My Shitty First Draft!

In the essay, “Shitty First Drafts,” by Anne Lamott, she talks about writing the first draft of a paper. She says that the best way to do it is to let everything come out, and write it down. She points out the fact that no one is going to see the first draft anyway, so there is no point in focusing too much on structure or making sense. The way she writes helps make her point because her writing style almost makes you feel like you’re having a conversation with her. She mentions more than once how her friends have given her advice on certain subjects, and she tells a story about how she used to write for her column. The essay wasn’t so much formal and factual as it was straight up advice. The good thing about it was that it all flowed and still made sense, which was kind of her point. If you get all of your thoughts out there, you’re more likely to come up with good material.

While I was reading the article, I found myself thinking, “yeah, I do write better when I’m feeling less refined.” I totally agree with her advice about writing a first draft. I find that I do a lot better writing when I’m just flowing, and letting ideas come out, rather than typing a sentence and then going back to make sure it made sense. When I try to do that, I end up taking twice as long, and the papers always seem to lack character and feeling. I think the things Anne Lamott had to say were all really great pieces of advice, and will help me to write better in the future.