...Anne Lamott is a successful writer, having authored six books and countless reviews in the magazine California. This means Lamott is very qualified to write about first drafts, shitty ones in particular, in her essay titled “Shitty First Drafts”. Lamott begins by debunking the common belief among non-writers that writers instinctively and effortlessly “[write] fully formed passages as fast as a court reporter” or even know what they are going to write about before they begin. In fact, Lamott claims the opposite, that most, if not all, writers “[rarely] know what they are going to do until they've done it”. Lamott likens the writing process to “pulling teeth”. Lamott even admits she often has to “write really, really shitty first drafts” in...
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...Shitty First Drafts 1. Is writing as difficult for you as Lamott says it is for her? Yes, writing is exactly as difficult for me as Lamott says it is for her. I could not have said it better. After reading this selection from Anne Lamott’s Bird by Bird, I let out a huge sigh of relief, as I had no idea that even expert, published writers go through the same struggles in writing that I myself do. 2. Do you write “shitty first drafts” and then clean them up and turn them in? Or do you try to work out what you’re going to say in your head first so that you write only one draft? Or do you just turn in the “shitty first draft”? In the past, I have always been extremely cautious to let anyone else read my shitty first drafts. It always pained me when a teacher would ask us to bring a rough draft to class so that others could peer-edit my work. Because of this, I developed a tendency to attempt to work out what I was going to say in my head so that I would only have one draft. I would sit at my computer for hours typing, erasing, and re-typing my work, almost as if I was cleaning up my rough draft as I was writing my rough draft. I always tried not to just turn in the shitty first draft, as I knew it was far from my best work, but sometimes I would get stuck and would ultimately be forced into turning in my shitty first draft. 3. Based on your answer to question 2, are you happy with how you go about writing? Why or why not? Overall, no, I am not happy with...
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...Jennifer Machuca Mrs.Cunningham AP Language and Composition 01 October 2015 Rhetorical Precis Anne Lamott’s “Shitty First Drafts” selection (1994) argues that writing takes a process and the first step is to write a shitty first draft. Lamott accomplishes this by labeling “the fantasy of the uninitiated”is the thought people have when they read a great essay or book.Lamott uses this label in order to acknowledge that writing a great article or piece of literature is part of a process.Lamott is writing to those people who think authors are made to write a masterpiece in 3 hours or less. Summary Great final drafts are not easy, it takes a process. The main step to this is to create what...
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...In the article “Shitty First Drafts” the author Anne Lamott’s’ main argument is that first drafts are not meant to be perfect but a representation of random exquisite ideas that you will like to incorporate on your final draft. Lamott provides a strategy that can help writers begin their ideas in a faster and easier way than trying to produce a perfect first draft that can be sensed as stressful. First drafts become essential to create a good piece of writing she argues that every good writer no matter how talented he or she is, is subjected to write first drafts that will shape the course of their writing. As stated in the article, “All good writers write them, this is how they end up with good drafts and terrific third drafts.” It is important to take into consideration her...
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...When I was reading “Shitty First Drafts” by Anne Lamott, all I could think of was that it was exactly the way I write my papers. My first draft is always my draft to just get all of my ideas out on the paper, no matter how ugly the grammar or sentence fluency is. However, unlike Anne Lamott, but like Mercedes, I look at my first draft as a broad scope. I do not go into detail about specifics, I focus on getting the main points down. Since I write my papers like this, I also end up with around four to five drafts of my paper until it is done. The frustrations I end up with are similar to Lamott. I tend to be writing and then get to a spot where I have no clue on what else to write. I stare at my computer for multiple minutes and then decide...
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...If I am writing a paper, work e-mail, or discussion post for an online course I tend to use the same writing process. I would say it is a mix of both Anne Lamott’s described process in “Shitty First Drafts” and the 3x3 writing process in Guffey. My writing is usually done in 3 stages but sometimes only 2, when the prewriting and drafting stage blend together or if I am preparing something like and e-mail that does not need as much prewriting as a paper or discussion post might need. The first thing I do when preparing to write it get out a piece of paper and take notes. I scribble down the questions that needed answered or my thoughts on the topic of the e-mail I am preparing. Once I have those thoughts on paper I try and began to organize...
