In just five words, Anne Lamott sums up the entire purpose of writing a rough draft: “you need to start somewhere.”
I think one of the biggest things that people struggle with when writing- at least what I have the most trouble with- is feeling that they will not be able to put well into words exactly what they have to say. There’s a frustration that comes about while writing when you have your ideas and the energy and emotion ready to put into your work but you just can’t seem to find the best way to state it. Well, they do say the hardest thing to do is to get over the initial hump of writing and just start.
I recently read this quote that I’ve declared as my new mantra. It said, “done is better than perfect.” Being a perfectionist myself, I know how hard activities and projects are for those who always work towards such a high (and often unrealistic) level of achievement. Simple things become much larger and more difficult than they should be. Assignments take a lot longer to complete compared to the average individual. It’s the job of a perfectionist, to overthink. It seems as though this is a similar experience one goes through when they start writing. A lot of people, when they write, want immediate results. After thinking of a topic, those individuals tend to get so caught up in the finished product and the structure in which their assignment should be exhibited that it’s almost too complicated to find a place to begin. This is where “shitty first drafts” come in.
Lamott, not only a well-acquainted writer but also a regular human being, reminds her readers in this excerpt from “Bird by Bird” that no one is perfect. Not even the best of authors or professionals can produce good work without hard work. They, too, go through the same struggles as the rest of the population does, trying to create a hard copy of all that’s flowing in their minds; so they start with “shitty first drafts.” It’s freeing, in a sense, to get all of your thoughts written down on paper and out of your head. Think of it as a step in the process. As Lamott points out, you may even find a great basis for your paper in one sentence out of the whole nonsense that you’ve whipped up as your draft. Who knows. Just don’t let your angst to finish stop you from writing at all.
Emily Weiss
03.01.2016
I was very interested in what you had to say about being a perfectionist, because I too consider myself a perfectionist as well. Though it may seem like somewhat of a good trait (it shows care and devotion to any work or activity), I also had to agree with the limitations and somewhat “burdens” of what it’s truly like to be a perfectionist. We overthink, we overanalyze, we take our time…. Sometimes this causes us to lose sight of the bigger picture/moments in life. I like how you connected that to writing, because for a perfectionist, it truly is hard to “start” a paper when he/she is expecting a masterpiece from the start (it’s often hard for perfectionists to accept and invite failure). But that’s why shitty first drafts are important. They can only help us perfectionists. Getting our ideas out is a start, and revisions are always possible!
The quotation you focused on was also something I felt was important and mentioned in my response. I definitely agree with you that this was her overall idea of the piece, “to start somewhere”. I can understand how a first draft could be difficult for one who is a perfectionist of some sorts. But just like she mentioned, having a shitty first draft is the reality of things.This doesn’t make you less of a writer or a bad writer. Your final piece can still turn out to be fantastic .
I’m glad you mentioned the difficulty of starting essays. Although seemingly a simple task, in reality it is a painstakingly hard and time consuming process. A process which most people, including me tend to just give up on and procrastinate it till the last possible moment. I truly feel that if we just used Lamott’s advice of scribbling some nonsense for a so-called first draft it would give us that initial spark to get our ideas flowing and fingers dancing.