English 2100: Identity and Representation

Facing a blank page causes stress for all writers striving for a sense of perfection. However, reality and ones writing can’t ever achieve perfection in my opinion. As a resolve for this allusion of writer’s block, Anne Lamott wrote the “Shitty First Drafts” in inspiration of Ernest Hemingway’s writing methods and her own. Lamott states “The first draft is the child’s draft, where you let it all pour out and then let it romp all over the place, knowing that no one is going to see it and that you can shape it later.” in addition to statements along the lines of “Almost all good writing begins with terrible first efforts.” within her piece “Shitty First Drafts”. My initial thought was that to initiate in poor writing skill and creativity within your work whether be for business or artistic purposes demonstrates to me a lack of aim or knowledge in what an individual should be writing. To me excusing yourself from writing sound material for any purpose simply because know one will see your first draft will actually make your first draft have poor foundation and hence as Lamott puts it “Shitty”. This line of thinking for me is why George Dila in “Rethinking the Shitty First Draft” heavily resonates with me.

I do agree that everyone has their own writing method and perhaps for some writing poorly structured sentences with key concepts within them may aid later revisions of said sentences. Yet I can’t help but stress that when sitting down to write something I doubt that sentences which will be scrapped later are as useful or less time consuming than carefully thought out sentences which surely blossom during the writing process. George Dila’s line of thinking follows this logic which is the key difference between his and Lamott’s writing strategies. Dila would follow each word as it flows with keen intellect to ensure its sound and fits its purpose despite not being perfect. Lamott resigns to “let it all pour out and then let it romp all over the place” which to me creates a writing mess of ideas to only have to clean later as one would with a child after a tantrum. Lastly, Dila reflects exactly my writing style which is why his analogy depicts this discussion “The builder has all his materials on site. He begins pouring cement for the foundation, it is uneven and the cement is somewhat watery, but he can’t stop to fix it. He begins hammering the walls up. They are cockeyed, and a bit shaky, but no problem, he can fix them later. He begins working on the roof. Oops. Forgot the electrical wiring. Well, he’ll get it later. You get the idea. The builder would end up with a pretty shitty house; so shitty it would probably be easier to tear it down and start over, maybe a little more carefully the next time.”

Both Anne Lamott and George Dila have different approaches when it comes to writing first drafts. Lamott’s’ method mainly consists of not focusing on any writing style or rules but, rather letting the words flow out of you. Thus, leaving room for improvement later. Dila’s approach strongly goes against that of Lamott’s. Dila’s method consists of revising as you go along. Dila disagrees with Lamott’s statement that “All first drafts are shit”. He goes on to further state that Lamott should center her claims more towards herself because what works for her, might not work for everybody.

After reading Dila’s “Rethinking the Shitty First Draft” and Lamott’s “Shitty First Drafts”, I find myself transitioning back and forth between methods mentioned by both authors. The type of writing format I am given, is a huge factor that determines which method I will take on. When it is more of a formal writing piece, I would side more with Dila’s approach. I find this approach most beneficial because it allows me to make as many revisions as possible to make sure it is suitable for the audience I’m writing for. Much of the writing that has forced me into this thinking has been for research papers, formal arguments, and business projects.  I can try and fool myself with the idea that it’s just a first draft and it’s okay if it’s not perfect. However, by knowing the type of writing that should be expected of me, can really determine how much weight I will be carrying on my shoulders. By introducing the title of “formal”, it automatically triggers my brain to think ahead of what idea I want to get across, how I should structure it, how to have a strong hook, how to follow a hook up effectively, and continue revising as I go along.

When it comes to free form or expressive writing, I would then side more with Lamott’s approach. I tend to use this method when I write poetry, short film stories, or want to write an oral piece about something that intrigues me. I can be described as nonchalant during this phase because I have the freedom to write as I please. The initial thought of whether or not my punctuation is improper, no longer crosses my mind.  Personally, I’ve used this method to get my creative juices flowing. When I am restricted to writing formally, I try to make it sound like me but, find it difficult since most topics aren’t of my choosing. I used this method when I wrote my personal essay for college. I first found a topic that I know I can go on writing and writing about. Then I wrote the first draft, totaling to roughly 1,000 words. After doing all this, I was able to concise my essay to the limit of 650 words and was satisfied with the result.