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...Gosh This Essay Smells Bad In the article “Shitty First Drafts”, by Anne Lamott, she argues that writing is not such an easy task, especially for professional writers in the writing process. She claims that writing takes time and everyone must start from somewhere to become a better writer. Writing can be difficult for experienced and inexperienced writers. I agree with Lamot that writing in a process is not easy because writing can be frustrating, finding motivation to write and catching the reader's attention. Now don't get me wrong writing sounds easy but it's much more complicated than it sounds. Writing actually frustrates me. Writing a first draft or prewrite can lead to frustration just sitting there with a blank page in front of you. It takes me minutes or even hours just thinking about how to write a paper. This completely drive me nuts. Even Authors who first started writing novels struggled and got so frustrated at times to write the perfect book in there eyes. It made them want to give up at times. But I believe it's something a experienced or inexperienced writer could overcome and get through to write a good paper. One thing that certainly got professional writers to write great novels or papers was motivation. Motivation is a major key to writing a great paper. One of people's biggest mistakes when writing is assuming they will receive a bad grade or bad review for their work. When they assume this it usually causes them to stress out when writing...
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...Rhetorical Précis In Anne Lamott’s selection from “Bird by Bird” (1994), she claims that it is necessary to write “Shitty First Drafts” (1994) in order to complete “good second drafts and terrific third drafts”. Lamott uses examples of her own strategy, as well as the methods of other writers, to convince the reader that a good piece of work doesn’t usually come easily on the first attempt. In order to achieve the finely checked “dental draft”, writers should get ideas out on paper that can be checked a few times to eliminate the unnecessary elements they randomly started with. This article applies to just about anyone attempting to produce a good piece of written work. I find this article very persuasive because I can relate to the examples...
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...English 1101 9 October 2013 Midterm Reflection I have done a variety of different assignments throughout my English 1101 class this semester. The assignments that have had the most influence on me include select chapters from J.M. Bohannon’s I Hate Writing, Anne Lamott’s “Shitty First Drafts”, Stephen King’s On Writing, and my practice with rhetorical analysis. Each of these assignments have significantly impacted me and caused me to view my own writing differently. They have helped me grow as a writer as well as come closer to finding my own writer’s “voice”. I have really enjoyed and learned from the chapters that I have read so far in I Hate Writing. My favorite chapter is chapter seven because Bohannon discusses many different ways to introduce a paper. I found her methods very helpful because I have a tendency to struggle when writing my introductions; I simply have no idea where to begin. Bohannon suggestions in chapter seven include telling a story, using a quotation, defining an unfamiliar term, directly stating an argument, writing in the reader, and being creative. After trying each of the options presented by Bohannon in this particular chapter, I found that using a quotation is my favorite technique. I feel it is the easiest way to start a paper off since I have something to base my paper off of. I also feel it is a good way to draw the reader in since a quote is simple, yet sets the theme and mood of a paper. I also appreciated the advice Bohannon gave in...
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...Anne Lamott’s “Shitty First Drafts” is an excerpt from her book, Bird by Bird (1994), where she argues to let go of the anxieties and fears of creating a masterpiece paper right away by simply writing without question in order to get all of your thoughts out first. She refers to this style of writing to one of a child’s while also reminding the reader to just freely write knowing that no one else will be seeing this initial draft. It’s clear Lamott wants to connect with her readers and help ease any worries when it comes to writing because even the most popular and well known journalists or authors all go through the same thoughts and process as well. Her style of writing shows she is intending this piece for students or anyone involved in writing, whether for school, career, or a hobby. I find Lamott’s argument very persuasive and was moved by her style and dictation. It is comforting to know that...
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...The Writing Process Draft 1 Writing is a skill that is acquired through the process of working hard. The procedures of the writing process vary from the writer itself to the type of task. Even though the writing process is tiring: prewriting, writing, and revising are all beneficial on having a great paper. Pre-writing is like a little kid figuring out what he wants to eat, they are constantly changing their mind. Prewriting consists of four different steps generating ideas, establish a purpose, identifying an audience, and putting your ideas in order. When prewriting I first generate ideas that include research, reading, or simply other people’s ideas and I just jot them down. Then I establish a purpose (if not given) in which my essay will revolve and, I make sure that the purpose goes with the generated ideas. Third I identify the audience that one must always keep in mind. Before putting my ideas together I must first take a ten minute break or else I will over think myself, once I feel refreshed I will organize my ideas in the sequence that I want making sure that they do not overlap. In Shitty First Drafts by Anne Lamott… After I feel confident in my pre-writing the official writing process begins. Writing is like cooking, there are many correct ways to do it and it just depends on the persona. My writing process consists on creating body paragraphs that match to my prewriting creating introductory and concluding paragraphs, and making sure that my audience is still...
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...have noticed the delay in my education throughout this class. When I began school in January I was apprehensive with the course material, as well as the work that was required. The fact that I had to get my point across in writing seemed inconceivable, how could I “show rather than tell”? Be that as it may, I began my writing journey. There were times I would just sit and cry because I had no clue what I was doing, however, I still put one word in front of the other. In module two I found my saving grace, it was a handout by Anne Lamott called “Shitty First Drafts”. I would continually go back to Mrs. Lamott’s essay for inspiration, especially during the times I was procrastinating....
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