[Amber Slater]

Hi all! Answer these two questions:

1. What has your writing process been like in the past? How often have you written multiple drafts of your papers? What have been your strategies for revising and editing? Do you have a special place where you like to go to write?

2. What is one sentence from “Shitty First Drafts” that is memorable or interesting to you? Why is it memorable or interesting?

[StrongHaven]

From what i can remember back in high school my writing process was not that great, compare to now in college.
From high school almost all my drafts had to be rewritten, i guess my strategies would be to know what I’m going to write before putting it in paper. proofreading my work and editing my mistakes, formatting. No i don’t have a special place to write only whats available like library or home.
After reading, “shitty First Drafts” one sentence that i found interesting is, “The first drafts is the child’s draft,where you let it all pour out then it romp all over the place, knowing that no one is going to see it and that you can shape it later.” i found this statement true, because it when ever i write my first draft it mine to see and fix the problem that needs fixing; and its the first draft where i can write anything that i think of and then fix my mistakes.

[gamanya10]

1) In the past I’ve usually used the prompt given if any, write an introduction, body and conclusion depending on what I’m writing. That would be my first draft. After this I went to tutoring if I wasn’t fully confident about it, ask for grammar check and feedback. I often rewrote my drafts depending on the feedback I got from the tutors, professors and sometimes peers. I don’t have a special or specific place I like to go to write, as long as it’s not too loud, I am comfortable and able to think.

2) There are so many memorable and interesting sentences but the first one that captivated me was, “Very few writers really know what they are doing until they’ve done it.” I chose this one because I can relate to it a lot. I love to write: essays, poems, quotes and comments. But sometimes I have no idea how to start and end. Whenever that happens as Lamott stated, I usually just start putting down anything on the paper, phone, or computer after awhile the thoughts just run in my head consecutively. At that point, I don’t worry as much because I know there’s always room for improvement and people to help me go through it. I always get the desired results and sometimes much better than what I expected.

[Elliot Vidalon]

1) I’ve remember that back in two semesters, in type & media class our assignments was to create a magazine and the pro. Required us some texts and images to use. However, I did not use those requirements instead I decided to write my own story that I had developed since four years or so to this very day. My first time writing it was a mess because at the same time I wasn’t sure if the story I typed was accurate enough and I stood up very late night to get one part done. After I’ve complete my story, I decided to look back for every paragraph I’d typed and do some corrections. Then one day, I decided to share this story to my graphic design principle I the story and suggested me to look back and fix some grammar issues. So I took that consideration and looked back once more and I was able to nearly perfect my story. Well, the project didn’t really required to write your own but it’s a choice for us to make and I took the challenge. In my house is the only place I feel comfortable when I have to do a big assignments. I do not always write drafts unless its an obligation due to assignment for different classes.

2) One sentence that is fairly memorable due to my experience was when the main character is at a restaurant with a bad start of his first draft and of course it can be stressful especially when there’s a lot going on you surroundings. I’d find that distracting, uncomfortable and hesitant. To best describe my point he says,” Then on the following Monday I’d sit down at my desk with my notes and try to write the review. Even after I’d been doing this for years, panic would set in.” Writing something while your hesitating can be difficult to get you anywhere, that is why I prefer to do drafts (if I had to for a class) at home, where I can be comfortable and less nervous to open my thoughts.

[Ramon.Jimenez08]

1) In high school, all my writing assignments have only been written once and never been re-written. All my written essays have been done once, and I didn’t do any revisions toward it, because I found them to be alright the way they are. The special place where I enjoy writing is at home, which is where I try to create an essay that was very comfortable for me.

2) After reading “Shitty First Drafts,” the most memorable quote that I found was, “For me and most of the other writers I know, writing is not rapturous.” This quote resonated with me very well, because I find very enjoyable, nor something I consider fun when it’s necessary for work. Writing is just another task that only is interesting when there’s no work involved at all, and even then it isn’t something for many people with a lack of confidence to do.

[Leanie Tejada]

1) I still have the same process of writing since I ‘ve been in high school. My process includes writing the entire essay on paper so that I can be able to add extra sentences and scratch out the things I don’t need. After I fix my essay on paper I begin to type it up, which will count as my second draft. Then I revise the writing based on the corrections that the teacher gave me as my third draft until it’s finally right. When writing I don’t have a specific special place, I just begin writing anywhere that I am whenever I have the time in order to finish quicker.

2) The one sentence from “Shitty First Drafts” that is memorable was “Almost all good writing begins with terrible first efforts. You need to start somewhere. Start by getting something — anything — down on paper”. This sentence was memorable because this is my exact thinking and writing process when I have an assignment for any class. First I identify what I need to write and just continue from there and later on worry about edits and revision.

