As I read “Shitty First Drafts” by Anne Lamott, I felt at ease finding out that first drafts aren’t supposed to be perfect and ready for publishing right away. Lamott makes some good points and helps explain how the first draft isn’t the best in most cases and that writing all your thoughts down at first can really help the writing process. She makes the process of writing a first draft seem less daunting and much simpler. It makes me feel like a better writer and gives off the idea that anyone can be a writer. The way she wrote this piece makes it relatable to both those who are writers and those who aren’t.
Whenever I would write drafts for my English 2100 class I was always worried about them not being perfect or good enough. After a while, I realized as the semester went on that the first draft is called the first draft for a reason. It’s the first time you write down your thoughts and ideas onto paper, it isn’t meant to be perfect. Writing is something that has to be worked on and writing multiple drafts is just part of the process. While reading this piece I found myself agreeing with it and realizing once again that a first draft is just the first step in the process, its the beginning not the end. It reminded me that at the beginning theres a lot of work to put into writing to have a good final piece, but that doesn’t mean you should be stressed out and scared of the writing process in general. Just write down what you can and figure the rest out later.
I was reassured after reading this piece that I’m not the only one who writes a crappy first draft and that its not expected to be a work of art. Even while writing this, I initially just wrote everything and anything that came to mind instead of sitting around and waiting to get hit with some sort of brilliant and deep insight that would never come. After reading this piece I learned that you just have to start writing and let the words come out regardless of if they make the most sense at the time. It’s a work in progress not a final paper.
Lamott’s “Shitty First Drafts” almost serves as therapy for writers that feel terrible for the “trash” that they call first drafts. It’s almost to assure these writers that nearly every writers experience this. Be proud of your shitty first drafts! My first drafts can’t even be read. They’re illegible for the most part–to even myself. But, as Lamott pointed out, I tell myself it’s just a first draft. It gets better.
I absolutely agree with you. When I think about writing an essay in school, especially for a test/ classwork. I worry about my grammar and sentence structure. However, as I got through my middle school and high school career, I learn that teachers care more about your ideas than your flaws. They do not expect perfect essays at the first shot. So we should just share our thoughts and write something down.
I agree with you that starting to write shouldn’t be stressful, that it’s a work in progress and not a final paper. However, sometimes til this day I find myself stressing over to get a good draft. But I do realize that our ideas and thoughts should just be written down and not worry about grammar or trying to have deep thoughts and just let our minds think. Lamott’s article was helpful to say the same things as you mentioned that it’s ok to have a draft that you’re not fully satisfied because there are going to have many drafts that will help us get that final piece of writing.