"My Shitty First Draft"

“Shitty First Drafts” Analysis

            “Shitty First Drafts,” taken from Anne Lamott’s book Bird by Bird, is a humorous and helpful piece written to encourage aspiring writers and to convince them to let go and write “shitty first drafts.” Lamott believes that writing terrible first drafts is necessary to the growth and improvement of the writer, because “all good writers write them.” Lamott’s use of first person, a colloquial and informal tone, and multiple similes establishes a more personal connection to the reader, because she aims to advise her audience rather than intimidate them.

She claims that successful authors do not, in fact, always “sit down at their desks every morning feeling like a million dollars.” She does a good job at putting  herself at her audience’s level, which is crucial for this piece because Lamott is trying to advise novice writers, who do not have her experience.She explains that she too struggles with writing first drafts, which are “terrible,” “dreadful,” “shitty,” and “stupefying.”

Lamott sums up her ideas by writing that “you need to start somewhere.” The personal connection Lamott establishes with her audience is made possible by her informal, humorous tone, her word choice, and her similes. I could definately relate to that quote and this article. 


Many people have different writing styles. Some can just sit down for a specific period of time and just finish a paper in its entirity. I take forever to write a paper. I sometimes start weeks before it is due just so I can have the whole amount of time to work on it. I begin by writing what I consider a "shitty first draft," then continue to edit and add ideas until I feel that it is complete. A big problem have is culminating all my ideas together and putting them on paper.  As weird as it sounds, I know what I want to say and focus on, its just hard for me to put it into words. 

A good take away from Lamotts article is that it doesnt matter where you start, its where you finish. As cliche as that may sound. In fact, Lamott suggests that a shitty first draft is an almost obligatory starting point. I know that every first draft is not going to be the best one, but I have to remind myself to not be so critical of my writing and realize that writing is a process and a good paper takes time. 




Thats it.
-CM