Part Two:
Shitty Rough Draft Summary
Figure 2.1
Anne Lamott (born April 10, 1954) is an American novelist
and non-fiction writer.
and non-fiction writer.
The article, “Shitty Rough Daft,” written by Anne Lamott (Figure 2.1) and published by New York: Andovers Books,first approaches the myth that every good writer’s first draft is always flawlessly written. In spite of this, Lamott debunks this myth by stating, “All good writers write them [“shitty” rough drafts]. This is how they end up with good second drafts and terrific third drafts” (Lamott 1). The author describes the first rough draft as the “child’s draft;” where
the writer can let all the desired information flow on to paper “knowing that no one is going to see it and that you can shape it later” (2). The idea of the “child draft” lets the writer convert his thoughts like that of a child’s way of thinking; “You just let this childlike part of you channel whatever voices and visions come through and onto the page…” This old way of thinking can produce great writing that the adult way of thinking lack ability to create (2). The author feels that this is a good foundation for the overall paper; this isn’t the finalized draft thus the writer has control over the paper. The writer can let anyone to no one see the first draft. Nevertheless, many writers, including Lamott, panic when writing the first draft. She panics whenever she begins to write a review (3). The author comments that even though all the information needed was gathered, panic, hopelessness, and fear would still emerge. She found a solution by just writing whatever came to mind and to write it all down without the fear of another’s eyes peering at her mistakes. Later, she fixes her errors “with a colored pen…find a new lead somewhere on the second page, figure out a kicky place to end it, and then write a second draft. It always turned out fine…” (3).
the writer can let all the desired information flow on to paper “knowing that no one is going to see it and that you can shape it later” (2). The idea of the “child draft” lets the writer convert his thoughts like that of a child’s way of thinking; “You just let this childlike part of you channel whatever voices and visions come through and onto the page…” This old way of thinking can produce great writing that the adult way of thinking lack ability to create (2). The author feels that this is a good foundation for the overall paper; this isn’t the finalized draft thus the writer has control over the paper. The writer can let anyone to no one see the first draft. Nevertheless, many writers, including Lamott, panic when writing the first draft. She panics whenever she begins to write a review (3). The author comments that even though all the information needed was gathered, panic, hopelessness, and fear would still emerge. She found a solution by just writing whatever came to mind and to write it all down without the fear of another’s eyes peering at her mistakes. Later, she fixes her errors “with a colored pen…find a new lead somewhere on the second page, figure out a kicky place to end it, and then write a second draft. It always turned out fine…” (3).