[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?

• This topic was modified 4 years, 7 months ago by Amber Slater.

[Ashley]

Shitty Drafts

My writing process has changed over time. Before
Now, my writing process consists of more planning than anything else. I find myself spending most of my time organizing what I am going to write because if I don’t, I will get stuck in the middle of what I’m writing and spend too much time on it. When I actually start to write, I’ve discovered that I work more effectively whilst listening to music. Before, I couldn’t work like this because it would be a distraction. But now, it’s the most effective way for me to get my writing done. I also try to keep my phone away from me so I am not tempted to give in to the distraction. Sometimes I find myself having to start over a whole piece just because I tend to be a bit of a perfectionist. If I feel like it’s not flowing or that it’s just flat out not good, I will take a step back and start over. But the truth is, the first draft is never perfect and always needs some work. When it comes to revising my work, I like to have someone read my work so that way I can get some criticism that isn’t biased.

“Almost all good writing begins with terrible first efforts. You need to start somewhere. Start by getting something— anything— down on paper.” This sentence from the reading is both interesting and memorable to me. I need to hear this because I am very self-critical when it’s comes to my writing. It’s important to understand that sometimes you’re going to have a hard time putting a piece together, it just takes time and patience.

[Ryanbell782]

Shitty Drafts

My writing process is not a complicated one i don’t do any drafts, all i really need to know is what i am writing about .
Though i absolutely love to read i am NOT a big fan of writing,so all i ask for in my writing is two things, make sense and stay on topic.
And to do that i simply write about the topic to the required amount of words and then chisel it down until it makes sense and
is grammatically correct.
An interesting line in the story would be “i obsess abut getting creamed by a car before i could write a decent second draft” for this reason,
i had always suspected professional writers were head cases and now i have proof.

[Mykhal Parson]

In the past, my writing process was very short. From high school (where I didn’t have to write drafts) until the start of college, I always wrote only one draft for my papers. I would submit papers at last minute and hope for the best. But some of those times I could’ve gotten better grades on papers if I revised them. Now, what I do before I write a paper is brainstorming. Usually I try to create a thesis first, then figure out what’s going in my body paragraphs. Recently, I’ve been printing out my papers in order to write over them for new drafts. One bad thing that I used to do is revising without printing out the first draft. Sometimes sentences may get edited wrong. I usually write the best when I’m on my couch doing a paper last minute. One sentence from the excerpt that was memorable to me was “You just let this childlike part of you channel whatever voices and visions come through and onto the page”. It was memorable because I would’ve never imagined a writer relating childhood to the process of writing.

[Joshua]

I don’t really write a lot. There was this one time i put a lot of work into my writing and it was for English 1101. The only reason i wrote drafts were because the professor needed it. I would normally write and then I’ll just read it over a couple of times and if something doesn’t make sense then I would change it but if it makes sense then i’ll just leave it. I do not have a special place I would like to go write because I’m not that big of fan of writing.
One sentence that interest me from this reading is “One writer I know tells me that he sits down every morning and says to
himself nicely, “It’s not like you don’t have a choice, because you do — you can either type, or kill yourself.”” The reason this sentence interest me is because this i how i feel when every time when i have to write.

[ArchAlex]

In middle school, my teachers drilled the four square method in me for 3 years straight. I unconsciously try to chain my intro, my center piece and conclusion as smooth as I can. Usually it’s around 2 drafts across all college courses I’ve taken. Revising and editing is a process I look forward too with my friends. They would mark something that seems it could be reworded better and I would agree and try to fix the way I express that sentence. If I am solo revising/editing, I would just look for any grammar issues and look to see if it is concise. My special place to write is not really special in my case. I tend to love writing or doing academic work early in the morning in my room. I have a tendency to be more focused early in the morning for some strange reason.

2. “People tend to look at successful writers who are getting their books published and maybe even doing well financially and think that they sit down at their desks every morning feeling like a million dollars, feeling great about who they are and how much talent they have and what a great story they have to tell; that they take in a few deep breaths, push back their sleeves, roll their necks a few times to get all the cricks out, and dive in, typing fully formed passages as fast as a court reporter. But this is just the fantasy of the uninitiated.” This was very interesting because it shows that general assumptions of writers are not true. It’s rare that someone can just sit down and write a whole book in one sitting and become a millionaire overnight. This applies to mostly every other lines of work that may not seem as “hard-working” but in fact it is.

[Abdullah123]

My writing process has been slow actually. It happens when I’m interested in a topic. When I am interested, my topic becomes a lot more creative to write about. I usually write two drafts of paper, before submitting the final one. This is what I was taught in High School. My strategies were to check for grammar and see if everything flowed out smoothly. I don’t have a special place to write. The thing that I most find remembering in the excerpt is “Very few writers really know what they are doing until they’ve done it”, which I believe to be very true. You can write about skydiving and how great it is, but if you haven’t done it, you can’t really say for sure.

[Aomar]

My writing process has changed after I graduated from high school. When I was in high school I hated writing essay’s, now what it’s like for me is that I’m use to it and it doesn’t bother me. I usually write first drafts and then I’d look for mistakes like spelling errors and punctuations that’s all. A special place that i would write is in my living room because it’s quiet. On sentence that interest me was, “The first draft is the child’s draft, where you let it all pour out and then let it romp  all over the place, knowing that no one is going to see it and that you can shape it  later”. The reason why this is memorable is because, back then when I was in high school I would never care about my first draft because my teacher would never look at it, he only focused and cared about the final draft.

[Janet C.]