[Ajaiah]

1) My writing process consists of me just trying to get in the right mindset that helps me write about topics that I may not be very interested in. When I find myself motivated about a topic or find that direction, content comes easier and I can get more of my thoughts down for a draft. I prefer to make two or three drafts of my paper before I hand it in. The first draft is for putting down relevant content. The second draft is about organizing the information so it follows the guidelines given, if any, and there is a clear structure. Then my third draft is polished with all the needed grammar conventions coupled with a few proof readings. I stick to this process all the time as it helps my remember my ideas when I can throw them on paper instead of waiting for it to come all together in my mind which is a bad habit of mine.

2) A memorable sentence from “Shitty First Drafts” for me would be “You just let this childlike part of you channel whatever voices and visions come through onto the page”. I found this line reassuring because it shows that it’s fine to put out some ridiculous first drafts with very questionable ideas. It could be part of a process and it is for me so I’m glad that there are many different methods and no one set way of writing papers. It gives me more confident in my writing process which is important.

[C Pichardo]

1.) During elementary school years, writing was typically done by writing implement and paper, instead of the use of computers to type assignments. Because of this, I was taught to write multiple drafts; allowing the first to be just a rough draft that allows all my thoughts onto the paper. From there, the second draft would mean heavy revision; editing of sentences, moving around sentences or parts of the paragraphs to other section, adding information or removing information. Then finally, I was taught to reread and check for any error with grammar, and any other final potential revisions. Writing multiple drafts was something I’d do fairly often in elementary school. That changed rather drastically, however, as writing papers became more of a computerized task in high school and college. No longer can I truly say I have written multiple drafts of a paper during the past couple of years. I tend to write any assignment such as a research paper, an essay, or homework assignment (such as this) into Google Docs. While typing, I only type one paragraph at a time, and revise it before I continue on with further paragraphs. Allowing my mind to get creative, I let the words flow with little filter from my mind to the paper so that I can get a general idea of how I’m going to formulate the writing piece, as well as to give myself some writing to work with. I tend to keep a disciplined mindset when it comes to the general organization of the paragraph, as it makes the writing process simpler by avoiding extra potential steps, such as having to move around sentences within the paragraph. After typing out a couple of sentences, I will go back and revise those few sentences to add or remove information, change words to make the word choices properly fitting for an individual of my age and grade level. I continue to write a few sentences at a given time, and revise those sentences in ways mentioned during this writing piece until I finish the paragraph in its entirety. Tackling parts of a writing assignment by writing a single paragraph at a time, and perfecting the rough draft of that paragraph before moving on to the next paragraph, is my ideal writing process because it allows me to feel less overwhelmed when compared to writing the assignment in its entirety in rough draft. Seeing a writing piece in its entirety in rough, incomplete form can cause tremendous intimidation and increase stress levels for me. Going by the writing process mentioned, I can have a whole, revised writing piece in one sitting. Finally, from there, I skim-through the reading calmly, and make final revisions to the writing as a whole.
Writing in my room is probably the best place for me to write. This is simply because writing in a public setting such as a park or even a library can prove to be too distracting, due to being surrounded by multiple individuals who can be or will be doing various things. The unfamiliar visuals, or visuals of areas I do not spend a significant amount of time in can also prove to be distracting; as it will prompt me to explore with my eyes.
2.) One sentence from Shitty First Drafts that I find memorable or interesting is, “The first draft is the child’s draft… .” It catches my interest because I agree with the author. The way it is explained in the writing is rather creative, which is admirable. Adding on to what the author said, the first draft seems like the child’s draft because it is your unfiltered raw emotions and thoughts on any given subject expressed without your expression being held back; just like a child. A child is expected to express their emotions and thoughts in an unfiltered, immature way due to underdevelopment. Once you evaluate those thoughts and emotions in your writing piece, you can do something about it by revising; and in doing so, you are practically “maturing” your immature writing piece.

[Malaysia]

1) My writing process has changed over the years. Before ENG COMP 1101 I didn’t know that I was able to revise my paper as many times as I wanted. My professor gave me the chance to develop my writing skills like never before. She helped me become a bette writer and taught me that writer can be revised as many time as we want. My other English teachers only allowed like 1-2 revisions, but my comp professor gave me the space to go back and correct mistakes as many times as I want.
2) Lamott says that the perceptions most people have of how writers work is different from the reality of the work itself. I find the quote interesting because how someone writes can be interpreted in many ways and people can see it differently. We all interpret things in our own way. How we write something can mean something to us but something else to others.

[haque]

1. writing is not some think that i do or did in my past for fun. I originally started writing English from 2014 because that is the year I came to America but I try my best to improve my English writing during my high school years. I still need lots of improvement in my English skills for example vocabulary spelling and many others. Most of the time i did more than one draft because from the drafts i learn from my mistakes and try my best to not do it again. I don’t have any special strategies, i just go over the instructions and fix my mistakes and explain more in the topic if I need to. Most of the time I do all my writing at home but sometimes in the computer lab library.
2. “The first draft is the child’s draft, where you let it all pour out and then let it romp all over the place,” from Shitty First Drafts. This is very interesting to me because i do that in my first draft all the time. When I write the draft put everything that comes to my mind all the time.

