Journal Three Response

I think that Lamott’s idea of a shitty first draft is absolutely brilliant. I know personally, the importance of writing down my thoughts immediately after something happens is crucial to form a good end product. In writing down pure thoughts and ideas soon after an event or happening, I feel the author is able to obtain a more raw, natural aspect to their writing. It ensures a genuine response to some sort of prompt. Later, this hastily written recounting can be shaped and formed into a well-written paper, or beautifully drafted story. I value a first draft very much so because it allows for the subconscious to speak; writing down a stream of consciousness can be a very powerful thing.

Lamott’s idea relates to my recent draft of my memoir in that immediately after the event that is being written about in my memoir occurred, I literally went home and wrote it down. I wrote it down, detailing every little thing I could recall about the day not because I was planning on forming a paper out of my notes, but because I didn’t want to forget what had happened. Upon receiving the assignment to write a memoir, I realized that there is no better day to write about than the one I chose. I was able to refer back to my notes to include complete descriptions and accurate details about everything that had happened. I think these details make the paper so much stronger and add exponential emotional appeal.

Writing my first draft for my personal memoir was critical to its eventual end product. I was able to throw together my thoughts and was able to see what would work and what seemed awkward or difficult to follow and understand. Having a peer read my potential memoir also was very helpful because it allowed me to get an outsider’s point of view as opposed to my own. I feel once you read your own paper a certain amount of times; you become inept at properly editing it because you are just too familiarized with your own words. Writing a shitty first draft is helpful in so many ways but I think its greatest advantage is just providing the opportunity to get your thoughts down on paper, where they can be properly analyzed and categorized.

Overall Lamott’s theory of writing a shitty first drafts is a great idea. I think it’s ridiculous that anyone could think that a writer could produce a masterpiece in one sitting. A first draft is not only imperative to a strong final draft, but it is also healthy for the writer. The act of just simply writing down thoughts and not worrying about sentence structure, or word choice is something everyone should experience at some point.