Overall, both methods could be effective.

While Anne Lamott’s method might provide an answer to the self-doubt that most writer’s face, as stated by George Dila, I believe in conquering my self doubt using Dila’s method. I often find myself obsessing over the first sentence, or even the title of an article that I have to write. For example, this essay itself isn’t the result of several drafts arising from a “shitty” first draft; It’s the outcome of constant fixing of each word and sentence present in it. Moreover, this is my first draft.

This method or strategy seems to work for me because I’m someone who feels passionate towards writing and perfecting every piece written by me. I cannot bear the thought of letting a “shitty” sentence sit at the top of my draft, waiting to be improved later on. It gives me a feeling of incompleteness and sometimes, mere procrastination. Some may argue that writing shitty first drafts gives one the opportunity to put down all their ideas on a piece of paper and room for improvement, I believe that improving one’s work as one goes about doing it gives a more satisfactory result, as a few tweaks here and there would lead the work to perfection. Thus, I would like to conclude with Dila’s idea that if the foundation or the base of a building isn’t strong, the strength of the top floors doesn’t matter.

Writers usually dread the first draft. Whether it’s contemplating on what to write or how to formulate the perfect sentence. Authors Anne Lamott and George Dila had expressed their views on the first draft in “Shitty First Drafts,” and “Rethinking the Shitty First Draft” respectively.  George Dila’s approach was to have the first draft to be competent. Dila does not believe in creating something “shitty” and deal with it later. Stated in his writing, “He begins pouring cement for the foundation, it is uneven and the cement is somewhat watery, but he can’t stop to fix it… Well, he’ll [do] it later.” Dila conveys that without a strong first draft, the writer might as well restart and create something better. The writer should be well prepared and mindful of what they are stating in their drafts. If the foundation is not set the writer would just end up with the “shitty writing” rather than a writing they would be proud of. Dila’s way of writing the first draft is to think, write, then revise and revise some more. He would continuously rethink about the sentence he had wrote and ask himself if there’s a better way of expressing his point. After revising, “the sentence suddenly came together.” When the first few sentences are to Dila’s expectations, he would then continue to write the story. Although he’s continuing his writing, he would constantly revise; improving on what he had already written. Dila emphasizes that the way to writing is not “letting everything go,” but to improve as you write.

I would have to agree with Dila’s approach to writing the first draft. Having a first draft doesn’t mean to just have all your ideas on one paper, then revise it. This seems easier than Dila’s approach but it’s not effective and efficient. This is because as you continue to write “a couple of dreadful sentences,” you, the writer wouldn’t even want to read it anymore. The sentences would start to jumble up and create a confusing sequence that would confuse the reader in the end. I had been using Dila’s approach throughout my education career without even realizing. Although I’m not a great writer, applying his way to formulate my first drafts enables me to rethink my choices in the flow, wording and sentence structure. For instance, if I had created a sentence that I thought made no sense to me, I’ll continue repeating the sentence to myself until I come up with something better to state. If the sentence still makes no sense I would rather not continue to write. This is because there’s no point of writing something “shitty” and then continue to write the same “shitty sentence.” This would only result a “shitty” writing.

Dila’s approach was not all one go like Lamott’s. “ Through trial and error,” Dila was able to create something he was proud of and publish to the world even his drafts.

After reading both text by George Dila and Anne Lamott, we can see that their writing styles differ immensely. While George Dila prefers to revise his sentences as he writes his papers, Anne Lamott prefers to do the opposite. Instead, Lamott prefers that you let it all out by writing a crappy first draft, knowing that no one is going to see it, and then later revising it continuously through second and third drafts.