[Abass Kane]

1) I never been a big fan of writing. To be honest it was a painful task for me. I really start writing a lot and trying to improve my skill during my last high school year. Arrived in college I start writing a lot for my lab report and physics class too. After I took ENG1101 I learn how to improve my writing, how to make good research and most important that I have to make drafts and proofread my essays. Now I use lot of draft and do brain storming of my idea before to begin. My strategies to revise my work are for example read loud what I wrote so I can know if I miss something or if what I wrote songs okey also I give my essay to other people so I can have different opinion of what I did.
2) “Very few writers really know what they are doing until they’ve done it” from Shitty First Drafts really talk to me. Indeed it’s what I use to do. In front of a topic I just use to go on freestyle until I finish before to check if what I wrote was good or not. I do think that some people don’t know what they’re doing just because they don’t have idea about what to write and just go on improvising.

[Louis]

1) In the past, I’ve always been exposed to the habit of revising and rewriting every single writing piece I’ve ever been tasked to complete. For every writing task assigned to me, I always had to revise and rewrite each one at least 2-3 times to make sure that it made sense to the teacher or whomever was reading it. My strategies for revising and editing include proofreading my writing, both done by myself, or by friends/classmates who I get paired up with. They also would look over what I wrote and give constructive criticism or feedback on what I wrote. This would usually benefit my writing in the long run, and aid me in becoming a fluent and efficient writer. My place of writing is no where special really. All of my assignments were always completed within the closed doors of my room, where I find it easy to focus and get my ideas and thoughts out onto paper as clearly as possible.

2) One sentence from “Shitty First Drafts” that is interesting to me is located in the second paragraph which states “It’s not like you don’t have a choice, because you do — you can either type, or kill yourself.” This sentence is interesting to me because it was meant as a way to motivate oneself to just write, and not care about the first outcome. This sentence is actually saying to just get the writing out of the way now or else you won’t have anything to do with yourself, and you’ll just be useless for the time being, which is the last thing I would want to be rendered as.

[Haifa Mahmoud]

1) In the past, my writing process has always been to write and develop my work into what the prompt asks me to answer. When writing a second or final draft, it would only end up in me just changing a few words or spell checking my work. However, when I entered college, my writing strategies changed. I’ve had to write multiple drafts on some papers, and I would notice a significant difference from my first draft and final paper. When revising or editing, my strategy would be to go over my writing, proofread, expand on my ideas, and take into consideration the comments my professor wrote down. When I write, I can only focus if I’m alone in my room, I can’t do my work at school or public places because I’ll only get distracted.
2) As I was reading “Shitty First Drafts,” there was a part that stuck out to me. Anne Lamott wrote, “Very few writers really know what they are doing until they’ve done it….You need to start somewhere. Start by getting something–anything–down on paper.” This was memorable because I was actually told this by my English professor last semester. He said that it is most difficult to actually begin writing, but just start and write anything down, anything that comes to your mind, and from there you will eventually write down a great idea to expand on. If you don’t start writing, you will keep putting off your paper and start a night before its due, with very little effort. But if you start, and write something down, then you are beginning the writing process.

[Takira Poole]

1) My writing process hasn’t change that much since high school. I usually start off not knowing where to begin and have a hard time coming up with ideas. Then, after a day or two I finally come up with something and jot down anything that comes to mind. After, I got everything down I start to write my paper. I always write a first draft of my papers because I never like the direction the paper is going in. When I’m revising my papers I like to read each paragraph and see if the paper flow well. I like to write on my kitchen table because it’s the quietest place in the house.

2) One sentence from “Shitty First Drafts” that’s interesting to me is located in sixth paragraph that states, “ I’d try to write a lead, but instead I’d write a couple of dreadful sentences, XX then out, try again, XX everything out, and then feel despair and worry settle on my chest like an x-ray apron. ” This is the most interesting to me because this sounds like me when I start writing.

[noura asad]

In the past, my writing process was strong and I’ve always made an effort to make a positive achievement on my writings. Iv’e written multiple drafts of my papers very often, because that’s how my writing improved. My strategies for revising and editing would be proof reading, annotating my own work to make changes that have to be made, and proof reading. Allowing colleagues or other people to proof read my work and recommend any changes for the better. A place I like to be when I write isn’t really that special, my room. I like to be alone while listening to music, to write. A couple sentences from “Shitty First Drafts” that I found interesting and relatable were, “The right words and sentences just do not come pouring out like ticker tape most of the time” At times when I’m writing I don’t know what I want to write right away. I have to sit for awhile and think about what I want to write and how I’m going to write it. “In fact, the only way I can get anything written at all is to write really, really shitty first drafts”. I found this line very relatable and interesting because, I find myself saying this all the time. I have to write drafts, after drafts, and more drafts. I know then, by looking at every draft I’ve written to revise my writing.