Read this essay by Annie Lamott short essay: “Shitty First Drafts”

In this essay from the book Bird by Bird, essayist Annie Lamott writes about the agony of writing a first draft (which you now have to do) and about the hard task of learning that writing bad first drafts are part of learning the overall process of writing.  According to Lamott:

“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 itlater. You just let this childlike part of you channel whatever voices and visions
come through and onto the page.”

You have to start somewhere! And in your narrative essay, some of you will start with some free writing or brainstorming you’ve done on our discussion boards. Either way, remember Lamott’s reminder that “almost all good writing begins with terrible first efforts.”

Lamott, Anne. ‘Shitty First Drafts.” in Language Awareness: Readings for College Writers. edited by Paul Escholz, Alfred Rosa, and Virginia Clark. 9th ed. Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2005.   https://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&pid=sites&srcid=ZGVmYXVsdGRvbWFpbnx3YXJyZW5zY2xhc3Nyb29t