Shitty First Drafts
Reassured is how I felt after reading this. I always go
through this process when I have to write something. I dread it so much and I
do everything in my power to avoid it like staring at a picture frame or making
food, anything to procrastinate. The process of having to put together decent
thoughts together that others will read on paper is what I dread. Even for his
blog post I mark the half way mark on my Word document so I can see how much
longer till it’s over. After reading this article I feel much better, not
enough to look forward to writing but still better. The idea that the majority great
or professional writers feel the same way I do is encouraging.
I really
enjoyed the fact that Anne Lamott goes on to explain the exact process gave me
some tips on what I could change. I have the procrastination part down but I
always try to refine my first rough draft no matter what. It takes more effort
to do multiple drafts. You’re starting with something horrendous and eventually
making it great whereas when you try to fine it from the gecko maybe you are
limiting the potential. Restricting ideas is something I am going to try to
stop doing even if it is more work because, it will probably yield a higher
quality end product.
I truly admire the fact that she is so
motivated and self-aware. Even though she doesn’t want to get the work done at
times she eventually sits down and does it. She has also learned to trust the
process which is something I need to work on. Short cuts do not work long term,
especially in writing. I found this article to be very eye-opening.
Your post was very relatable to me because I dread writing as much as you do. I think we have similar approaches and were both relieved to know that first drafts are pretty challenging for everyone. Your feeling of reassurance was the best way to describe my feelings after reading 'Shitty First Drafts." It is definitely a great feeling to have when it is about something that you are not the most confident in. Her article gave me a different perspective for approaching writing as I think she did for you as well. Great article and very relatable!
ReplyDeleteI agree that I this article was good at reassuring it's readers. I can understand the fears of writing a shitty first draft because we've been put in that situation of peers reviewing our drafts. This articles put some ease to that and has clearly made it easy for to accept this task of writing. I think you'll do great when it comes to writing drafts, especially if you follow the tips from the article.
ReplyDeleteI find myself agreeing with your post entirely, even with experience writing those first drafts can be a daunting challenge. Simply getting words to paper can feel impossible at times, especially when you are writing things such as essays. I think probably the biggest thing I related to was the idea to simply let ideas run free and find something good in the mess. I know from experience this works well and can give great ideas unexpectedly. Good post!
ReplyDeleteHi Emma
ReplyDeleteI loved it how this text gave you an alternative to procrastination when it comes to starting to write. The relief that comes with knowing that it's ok to write a bad first draft can be very liberating and freeing.