Shitty First Drafts
"Shitty First Drafts" has certainly helped comfort me as a writer. I normally don't write one let alone two drafts before writing but knowing that even the best of writers have to write drafts has made me more open to the idea. This article has made me believe that drafts are actually a very important part of the writing process. The first draft seems like it would be the most helpful, just writing everything and anything that comes to mind to try to make sense of all the different ideas that you have. The lines "Almost all good writing begins with terrible first efforts. You need to start somewhere" is very helpful to me. Part of the reason I never made drafts is because they would always be bad so I never saw the point, but I now can see that in the long run they help make our writing better.
I was also very comforted by this passage. I am almost forced to do multiple drafts because my originals are usually so rough so kudos to you for never having to do that normally. That quote is also very helpful for me. I love the idea that something great can come out of something terrible.
ReplyDeleteI feel the same way in terms of never writing multiple drafts. At times I find is almost useless to do if I just refine my thoughts in the first place but this article changed my opinion. Since so many good writers feel the same way I do it makes me feel that I should integrate their process into all my writing assignment. I agree with the idea that this was all very eye-opening.
ReplyDeleteComfort is definitely a great way to describe my thoughts after reading this article. Like you, I was pretty shocked when I found myself relating to a talented author. The line you chose from the article was very noteworthy to me as well. The fact Lamott said "you need to start somewhere" really resinated with me. Although it may not be perfection yet, you can work to get it to that point. I will make it a point to remember this advice the next time I am writing, good post!
ReplyDeleteIt is very relaxing and calming to hear about how many drafts most authors do and that the first one is normally awful. I agree with the thought that it is very comforting to hear that a shitty first draft can be the beginning to a great story. I also never liked to make multiple drafts since I thought they would be bad and it was pointless when I can make one good one. Hopefully these really bad ones will make our normal essays even better.
ReplyDeleteHi Jade
ReplyDeleteI'm glad you learned in this piece that it's ok to have a bad first draft and that shouldn't keep you from believing in yourself as a writer. Keep it up!