My writing has improved a little these past years, I don’t really like to write when it comes to a topic that doesn’t interest me. I do try my best to put as much effort in a paper for a topic given. I remember that a teacher from middle school told me my writing skills were really bad, but never helped me improved them. In my freshman year of high school a teacher told me my writing skills were good and liked the way I formatted my essay. I like to use a essay guideline in order to write my essay step by step, if not then my thoughts flow all over the place and my essays won’t make sense. Overall I still do struggle a bit with grammar in my essays and that is one thing I would like to
One interesting sentence from Shitty Drafts was “ almost all good writing begins with terrible first efforts”.
I guess we can all relate to this sentence, some of us do enjoy writing and others like me do struggle when it comes to writing a paper, we sit and think we cannot write, but our minds have so many thoughts that it’s best to type what we think and later fix it to compose a paper.

[Toni Ann]

My writing process has been the same since high school. I begin by gathering background information on the topic, jotting down my key points, and giving one or three examples to support these points. this is usually the part of my writing that is super organized, then I work on my introduction which has to be something that grabs the readers attention. After doing all this I just write whatever comes to mind whether it makes sense or not. I normally write two to four drafts and ask someone to revise it, checking to see if it flows, the wording, and any grammatical errors. I’m especially distracted so the ideal place and time for me to write is in my room around 3:00 in the morning, this allows me to clear my mind and completely focus on the task at hand.

“you just let this childlike part of you channel whatever voices and visions come through and onto the paper” this sentence resonated with me because I believe it describes in a nutshell how the writing process can be at times. wild and free like a child who’s not worried about whether what their doing makes sense or not.

[Trevian Brown]

My writing process is okay. Depending on how big the paper is I take a slot of time during my day only to write. And I have like a music playlist ready for paper writing. And go from there. I never myself wrote multiple drafts. I fix things while I write. And make sure it’s the best I can do. I only do drafts when a professor or teacher says it’s required of me. Sometimes if it’s a really important paper I would have a friend or classmate read it for me. Do get a different perspective on the paper and make sure it’s good enough to turn in and pass. I don’t really have a special place To write a computer, headphones, and a environment that’s not too distracting is enough for me to write. One sentence from “shitty first drafts” that is gonna be memorable for me is when Anne says “Very few writers really know what they are doing until they’ve done it”. This is true for me when writing a larger essay I just write until I stop myself and think and then find a main idea from there.

[Francky]

I don’t really write, or I rarely write. I started writing in my first year college, which was English 1101. When I first started, I thought I was gonna fail the class. for me, writing in a foreign language was just terrified. I was affrayed of making mistakes, scare of not being ridiculed, until I spoke with my professor, who gave me directions. after my first assignment, I quickly realized that writing is not about words or spelling, but transform what I have in mind into writing form. I’ve written my drafts multiple times, because I always I want to make sure that I do my best. Usually after writing one draft I read over over and over again to make sure that I’m on the right track, that also allows me to revise and edit. The best place for me to write is my bedroom, just because is it simply quiet. once I start writing an assignment, I close my door that no one can”t get into.
One sentence in “Shitty First Drafts” that interests me is: “The right words and sentences just don’t come pouring out like ticker most of the time.” It is interesting because anytime I write, I have to try many times, tear up many pieces of my prewriting before I get the right or main ideas

• This reply was modified 4 years, 7 months ago by Francky.

[Brianna Bermudez]

For a very indecisive individual writing has always been somewhat of a struggle. It’s complicated to get the perfect essay or even the perfect sentence. In the past when I’ve had papers do especially for my English 1101 class I’d take the time to first create an outline. I’ll separate the essay and the paragraphs and write about each main point I need to introduce or mention. That’s the easy part. Once that gets going I begin to write whatever comes to mind, of course for the first draft. After that’s been written I go back and revise my transitioning sentences. Most of the times for big papers I write during the day time in a quiet area, tends to make me feel more awake and helps me focus.

“I know some very great writers, writers you love who write beautifully… and not one of them sits down routinely feeling wildly enthusiastic and confident.” This sentence from “Shitty First Drafts” really made me take a minute and think about that. I’ve never really considered an author’s writing process. In my mind it all just happened. It gave me a way to relate in some sense. Just as indecisive as I am I’m most likely not the only one who gets frustrated with not perfecting their sentences, structures, and just the piece of work overall.

[Joshua V]

1.My process is the past has been to sit down on the night I do my paper and try to get an introduction for a spark or it’s brainstorming in class which makes it easier. The only time I’ve written multiple drafts is when it’s required. When revising and editing I do it on the spot and when I’m finished I’ll re-read and find ways to make it sound better and more fluent ; sometimes I’ll try to find better words because I’ll feel like the word is to simple. I don’t have any special place to write as long as its quiet and I can think out my sentences.

2. The one sentence that caught my eye was
“Very few writers really know what they are doing until they’ve done it. Nor do they go about their business feeling dewy and thrilled. “ it’s impressionable because , I can relate to it and I feel that’s how I go about my essays.

• This reply was modified 4 years, 7 months ago by Joshua V.

[Shannia Thomas]

“Almost all good writing begins with terrible first efforts. You need to start somewhere. Start by getting something— anything— down on paper.”
I find these few lines interesting mainly because I agree with these lines. I’m am so not good with writing and I struggle when it comes to writing. I don’t personally have any strategies. I start literally anywhere. I’ll begin with the conclusion then jump back to the introduction. Random thoughts jump through my head and I just get to writing. It always comes together and I also reread and sort out my writing. One thing I do to revise is using Grammarly. Sometimes I send it out to get feedback. I generally don’t have a place where I go to write or any particular strategies.