Shitty First Drafts Response!
What I found most interesting from this article is the fact that it is a good thing to have a shitty first draft. When I first read the name of the article, I expected it to give me pointers on how to avoid a shitty first draft, but I quickly learned as I was reading it that shitty first drafts are almost a necessity. That's not to say you should deliberately make your first draft shitty so that you can make it better later on, but it does mean that your first draft should be, by comparison, quite shittier than your final draft.
Another thing I found very interesting in this article is when Lamott was reviewing foods for California magazine, she often times wouldn't even have a clue where to begin. So, she simply started pressing random keys, which eventually formed words, then sentences, then paragraphs, etc. etc. I have found that when I start a first draft, I really like to form the sentences in my head, then transfer them onto the paper. Her process was a completely new concept to me. To think that you could form a well-written, thought-out, quality final draft simply from pressing random keys on a keyboard really made me think about doing that for myself. So, guess how I started this blog post!
Have a great day!
Ryan Nelson
Another thing I found very interesting in this article is when Lamott was reviewing foods for California magazine, she often times wouldn't even have a clue where to begin. So, she simply started pressing random keys, which eventually formed words, then sentences, then paragraphs, etc. etc. I have found that when I start a first draft, I really like to form the sentences in my head, then transfer them onto the paper. Her process was a completely new concept to me. To think that you could form a well-written, thought-out, quality final draft simply from pressing random keys on a keyboard really made me think about doing that for myself. So, guess how I started this blog post!
Have a great day!
Ryan Nelson
Having some experience writing, I know personally having a shitty first draft is almost inevitable, but I agree, knowing how important it is to have a shitty first draft in most cases to fix it was nice. Most people don't write amazing first drafts, though it can happen. I also find myself agreeing with not knowing where to start with writing, it can be a daunting task to know where to start. Writing randomly can sometimes give great results! Good post overall!
ReplyDeleteYour idea of the article being how to avoid shitty drafts is how I felt to I just did not realize it until now. It is great to realize that your first draft does not have to be perfect and actually can have error so there is room to grow. I agree that we shouldn't try to make our first draft awful but should definitely not hold back when it comes to our ideas and our writing all in all it was a good post!
ReplyDeleteI agreed with your thoughts about the article, that it would be how to avoid shitty drafts and I was kind of let down by the fact that it was not about that. I also felt the same way about Lamott's way of writing a food review. I do not think that way would work for me because, like you, I prefer to form complete thoughts while writing. Unlike you however, I tried to think about the passage before writing my response. It was in no way as fun as pressing random keys to form words, but I did it. It just took a long time.
ReplyDeleteGiven how some of my initial attempts at writing anything have turned out, the "hit random keys" method has its moments.
ReplyDeleteI think a part of this excerpt is saying "let yourself be imperfect". Get the ideas in your head out of your head and on to paper/bits/whatever. Even if it's initially awful and you're using more adjectives than Stephanie Meyer on a Red Bull bender, get the idea out of your head. Otherwise, it's all winking in the dark: you know what you're doing but no one else does.
Hi Ryan
ReplyDeleteThe fact that you were expecting a completely different text from what you got is fantastic to me! It's great to see you're thinking about it in terms of your own writing process.