Shitty First Drafts, is meant to teach the reader that even though their first draft may be horrible they have to keep going with it and revise their essay. I know when I read a book that I really like, I wish that I could write like that. Lamott teaches us that most professional writers cannot just write a really good first draft. This essay taught me that the first draft is meant for you to simply get all of your ideas on paper. Personally when writing I have a hard time and this is because I think and want to try and write the best first draft ever so, I only have to revise my paper little as possible. This processes leads to major writer’s block and frustration. The first draft however is “where you let it all pour out and then let it romp all over you”.
The first draft is intended to be imperfect and unpolished. Maybe from the first draft you will have a starting point and can see the ideas of how to revise the paper. I think Lamott wants the reader to understand that no one writes a good first draft, so do not get frustrated when first writing your paper for the first time.
This was of my favorite essays that I have read, because it is so relatable and I can see myself taking advice away in this essay and applying it to my own writing. “Almost all good writing begins with terrible first efforts.” This quote was one of my favorites because, it helps me understand that I can be a good writer but I cannot give up when I think my writing is terrible. Something good will come out of my first effort.