Blog #3

I really enjoyed Anne Lamott’s excerpt from her book Bird By Bird. I thought it was very well written, enjoyable, and very relatable. When I sit down to write something I often see it as a chore in the beginning. I never know where to start, or how to organize my thoughts into anything coherent or well written. It’s true that as a writer of novels or even school papers, you have to “trust the process.” Giving yourself time to organize your thoughts and get them all on paper is incredibly important to making a crisp paper. I enjoyed how Lamott compared the shitty first draft to a child, and the final third or fourth draft as an adult. I thought that was a very humorous and unique comparison that stuck with me, along with comparing the final draft to a dental exam, searching every “tooth” for decay, cavities or plaque until you achieve a healthy paper. Writing isn’t supposed to be easy, and even seasoned writers find themselves lost and worried based on their shitty first drafts. It doesn’t come naturally or flow without fight. As we dive into our first drafts of project one, I think it is very important we trust that what we may think is bad now, will progress into something compelling and well-written. I know I will have to remind myself that it’s okay to write something just to get your ideas on paper, and worry about writing conventions later. Writing has to be done with a goal in mind that you can take the steps to reach. It’s not a one-stop-shop, and it’s more than okay-it’s expected-to create a shitty first draft.