Throughout my entire writing career, I have used Anne Lamott’s approach. Every time, I begin a paper, I find myself always in a phase of writer’s block. Sometimes, I would start a paper in the body, rather than starting with the introduction. Sometimes, I would just start listing ideas that can possibly be added to my paragraph, however those ideas would not flow with the sentence before. Writing has never been my strong suit, that a sentence that I type onto Google Docs would be perfect. Sometimes, I may need as many as ten drafts before it’s at least a decent to read. Just as Anne Lamott states, “A friend of mine says that the first draft is the down draft – you just get it down. The second draft is the up draft – you fix it up. You try to say that you have to say more accurately. And the third draft is the dental draft, where you check every tooth, to see if it’s loose or cramped or decayed, or even, God help us, healthy.” I find myself often always elaborating on my ideas at random times of the day. It could be the middle of the night and I’m lying in bed having a hard time falling asleep, I would come up with some of my best thinking at that time. For me, there’s not enough drafts for me to write a perfect paper – maybe it’s because sometimes I can be a perfectionist.

I give a big prop to writers like George Dila because it’s not easy spitting out a perfect sentence. Being able to only draft one writing means you have confident in your writing and that’s something I lack. Definitely, someday I do hope to be at this level.

George Dila’s approach to a first draft is extremely different from Anne Lamott’s approach to a first draft. Ms.Lamott’s way of writing is by writing down all your thoughts down and create a “shitty first draft” then edit it to make it better. while on the other end of the extreme Mr.Dila’s approach to a first draft is to put your thoughts down and while you are doing that you edit and revise. So he does not believe in shitty first draft instead he believes in having a good first draft.

The approach that best describes my strategy when I am writing my first draft is Ms.Lamott’s approach. Her approach best describes my strategy for writing a first draft because when I begin to write a first draft I pretty much just vomit all of my ideas on to my keyboard. Letting my ideas flow as they come without interruption of worrying about the “perfect” first sentence. Then when i finish writing down my ideas I revise and edit the sentences and add what I need to add for it to be well structured. For me an essay is something that needs and requires a lot of attention and maintenance and the best way to start it is just by starting it and writing whatever ideas come to my mind. Ms.Lamott put best with this metaphor of how she views first drafts “The first draft is the child’s draft, where you let it all pour out and then let it romp all over the place knowing that no one is going to see it and that you can shape it later.” first drafts do not need to be perfect they just need to have the basics and the bases of the essay.

Mr.Dila’s approach to writing a first draft is a good way to start for some people. However to others such as me do not see it as a preferred strategy to write a first draft. Ms.Lamott’s way is better in for me because there is a lot more room for creativity and change if needed. In conclusion there is no right way to write a first draft there is only a preferred method of writing a first draft.

After reading “Rethinking the Shitty First Draft” by George Dila and “Shitty First Drafts” by Anna Lamott, I believe that George Dila’s approach best describes my strategy for drafting an essay. I agree with George Dila’s approach to writing the first draft by using trial and error to find an acceptable version of his text because I don’t like writing messy first drafts, instead I prefer to write a draft that best depicts my ideas as a whole. I find this process easier than Anna Lamott’s process because writing the first draft with a bunch of mixed ideas altogether would be difficult to organize later on and would make me forget some of the most important aspects in my essay. An example would be my research paper in high school when writing the first draft I used Anna Lamott’s method, but as soon as I began my final draft I got confused with the random order of my ideas and began to forget the most important aspects of my essay. Because of this method, I had to rewrite my ideas in an organized manner and it took an extra 3 hours to finish my essay. The process of revising and editing the first draft described by George Dila best describes my strategy for writing drafts.

