Shitty First Drafts

After reading Anne Lamott’s essay I wanted to try writing about anything, school lunches included. I absolutely agree with her advice about writing just to write and not worrying about how the first draft sounds or the voices in your head telling you what to say. I think the main reason why most students hate writing so much is because they have a hard time just getting the first sentence out due to the fear that it won’t be perfect. Just the other day my roommate Megan asked me what I blog about all day for my English class and how I could ever take the time to sit down and write so much. I told her that I liked writing and the stuff we blog about is sometimes interesting. I also tell her about the material if I am particularly proud of what I wrote and truly interested in it, like some English loving nerd. When I was telling her about the bathroom blog though she said something that really made me think about how other students, who may not like writing, view this act. She said, “See I would never know how to start writing about bathrooms, I would be stuck on the first sentence forever.” This relates to Lamott’s ideas about perfectionism in writing because that is exactly how my roommate writes. She approaches her writing assignments as if the first draft is the only draft she can turn in for her one and only final grade. This means that right away every word has to be perfect which ultimately ruins the creative flow of writing stunting the essay’s progression altogether. Many students approach writing in a similar way which is why most complain when their English teacher assigns a lengthy essay. They think it will take forever because they spend all their time making it perfect right away.

Its situations like this when I’m glad I take the time to write in my journal each day. I never know where my entries are headed and I never stop to think about anyone else opinions about my writing because I know no one else will be reading it. This allows me to utilize Lamott’s strategy all the time which makes it easier to utilize it for actual assignments. I think Lamott’s strategies are great practices because it gets students writing, something that would not otherwise happen. Writing is like any other activity that takes practice. The more you write the easier it will become which is why writing about school lunches, even if it’s not the assignment due, can be beneficial because it will make writing an actual assignment easier. I didn’t have too many writing anxieties for this upcoming draft because I knew it was simply a draft. I did want to make it as close to the final copy as possible for the fear that I wouldn’t have time to change or add a lot later. But this article reminded me that it is a first draft and it won’t be perfect, so I won’t worry too much.