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.
Keomany Luangsongkham Professor Brownell ENGWR 50 22 January 2018 Summary of Anne Lamott’s “Shitty First Drafts” In “Shitty First Drafts” Anne Lamott talks about how a writer's life is not as wonderful as it seems when they write their stories. The first draft you write will always be bad ideas because it is being put together without caring if it makes sense or not. Writing is not as easy as it seems even for good writers who have written books before or have been writing for a long time because it takes time to form a story or even write a sentence as well as perfect it. Even a motivated writer who motivates themselves to write will not help.
Tracey Lindberg’s novel Birdie is narratively constructed in a contorting and poetic manner yet illustrates the seriousness of violence experience by Indigenous females. The novel is about a young Cree woman Bernice Meetoos (Birdie) recalling her devasting past and visionary journey to places she has lived and the search for home and family. Lindberg captures Bernice’s internal therapeutic journey to recover from childhood traumas of incest, sexual abuse, and social dysfunctions. She also presents Bernice’s self-determination to achieve a standard of good health and well-being. The narrative presents Bernice for the most part lying in bed and reflecting on her dark life in the form of dreams.
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.
She gave us an example of her own experience, in which she gets the informations that she needed to have, and ended up writing a really bad first draft. She gave us the confidence that we should never be afraid of having a first draft because nobody is going to look at our work yet. But after the second and third draft, you will be having the best informations that you can ever write, put the most appropriate words and giving informations in a clearest way. 2. What do you think about what Lamott says?
Many may believe that reading a book about religion would be challenging to accomplish for someone who is not religious. But those people have never read Anne Lamott’s, Traveling Mercies: Some Thoughts on Faith. If one were to ask non-religious college students to read a book by a random author about spirituality and “Finding God” through conversion, they would most likely roll their eyes and bear through it. In Lamott’s series of essays, one does not have to “suffer through the readings” because her writing style is one of a kind. She has strategically chosen every word because she is aware of how important her spiritual experiences are to so many people, religious or not.
One of this week’s readings focused on Ch. 5, “Caged Birds,” in Professor Lytle Hernandez’s book City of Inmates: Conquest, Rebellion, and the Rise of Human Caging in Los Angeles, 1771-1965, and this chapter was particularly interesting because it further explained the development of immigration control in the United States. As a continuation from the last chapter, there was a huge emphasis in the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882 and the Geary Act of 1892. This essentially prohibited Chinese laborers from immigrating to the United States, as well as eventually requiring these people to comply with regulations. “Caged Birds” encapsulates the events afterwards, as the book heads well into the early-1900’s. The disenfranchisement of immigrants develops towards further exclusivity because “[by] 1917, Congress had banned all Asian immigration to the Unites States and also categorically prohibited all prostitutes, convicts, anarchists, epileptics, ‘lunatics,’ ‘
Flannery O’Connor’s The King of the Birds is a narrative explaining the narrator’s obsession with different kinds of fowl over time. The reader follows the narrator from her first experience with a chicken, which caught the attention of reporters due to its ability to walk both backward and forward, to her collection of peahens and peacocks. At the mere age of five, the narrator’s chicken was featured in the news and from that moment she began to build her family of fowl. The expansive collection began with chickens, but soon the narrator found a breed of bird that was even more intriguing; peacocks.
Do you know anyone who has Orinthophobia, the fear of birds? Or do you yourself fear the birds? “The Birds”, written by Daphne De Maurier, is a short story that uses various literary terms to make an exceptional piece of writing. The story uses the literary devises such as foreshadowing, imagery, and characterization to create an exhilarating tale. Maurier uses these three components to tell a thrilling story that keeps the reader on edge.
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
Her use of imagery paints a picture for the readers which ultimately helps to make learning the writing process easier. For example, when she says “the critics would be sitting on my shoulders, commenting like cartoon characters”, this creates a humorous and memorable image of shoulder sized critics (Lamott 469). This step in the process is unusual from what other authors say, yet it’s interesting which engages the reader. Lamott also uses similes and metaphors throughout the essay to explain what it is like for most struggling writers. She states “we all often feel like we are pulling teeth” when it comes to constructing and composing a piece of work (Lamott 468).
I am now able to see the areas in which I lack in but I also recognize my strengths as well. To become a precise writer, you have to take the initiatives that will help you do so. These initiatives consist of working on different academic genres, planning and organizing material, identifying purpose and audience and for revising intentionally. It is also includes reading different types of texts and learning how to understand a writer’s argument and respond to the ideas of others.
Tawney Nodland – As I look back over the past semester of English Composition, I realize that I have grown as a writer. Not onlyhas my understanding of the writing process changed, my whole attitude towards composition has too. This composition course has made a significant impact on my learning experience and has given me tools to take forward into my future educational and professional goals. Throughout this course, I have discovered things about myself as a writer and know some of my strengths and weaknesses. I now feel more prepared for future writing assignments, whether for work or for school.
I continued to type; I added in unnecessary symbolism and metaphors to give the illusion of a well-written paper. I was making good time, I had almost a page and a half done already, but suddenly I stopped writing. “ What next?” I had a case of writer's block, and it was bad.
