ENC 2135 Spring 2018

Question: Could the shitty first draft be actually better because it's almost a purer/more natural and honest form of writing? Quote: "(...) the critics would be sitting on my shoulders, commenting like cartoon characters. They'd be pretending to snore, or rolling their eyes at my overwrought descriptions."

For my reading I read "shitty first drafts", and for my question I was wondering, "If you had to write a first draft for a story or an article, how would you try to overcome writer's block when it hits?".  I also thought this quote was very interesting in the reading, when the author said "We all often feel like we are pulling teeth, even those writers whose prose ends up being the most natural and fluid.  The right words and sentences just do not come pouring out like ticker tape most of the time" (Lamott 2).  This was interesting because it changed my opinion greatly about writers, whom I thought found writing to be very easy, but it turns out they're very similar to the rest of us, and they too struggle with writers block all the time.

Why is it that when we allow our minds to think like children our imagination flourishes more than when we hold ourselves to mature, more adult standards?

“You just let this childlike part of you channel whatever voices and visions come through and onto the page. […] Just get it all down on paper because there may be something great in those six crazy pages that you would never have gotten to by more rational, grown-up means.” 

Does the magic really exist or do we always have the ability to write amazing thoughts down on the first try?

"It's over, I'd think calmly. I'm not going to be able to get the magic to work this time." -Anne Lamott

"Just get it all down on paper because there may be something great in those six crazy pages..." One can't find diamonds without digging through dirt, so I one-hundred percent agree with this quote. There's bound to be at least one or two good ideas in the SFD, and if there's not, then one can just continue writing until they feel like they have enough substance.

Could a SFD be considered as "stream of consciousness"?

Question: Where do we draw the line between "pouring out your first draft" and going completely off topic, and is it more important for a first draft to just get started, or to stay on topic? Quote: "Very few writers really know what they are doing until they've done it. Nor do they go about their business feeling dewy and thrilled."

Question- Does the author think that the process for writing a good paper could be applied to mastering other talents, or just to those that require creative thinking? Quote- "Very few writers really know what they are doing until they've done it"

Quote: " I came to realize that all writing consists of a series of choices." Question:  Could reading like a writer have an affect on how we compose texts, tweets, and other social media posts, or is it only a useful technique for improving your professional writings? Why?

Quote : "The first draft is the child's draft, where you let it all pour out and then let it romp all  over  the  place,  knowing  that  no  one  is  going  to  see  it  and  that  you  can  shape  it  later." Question : Can one feel confident enough in their first draft to propose it as their final draft?

My question relating to the "Shitty First Drafts" article is: to what extent is it a bad thing to have written or typed an essay or writing assignment that is considered to be a "shitty first draft? One of the quotes that I thought was interesting on this topic was: "It's not like you don't have a choice, because you do-- you can either type or kill yourself. We all often feel like we are puling teeth, even those writers whose prose ends up being the most natural and fluid." either type, or kill yourself." We all often feel like we are pulling teeth, even those writers whose prose ends up being the most natural and fluid. The right words and sentences just do not come pouring out like ticker tape most of the time. feel like we are pulling teeth, even those writers whose prose ends up being the most sentences just do not come pouring out like ticker tape most of the...

What is it about the process of writing the first draft, or a "shitty first draft," that is so difficult to do? A quote that resonates with me is " A friend of mine says that the first draft is the down draft -- you just get it down. The second draft is the up draft -- you fix it up. You try to say what you have to say more accurately. And the third draft is the dental draft, where you check every tooth, to see if it's loose or cramped or decayed, or even, God help us, healthy."

Quote: "We all often feel like we are pulling teeth, even those writers whose prose ends up being of the most natural and fluid." Question: Is misery and agony felt when writing just a part of the process, or is it the true mark of a great writer?

I'd like to look back on the writers reference to his comparison of food dishes with various ex-presidents' brains. It's certainly a colorful and eye-catching comparison, but when one is writing about real-world foods, shouldn't comparisons be made to elements that people might have experiences with? Shouldn't comparisons in reality-grounded work like reviews be useful?

"If the kid wants to get into really sentimental, weepy, emotional territory, you let him." I had one particular chapter I was working on in the first draft phase of a work that came out really badly because I was holding myself back far too much. So now I have to go overboard on the second draft and rein it in on the third draft. So yes, good advice here.

Quote: "The only way I can get anything written at all is to write really, really shitty first drafts." Question: Do you think every single writer would find this method helpful? Why might some not?

Quote- Almost all good writing begins with terrible first efforts. You need to start somewhere. Question- Is there such thing as a good first draft or are all first drafts in need of editing?

Quote: "it's not like you don't have a choice, because you do -- you can either type, or kill yourself" Question: How many shitty drafts do you have to write before it can be considered a final draft? either type, or kill yourself."

"Almost all good writing begins with terrible first efforts."

Is it necessary for every writer to write a shitty first draft?

If you write a rough draft that you're proud of, is it most likely still shitty?

"Very few writers really know what they are doing until they've done it."