Rethinking the Shitty First Draft

George Dila’s approach of the first draft differs greatly from Anne Lamott’s approach. Mr. Dila’s drafts are executed with the mindset that the paper has already been thought out and the words are formulating strong sentences in an excellent sequence that will result in a strong paper at the end, because the so called ”revisions” are being made mentally while the ideas are flowing through his stream of consciousness. Miss Lamott’s drafts are considered the “child’s draft”; meaning the ideas are thrown down and revised later on, which will create a second draft, third draft, and however many more it will take to perfect those ideas and tonal characters. For myself, I concur with the one draft approach and not making it “shitty.” George Dila brings up a few excellent points in his article, “Rethinking the Shitty First Draft”, which all coincide with my strategy for drafting an essay.

Trying to put together the pieces of a puzzle always seemed difficult to me. However, I have always understood things better visually. Those features definitely oppose one another, but I can totally understand why. As I perceive things, they start to click. The first 50% of a puzzle is all blank space and I am lost. However, once I see the picture being drawn out, I can bring everything from point A to point B. This corresponds with my writing method. I can jot down ideas, but then I won’t remember how I got those ideas. If I formulate the ideas into sentences from the start, I can really get a move on things and push for an excellent paper. George Dila poses an excellent example in building a house using Anne Lamott’s “pour-it-all-out” strategy. “The builder has all his materials on site. He begins pouring cement for the foundation, it is uneven and the cement is somewhat watery, but he can’t stop to fix it. He begins hammering the walls up. They are cockeyed, and a bit shaky, but no problem, he can fix them later. He begins working on the roof. Oops. Forgot the electrical wiring. Well, he’ll get it later.”

Mr. Dila claims that if you are careful, cautious, mindful, and prepared from the start, you can finish with the masterpiece you wanted. The layout of a paper is the foundation for the final product. Your writing from the first sentence can not be “shitty.” Why would you want multiple “shitty” sentences to follow? It’s better to make revisions as time goes on throughout the paper. If you end up finding yourself lost, take it back to square one and build that foundation to be even stronger.

Throughout middle school and high school, this topic was one of the most repeated and conversed topic in mostly all classes, specifying the importance of drafts in our essays/papers/reports or even an assignment. Being told again and again the same thing, i started thinking to myself if i can ever be a good writer or not until i read George Dila’s “ Rethinking the shitty first draft”.

“Well, I can’t, won’t, and don’t write them.” I completely relate to and agree with the statement made by George Dila here who in my opinion is trying to portray the image that he finds it difficult writing a shitty draft in the first place to gradually reach perfection in his writing. While majority of the people might disagree with this unpopular opinion, i believe it depends and vary from person to person. For me personally, I feel like unless i revise my work again and again, I am unable to think of things and pen my thoughts onto paper.

Thinking of one instance where i found it almost impossible to adopt Anne Lamott’s approach was while i was writing my college application essay, commonly known as the “personal essay”. Almost all my peers, my counselors and my teachers told me to adopt Anne Lamott’s approach of initiating with what is called shitty drafts until you are satisfied enough with what you think is perfect.. Shitty drafts in my idea meant that for one, i really had no thoughts to pen down because of the fact that i was not revising what i wrote but also that gradually as i wrote it, i drifted away from the main idea of the topic.

Whether it makes sense or not,  unless i revise my writing every couple of minutes as i am writing, i am unable to focus on it and it does not turn out to be as good as i want it to be. For this reason, I agree with George Dila and his idea of the first draft approach, which contradicts with Anne Lamott’s based on the idea of how one should go about to achieve perfection in one’s writing, according to which George Dila believes that to be a perfect writer, it is not necessary to go about writing a shitty draft in the first place and not really paying attention to the correct or incorrect in it, but to rather think over the sentences one pens down and consider his choice of words continuously throughout the process. As quoted by George Dila “In fact, I cannot even allow myself to write a shitty first sentence, let alone immediately follow the first with another few hundred shitty sentences. This does not mean that what flows from my brain through my fingertips through the keyboard and onto the monitor’s screen is exactly what I want it to be. In fact, I am a ruthless reviser, an eager re-writer. The difference between the way I write and the “let it all pour out” Lamott method is that I do exactly what she warns against— obsessively revising as I go along.”.