Most every student is familiar with writer’s block or some variety of it. They sit down to start penning an essay’s first draft and have a hard time getting words onto the page. Alternatively, they might overthink the process and enter a sort of paralysis which inevitably leads to a blank page. Whatever the scenario, you might be hard-pressed to find someone who knows exactly what they’re going to write the first time around. Sometimes, the solution might be as simple as just “letting go” and writing whatever comes to mind first. Writer Anne Lamott argues just that in her piece “Shitty First Drafts”. Lamott makes the point that it’s far to revise and edit when the words are already written down. Additionally, she notes that often we might find that writing anything down – even if it’s shitty – can lead to discovering new ideas that we previously might not have gotten to before. In other words, throw a bunch of stuff at the page and see what sticks!
Of course, not everyone will agree with this methodology. For example, writers such as George Dila argue that one should start with their best foot forward and revise as they write. Dila finds the notion of a “shitty first draft” to be offensive for that very reason. Ultimately, however, I believe that Dila and Lamott both have the same intention even if their methods are different. It seems like they agree that every person should write in the way that works best for them. If it helps to get anything out and fix it later, do that! If writing perfectly the first time makes the process easier for you, you can do that too!
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