****** first drafts

Anne Lamott

Anne Lamott in, “Shitty first Drafts” she gives reasoning why having a messy first draft is reasonable. Lamott explains that every good writer doesn’t have a perfect piece of writing on their first attempt. It is all about trial and error. She states, “The first draft is the child’s drafts, where you let it all pour all over the place, knowing that no one is going to see it and that you can shape it later.” This is very true in my case. In my first draft I tend to pour all my thoughts onto a paper and shape it later in the next attempts. This strategy has always worked for me so I related to this article. On the other hand Renee Long’s article counters Lamott’s piece.

Renee Long

Renee Long rejects Lamott’s article in, “Why I Reject the Idea of Shitty First Drafts“. Long acknowledges that the “Shitty First Draft” method is very popular in the writing world. But she believes that we shouldn’t view our own work as shitty. For example, if an author is writing a piece and they do not like it, but then proceed to use the idea of looking at it as its supposed to be a “shitty” piece, it demoralizes the author according to Long. Long believes a first draft is like a seed. Another example she uses is the acorn example. She believes a first draft is like an acorn; its a seed that has it’s own shape, looks nothing like the finished version of itself (oak tree), but still is the root to the process. In my opinion, I do not like Renee Long’s idea on this and she lost my attention halfway through the audio.

George Dila

In, “Rethinking the Shitty First Draft” by George Dila, he is on the side of Renee Long. He does a better job of explaining in my opinion of both sides. He believes Lamott is saying the only way to write a good paper is by having a shitty first draft. From re-reading Lamott’s piece I can understand where he is coming from. Dila believes that whatever writing style in the rough draft that works best for the writer will pour into their final piece and that the rough draft doesn’t have to be viewed as shitty.

My opinion is that all of these authors are overreacting. Lamott is being dramatic in saying the first draft has to be shitty but she is saying that so writers doesn’t feel pressured to have a perfect first piece. Long and Dila take it to heart and say no work is shitty but I don’t believe they are looking at the big picture.

Our Class: https://eng2020.chrisfriend.us/blog/category/process/first-drafts/