The Dreaded First Draft

     I thoroughly enjoyed a recent excerpt we read from Blackboard called, "Shitty First Drafts" by Anne Lamott. Lamott gives a humorous take on having the chore of writing the first draft of a paper. She begins by announcing that few writers, no matter how good, can pull off an amazing first draft. Most writers, like herself, agonize over having to being the writing process as it is not a simple accomplishment. To help herself begin, she likens the writing of a first draft to becoming a child and letting whatever nonsense you can imagine to come through onto the paper. She says that writing unrestrained could produce something brilliant that couldn't be had through more mature means.

     Personally, I enjoy this take on writing a first draft. Usually, when I sit down to write something I can feel dread creeping up because writing isn't something that comes easily to me. However, I do feel that after reading this article that I was doing my first drafts all wrong. I had the feeling that my first draft should be close to my subsequent drafts in substance and quality, but now I realize that this way of writing is unnecessary. The "child's draft" idea showed me that the first draft should be whatever first comes to mind when writing and all the other attempts made should be more refined. Putting myself in some stuffy writer's shoes, it's easy to understand how this way of writing could be seen as a bit sloppy and unhinged. What in the world could writing like a child accomplish? But I say give it a try, it could make writing more engaging and fun. I know that when I'm writing my first drafts, especially this upcoming one, I'll let the words come fluidly and see what happens. Who knows? With the right start I could come out in the end with something to actually be proud of.