would-be essay or novel. However, Lamott believes that it is better to begin writing by putting everything in her mind on paper and organizing it all alter. Although these two writers are different in their approach to writing, neither is wrong. Their difference stems from how they view writing. George Dila in his article states that writing is like building a house. Whereas, Lamott views writing more like cooking and the first draft is similar to going shopping and filling the basket with groceries.
My writing approach is more similar to George Dila in that I find it important to revise each and every sentence because every sentence comes from the previous sentence. But, more important than that in writing is the thesis. With a good thesis, a good essay can be written. I also agree with Dila in that writing is similar to building a house. An essay requires a good foundation which is the thesis. After that, the body and the conclusion can be rewritten over and over again as long as the strong foundation exists. I disagree with Lamott’s method and her descriptions of first drafts being “shitty”. Calling it a “shitty first draft” means I am already starting the essay on a bad route. I, personally, do not strive to do anything shitty, first drafts included. Thus, if I think a part of my essay is bad then I will rewrite it and do better.
An example of how I implement Dila’s approach to writing is demonstrated through my process writing my personal statement. I was able to write my personal statement in a mere three sessions but the first of those three took me more than six hours. I sat down and tried to tell my story but, after rereading every sentence I knew that I could do better. So I kept rewriting as I went and by the time I was done with my first draft it was far from “shitty”. After I was done with my first draft, I chose not to touch it or even look at it for two weeks then I went back and looked for ways to improve my writing. My final draft only involved me fixing grammatical errors or looking through the dictionary for more accurate words. Overall, my essay came out well and I am sure that someone using Lamott’s approach has written a personal statement equally well because writing is an art form and each and every writer has their preferred style.