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Shitty First Drafts

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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 how I go about my writing. One line that really hit home to me while reading this selection from Lamott was when she talked about “trusting the process.” This is something that seems obvious, but is rarely practiced (at least by me). I often get so caught up in writing my very best work on my first try that I don’t trust the process, and it ultimately takes away from the quality of my

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