Out of all of the articles we have read thus far in this class, I have not disagreed with any more than I do with this one.
Anne Lamott’s “Shitty First Drafts” pushes the practice of writing an essentially useless, messy draft to start a paper. Before I criticize the article, I do want to say that it was a fun read. It felt more like a conversation with a friend rather than a lecture from a higher up. I enjoyed feeling like the piece wasn’t too serious, and that made it easy to get through despite the fact I did not agree.
Another thing I want to add before my criticism is that I am in no way saying that this approach can’t work for somebody. I could completely respect somebody using this to start a paper, and if that is something you do, then that is good for you.
Now that I have been positive, I will get into the main reasons why I disagree.
Wasting Time
I really feel like this method is a complete waste of time. Lamott says you could write seven pages of crap, and it would be valuable because there is a great line on the end of page six that you would not have been able to write without seven of crap. I don’t think that is an efficient way to go about finding the purpose of your writing, and for me personally it would just stress me out more.
When you write so much crap down, I feel the word revision is no longer applicable. You now have to sort through a ton of terrible writing, just to properly attempt to rewrite the piece anyway. An alternative method could be just taking one sheet of notes that lets you get out any thoughts or questions before you begin.
Edit As You Go
I agree more with the other two articles by Long and Dila that encourage you to basically edit as you write. Whenever I am writing, whether it is for school or work, I will always edit as I go. After I finish the draft, then I go back paragraph by paragraph to edit as needed. I do this until I can read the entire piece without feeling like something doesn’t fit. To me, this approach is way more efficient and less stressful.
All in all, if you want to write a shitty draft, go for it. I won’t be doing it.
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