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Day Month Year Reflections on the Need for a First Draft Ever since I can remember, first drafts have been the vein of my writing experience. When assigned an essay to write, I confess that I tend to want to just organize my thoughts, write the paper, and submit it to my teacher. Little thought has gone into making sure my thoughts actually make sense to the reader. Even less thought went into considering a first draft as just my initial ramblings, such that I could then go back and expound on my thoughts and ideas in a future draft.

What a novel concept! Reading the short essay “Shitty First Drafts” by Lamott has opened my eyes to a whole new writing experience. The first word of the title says it all, and is actually quite a humbling thought. Let me explain. While I have never considered myself to be a ‘poor’ writer, I simply did not consider all of my initial drafts to be pure and utter crap. To do so would be to admit that I am not perfect. I mean, after all, who wants to admit that? Seriously, though, I have simply never considered that a first draft should never be looked upon as a paper that anyone but myself would see.

Instead, I figured that if I put my thoughts down on paper in a semi-coherent manner, well, that would be enough. Now I understand otherwise. I am actually going to take quite a lot away from having read Lamott’s essay. While I may never be a professional writer, I can certainly strive to do better with recording my thoughts and ideas on paper. I should look at a first draft as an opportunity to expand my ideas and truly capture my thoughts on paper. To do this, I can take the first draft and really polish it up, looking for items I may have missed, and tossing others that, upon reflection, add little substance to the piece.

When I do this, I will certainly create better work, no matter how big or small the assignment may be. Works CitedLamott, Anne. Bird by Bird: Some Instructions on Writing and Life. New York: Anchor, 1995. Print.