Lamott's "Shitty First Drafts" Bird Essay

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This chapter is important because Lamott also discusses the inner critic. This may be the heart of the chapter, as Lamott brings these inner voices into focus and reminds writers that they will probably be around as long as one is writing. She describes how her own inner critics "would be sitting on my shoulders, commenting like cartoon characters" (24) as she wrote. With this personal experience, Lamott is letting aspiring writers everywhere know that they are not alone. All writers go through jittery moments when they sit down to write and crushing these inner voices is a major component to keeping the writing process fluid. She admits, "Quieting these voices is at least half the battle I fight daily" (26). In an interview with Carroll Lachnit, Lamott talks about these voices and the grandiose expectations of humanity as they relates to the writing process. The "panoramic portrait" (Lamott Writer's Digest 32) of writing is so big it is overwhelming and it can thwart writers, Lamott explains. The way to approach writing, she continues, is by breaking it up into "really, really small bits" (32). She encourages writers to explore small areas of interest when writing, such as a specific scene or memory, rather than attempting to create an entire setting for a community. Lamott encourages bad first drafts because "this is how every single real writer I know writes" (31). Perfectionism is the "voice of the oppressor" and an "enemy of the people" (32). The bad first draft is necessary because it allows something to be written. Perfectionism makes that impossible. If writers can break away from the need of writing something perfect, they can discover the process of writing is, indeed, a process. She states emphatically, "You need to start somewhere" (25), encouraging writers not to worry about what the draft looks like. "Good writing stems from mistakes" (32), she tells Lachnit, and these mistakes occur within the first draft.

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Another important factor regarding this chapter and the title of it is not worrying about the end result when sitting down to write. The end is not important in the beginning of any draft and no end will ever be reached until some sort of first draft is attempted. Lamott repeats this point several times in the chapter, as if drilling it into the head of every aspiring writer. The first draft is not the conclusion of any story or novel but it is necessary to get to said conclusion. Writing is not "rapturous" (22), Lamott declares, and the sooner writers can accept this and make it through a first draft, the sooner they will be to something they can complete with confidence. The end does not magically arrive after one's word count reaches 100,000 words. Only through writing and rewriting.

Anne Lamott breaks through the myth that writing is easy or even fun in "Shitty First Drafts." Her vision is to make every writer aware of the fact that bad rough drafts are not simply a fact of the writing life but a fact that is not going to go away soon. From this, she hopes the writer can ease into a place of acceptance with how these drafts feel and work beyond them to see what lies on the other side. Writing is a discipline and just like any other type of work, it is not all pleasurable. However, like most good things in life, it gets better with persistence and determination. Her experiences are to give the writer room to relax and feel free to write with doubt and insecurity. The discipline it takes to work through moments of failure and insecurity are what build strength and this can only be achieved one rough draft at a time.

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