Shitty First Drafts By Annie Lamontt

Annie Lamontt, author of Bird by Bird, offers a glimpse into a world many writers can relate to. In the chapter called “Shitty First Drafts”, she utilizes the writers she associates with as evidence to support that the writing process does not begin with an immaculate first draft (Lamont, 1994). This is the “fantasy of the uninitiated” (Lamont, 1994, p. 1). Strangers to the writing process may not understand that writing isn’t simply “writing”—it is a process. The uninitiated, in this case, are non-writers. Furthermore, she considers this a fantasy because it is not the reality shared between herself and the writers she knows (Lamont, 1994). This distinction is vital to the credibility of “Shitty First Drafts”, as it absolves her from being accused of being too hyperbolic.

Following this sentence, Lamontt wrote, “The [first draft] would be so long and incoherent and hideous that for the rest of the day I’d obsess about getting creamed by a car before I could write a decent second draft” (Lamontt, 1994, p. 2). Again, I believe that she is not being hyperbolic; she adds voice the personal process she goes through after writing a first draft. While she does imply that “shitty” first drafts are part of the writing process, the thoughts that she grapples with are entirely her own. However, adding this anecdote could be a tool to relate to her