Please read the short essay “Sh*tty First Drafts” by Anne Lamott on Perusall and post at least two (2) comments, and reply to at least two (2) of your classmates’ comments. Answer the following questions by replying to this post :
- Lamott says that the perceptions most people have of how writers work is
different from the reality of the work itself. She refers to this in paragraph 1 as “the fantasy of the uninitiated.” What does she mean? - In paragraph 7 Lamott refers to a time when, through experience, she
“eventually let [herself] trust the process – sort of, more or less.” She is
referring to the writing process, of course, but why “more or less”? Do you
think that her wariness is personal, or is she speaking for all writers in this
regard? Explain. - From what Lamott has to say, is writing a first draft more about the product or the process? Do you agree in regard to your own first drafts? Explain.
1.I think what Lamotte is saying is her firm belief that writers should put their ideas on paper, no matter what they think or what readers think. Writers like to write bad first drafts so they can spot problems and rewrite them. The idea that a writer can write perfectly the first time is what she calls a “layman’s fantasy.”
2. I think LaMotte is talking about all writers. Writers love to write bad first drafts. She explains how many writers force themselves to write amazing things. It takes a process to form a masterpiece. like anything else, the first time you do Activity writing or homework, won’t be perfect.
3. According to LaMotte, writing the first draft is more about the process. “For me and most other writers I know, writing is not rapturous. In fact, the only way I can get anything written at all is to written at all is to write really, really shitty first drafts,” (p3) she said. The author’s first draft was not good, and he wrote back his ideas and then added them, but the author picked good ideas in the first draft to prepare for the second and third drafts. I agree with it, writing the first draft is more of a process. My first draft was rubbish, full of debris. I have never paid enough attention to revising and editing my papers. I need more time to complete the basics of writing and my results will be great work. This is also important for the writing process.