In “Shitty First Drafts,” Anne Lamott expresses the need for “really, really shitty first drafts” (3). Lamott furthers her thesis by using a past writing experience as a food critic and her wanting for a pristine first draft (5) and how she eventually goes back to “writing without reining [her]self in” (6). This helps us see that all writers, even the “People’s Author,” needs to write crappily before getting a New York Times Bestseller, which they give out to everyone. However, if your draft is “healthy” (Lamott 10); the possibility of something missing, a thesis for example, you’re screwing yourself over. As more and more people have focused on that one sentence that makes or breaks the paper, the basic idea of writing is lost: the thought,
The article Shitty First Drafts written by a renowned author, Anne Lamott, is quite a piece. Shitty? Yes, the title is very eye catching but brutally honest. Written on the top of the second page, Lamott writes, “In fact, the only way I can get anything written at all is to write really, really shitty first drafts.” Even to famous authors there is a process.
In “Shitty First Drafts” by Anne Lamott, she discusses how a writer’s first drafts are usually not perfect (para. 1). It is just a start-draft, just to get the writer going. The first step in this process is to write down anything you can think of at the moment or write out the details for your paper. Personally, I have always struggled with not just the first paragraph, but the first sentence. Like many students and writers, we all have difficulty starting with an interesting, attention-grabbing statement.
Peet Anne Lamott is a famous writer who wrote the book Bird by Bird: Some Instructions on Writing and Life. Her book contains not only her experiences as writer but also tips for developing writers. In her book Bird by Bird, she has a section titled: “Shitty First Drafts” in which she displays her own experiences along with uncovering a new technique for the readers. In this section, she writes about how the only way to write a good final draft is by writing a shitty first drafts, and her experiences related to it.
Anne Lamott’s writing process in “Shitty First Drafts” is messy. She initially writes down everything that she is thinking, and then she goes back and refines what she wrote. Lamott has writer's block because she panics about how good her writing is going to be. She resolves this by taking a break, sitting back down, and word vomiting onto her paper. Lamott later goes back to her draft, elaborates on good ideas in her writing, and then crosses out everything else.
I read, T4 by Ann Clare Lezotte, which is about her life as a Jewish, deaf girl who lived in Germany. This was the time period when Adolf Hitler ruled their country, which means they didn’t like Jewish people. In the book, she had said, “when my mother was pregnant with me, she was exposed to Rubella, or German Measles, a common cause of hearing loss in infancy” (Lezotte, 3). I’ve never had hearing loss or anything like that but I did have failure to thrive and a sensory disorder when I was younger, which impacted my life a lot.
After watching the video I felt very emotional and inspired by Susan’s work and passion about helping and serving women who were released from prison. I discovered how easy it is for people who have been released from prison to return to prison due to the lack of support and resources some people are able to receive. The fact the people who have drug or narcotic felonies are not able to receive food stamps or low-income housing stood out to me. This stood out because this rule is one factor of how people who have previously been incarcerated return back to prison. It surprised me how much a family member incarcerated effects a family and the impact it has on relationships.
The article by Donald Murray entitled, “The Maker’s Eye: Revising Your Own Manuscripts” provides readers a better understanding of the writing process and argues that writers learn to write, by writing and rewriting. Murray also contends that writers must learn to be their own best enemy. Well, I believe I have this trait covered! I will confess, that I purposely saved this course for last, due to the number of years between my last structured learning experience and returning to school to complete a BSN degree.
Furthermore, as Lamott says this and develops her connection with beginning writers who may feel discouraged or maybe even feel overwhelmed, by offering them positive reinforcement and words of encouragement. Lamott’s word choice also has a direct impact on the pathos she portrays in her article, simply by beginning with the title “Shitty First Drafts”. Her word choice is reminiscent to that of a normal friend, and this level of
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
Anne Lamott 's essay, “Shitty First Drafts” explains to its readers that all writers, even the best, can have “shitty first drafts.” The essay presents the proper writing process from the first draft to the final piece of work. Her essay is intended to encourage writers who are in need of direction when it comes to writing and to teach inexperienced writers ways to become more successful in writing. Anne Lamott uses her personal experiences to build credibility, figurative language to engage the reader and provides the reader with logical steps for the writing process. To build credibility on her processes success, Lamott uses her own personal experiences.
In “Decisions and Revisions: The Planning Strategies of a Publishing Writer” Carol Berkenkotter. Berkenkotter did study and experiment on Donald M. Murray to see how professional academic writer writes and see his writing processes. In this essay I will talk about how's my writing process is the same or different from other people processes. Planning and proofreading is strategies I’m using during my writing assignment During the any writing assignment
ENG-122 Reflective Essay My writing process has changed tremendously over the course of this class. I feel more accomplished, confident and I feel sometimes that my ideas and thoughts just come in to my mind out of nowhere and I start writing about anything now. I pay attention to my punctuation and grammar more as I have polished them more now, not only when I write but then others write as well. I am constantly looking for errors and I highly think this is helping me a lot in my career.
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.
Also not leaving people wondering about what is happening makes a good piece of writing. I know when I have written something well, when I feel very confident in it. As I’m reading through it, I want to keep reading it. Also when I don’t feel the need to go back and add more words or details because I already had. That is how I know when I have written my best.