Lamott\'s \"Shitty First Drafts\" Bird

¶ … Lamott's "Shitty First Drafts"

Bird by Bird by Anne Lamott, is considered the Bible for many aspiring writers for its good advice and common sense approach to the craft. In the second chapter of the book, "Shitty First Drafts," Lamott tackles the myth that first drafts should be perfect or, at least, splendid. Instead of neatly composed pieces, most first drafts are inferior pieces we dare show no one - and that may very well be the point. Working through the process of getting the first draft down is a major feat because it involves tackling a myriad of obstacles that occur mainly in the writer's mind. The first draft, awful as it may be, is absolutely necessary to the writing process. Once the writer can harness thoughts, the writing can begin and once the first draft is written, the second, third and final drafts can follow. This chapter in the book gives every writer permission to write the first draft of any piece of writing with confidence, knowing it does not, under any circumstances, need to be perfect.

Lamott does not pull any punches in this chapter. Her style is straightforward and to the point. The most significant piece of advice of this chapter is for writers to simply write. The first draft, though it may feel as though it is not worth anything, is worth something. In fact, it is worth more than what most writers will ever realize because they are the first steps into that place of creativity. Lamott calls this draft the "child's draft" (Lamott 22) because it is where writers let everything pour out and "let it romp all over the place" (22). There should be no concern for punctuation, subject matter or flow; there should only be the process of writing. The most important thing is that the words make it down on the paper. Lamott uses her experiences as a writer for California magazine to help readers understand what the writing process is like and, by doing this, she illustrates that even for something like this kind of article, work is involved and there is more to it than sitting down and coming up with an article on the first try. She talks about free writing to get the process going and she also mentions how the articles were sometimes "terrible" (24) but she never gave up. The process for one review might have taken her two days to complete but she did not stop after she wrote the first draft. She trusted the process and continued to work with her words until everything "turned out fine, sometimes funny and weird and helpful" (25). The first draft will give writing momentum and this momentum can lead almost anywhere.

Another important aspect of this chapter is letting the writer know it is perfectly fine to feel as though his or her writing is not good enough. She entitles the chapter "Shitty First Drafts" because she wants every writer to realize that all writers write these kinds of drafts. Writing is not some magical process and "almost all good writing begins with terrible first drafts" (25). It is something one must make oneself do, just like exercising and eating right. It is a discipline and it is not always fun. She writes, "I know some very great writers . . . And not one of them sits down routinely feeling wildly enthusiastic and confident. Not one of them writes elegant first drafts" (22). She adds, "very few writers know what they're doing until they've done it" (22). There are no "stiff warm-up sentences" (22) that propel them into a writing sprint or marathon. With these opening lines, she is allowing writers to give themselves permission to write first drafts that are less than stellar.

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.

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.