Blog #2: Shitty First Drafts

In "Shitty First Drafts," Anne Lamott writes about the struggle every writer faces in just trying to get something, anything down on the page, no matter how bad it is. There is this sort of self-created pressure, one that I think everyone who has ever written anything has felt, to be perfect right off the bat, of composing beautiful, well thought out sentences without even thinking about it. But as Lamott reveals, "Very few writers really know what they are doing until they've done it" (Lamott). I heavily relate to this piece, as I often find myself procrastinating writing because I think what I write will not be good enough, but Lamott reassures the reader that everyone feels this way, that all that matters is producing something, because chances are, within that awful first "something," there will probably be at least one phrase, sentence, or sentiment that will inspire you to create something meaningful, or at least acceptable. This chapter is helpful to me in the way that it reminds me not to take myself too seriously, that a shitty first draft is way better than a completely blank page.