In Anne Lamott's "Shitty First Drafts," the author writes that in order to write something of good quality one must write a first draft that will never be a work of perfection. Lamott further states that there is no instance of a mainstream or notable writer that sits down and writes a piece of perfected, written work on the first attempt. Lamott also explains the writing process of emotional doubt, draft sequencing, and the effort that is put into a quality piece of written work. Lamott emphasizes the fact that in order to find overlooked or obscured details a writer must muddle through countless body paragraphs, often irrelevant information or thoughts about a particular idea, to find the “real” direction of a written work.
Anne Lamott’s writing process in “Shitty First Drafts” is messy. She initially writes down everything that she is thinking, and then she goes back and refines what she wrote. Lamott has writer's block because she panics about how good her writing is going to be. She resolves this by taking a break, sitting back down, and word vomiting onto her paper. Lamott later goes back to her draft, elaborates on good ideas in her writing, and then crosses out everything else.
In “Shitty First Drafts,” Anne Lamott expresses the need for “really, really shitty first drafts” (3). Lamott furthers her thesis by using a past writing experience as a food critic and her wanting for a pristine first draft (5) and how she eventually goes back to “writing without reining [her]self in” (6). This helps us see that all writers, even the “People’s Author,” needs to write crappily before getting a New York Times Bestseller, which they give out to everyone. However, if your draft is “healthy” (Lamott 10); the possibility of something missing, a thesis for example, you’re screwing yourself over. As more and more people have focused on that one sentence that makes or breaks the paper, the basic idea of writing is lost: the thought,
Lamott demonstrates to us about her experience a a food critic. She visits a restaurant multiple times with fresh friends she would document any words that were said. This way, she did not have to think and think of words or ideas because her friends ejected words during the conversation about the meal. Accumulating all of her first drafts into one draft that combines all of her ideas collected into on "Shitty first draft". Lamott claims that she can now thoroughly check over her writing and finalize for a superb third draft.
He argues that everyone has different writing process that works for them. Although he is too aggressive, and sarcastic in his writing, he clearly introduces his aspects of Lamott’s opinion. Nevertheless, I found his thesis highly biased and contradicting. He points out her generalization of “all good writers” and “shitty drafts”. Her purpose, however, is to correct the “fantasy of uninitiated”, and shows that even experienced writers like herself go through painstaking stages.
In the article, “Shitty First Drafts”, from the book “Bird by Bird”, the author, Anne Lamott, clarifies a common misconception that people have about good writers and their writing process. Good writers don’t just write fully formed passages when they first start writing; they develop their ideas by making imperfect first drafts, which she implies,”… I know some very great writers… Not one of them can writes elegant first drafts” (1). Lamott introduces her claim through her thesis statement, “Now, practically even better news than that of short assignments is the idea of shitty first drafts” and “All good writers write them”(1); this is introduced in the first paragraph.
A short nonfiction called Shitty First Drafts by Anne Lamott explains to the reader that whenever you write, in order to have a great paper or book, they need to write a first draft and tells them that the first draft they write will be shitty. Lamott states that not one writer writes an elegant first draft and is a fantasy of what readers expect (Lamott 468). The way she writes this nonfiction, it gives the reader a confidence boost and an idea that nobody can write a perfect paper on the first attempt. Lamott even explains that she would be worried if someone would read her first draft of her writings because of how shitty they are (Lamott 470). She reassures that all good writing begins with a terrible first effort and that there will be
Have you ever wondered what our children, and grandchildren’s lives will be like? We Screwed Up; A Letter of Apology to my Granddaughter (Ward, 2012) is a letter written by Chip Ward to his four year old granddaughter and her possible unborn siblings. He speaks clearly about the devastation that past generations have caused to the planet we all call home, although he fails to provide any evidence concerning what he claims, as well as majorly lacks appreciation for the organizations already working towards a better tomorrow. Chip Ward begins his letter with an apology to his granddaughter and her siblings for using up all of the oil. He claims that, “We are all gas-hogs, plain and simple” (Ward, 2012), in regards to his generation and those
Anne Lamott 's essay, “Shitty First Drafts” explains to its readers that all writers, even the best, can have “shitty first drafts.” The essay presents the proper writing process from the first draft to the final piece of work. Her essay is intended to encourage writers who are in need of direction when it comes to writing and to teach inexperienced writers ways to become more successful in writing. Anne Lamott uses her personal experiences to build credibility, figurative language to engage the reader and provides the reader with logical steps for the writing process. To build credibility on her processes success, Lamott uses her own personal experiences.
In the article “Shitty First Drafts” by Anne Lemott she discusses how every writer has difficulty putting their ideas on paper because writing should be seen as a process that even the best and famous writers follow. She also talks about how even the best writers don’t just come with ideas and just begin writing on paper and make it as their final draft. Lemott also points out the importance of being able to just write down every thought into the first draft regardless of the structure of the draft and how it makes it easier to start the second draft. After writing the second draft it makes the final draft a review of punctuation and grammar corrections. As a food reviewer she struggled putting her ideas together because she would start doubting
Writing a first draft is like giving a speech for the first time. The first time you write a piece of work or give a speech there always is lots of error. The part of “Shitty First Drafts” that I liked the most was when Lamott states that the first
Furthermore, as Lamott says this and develops her connection with beginning writers who may feel discouraged or maybe even feel overwhelmed, by offering them positive reinforcement and words of encouragement. Lamott’s word choice also has a direct impact on the pathos she portrays in her article, simply by beginning with the title “Shitty First Drafts”. Her word choice is reminiscent to that of a normal friend, and this level of
With the title like “Shitty First Drafts” I knew I would like this essay and I was right. Anne Lamott makes this easy to read without leaving me with any questions. The humorous tone that Lamott uses keeps you interested while she’s giving your great writing advice. This was a great read for me as I am currently struggling with writing some articles for another project.
“Shitty First Drafts” definitely caught my attention because of its use of profanity in the title. It was eye catching and chose to read it first over Stephen Kings, “What Writing is”. Lamott’s and King’s ideas on writing are different from one another. King compares writing to telepathy and how pictures in people’s minds are portrayed through writing. While Lamott’s ideas are that writing is a process and it takes many attempts.
After reading Richard Maruis’ essay, “Writing Drafts” and the article, “Daily Writing Tips” by Ali Hale, I found the article by Hale more useful. I feel it is more useful because it sort of gives you step by step directions, whereas Maruis gives you a variety of options. I find it helps me understand something better when it is broken down into sections. Every writer has a different writing style. Maruis’ proposes and explains different writing styles with great detail; Hale’s article get straight to the point.
