In elementary and middle school, we were all taught to write first drafts before writing our final copies. Teachers would tell us it is important to take the time to write and organize our thoughts and ideas before writing a final copy. I would never complete this step. I was usually one of the students that would spend my time writing to just get the writing done. Then, I would look over it quickly and correct only few parts. My “first draft” would usually end up being my final draft. I have never enjoyed writing and have never really liked my own writing. My writing was never the one talked about by teachers or ever given a good grade. I would never bother fixing my first draft because I never thought I could make it into a good quality paper. Lamott describes a brilliant writer sitting down and writing a polished piece of work in one sitting and then goes on to explain how that never happens. I found that really comforting because that is how I imagined many people writing. Now I know that is usually not how it happens. This made me realize that good writing just takes time. Some people might be better writers than others, but the way Lamott describes writing makes it seem that anyone can become good writer. I just need to take the time to write out my ideas to form an awful first draft that can later be revised into a “terrific” final…
Practice makes perfect, a common idiom to try to perfect in some particular activity. In this essay, Anne Lamott describes the case of writing horrendous first drafts on an essay or a research paper. She designates how she went through her writing process. Anne tries to explain that ‘shitty first drafts’ needs a great idea to begin with and on to writing the next draft(s). Creating the order of the drafts by making a subpar first drafts can lead to a good second drafts and an excellent third draft, or the final copy. She assumes that writing is not rapturous. The only way to create masterpiece(s) is to start in something small, which in this case, to create…
In the book Bird by Bird by Anne Lamott, she writes an excerpt, Shitty First Drafts, which is about the impact and importance of the first drafts of writing. Anne explains in the beginning of this excerpt that all writers write shitty first drafts and the drafts get better as you write more and work on the writing more. Lamott claims that “writing is not rapturous,” she explains that the only way that she can write anything well is to write a very bad first draft and just work on fixing that. She explains that sometimes you just have to type and get your ideas written out to be able to write a good piece of work. Once someone has been writing for so long, they have to have the ability to be able to just trust their writing process and understand that the first draft isn’t going to be perfect. Nothing is perfect on the first try, you have to keep working at it. Sometimes the first draft will be the worst thing someone thinks they have ever written, but they just have to go back to it and try to make it better and revise what is wrong. A writer has to start somewhere and they work from there. Just because the first draft is a bad draft doesn’t mean that the final work will be terrible. The first draft is the terrible draft, the second draft is the slightly better draft that has been picked through lightly to better, and the final draft is the “dental draft.” The dental draft is the draft that you really pick through and make sure that everything is perfect. In other words, the final product is checked “dentally” to make sure that it is “healthy” so that the final product is perfect. Lamott’s entire excerpt is just explaining that whether or not your first draft is perfect or not, the final product will definitely be better and more acceptable.…
In “Shitty First Drafts,” a selection from Bird by Bird (1994), Anne Lamott claims that in order to write effectively it is necessary to just get a first draft written down, no matter how crappy it may be. She does this by disproving the assumption that great authors just sit down and magically spit out an amazing piece of work and by sharing her own experience writing awful first drafts. Ms. Lamott, an accomplished author, shared her experiences in order to demonstrate how all readers need to write that abhorrent first draft. She is writing to other, less-experienced writers to reassure them, and to help them become better writers.…
Anne Lamott’s “Shitty First Drafts” is an argument and an admission from an industry veteran. A Herculean effort may be necessary for writing because life requires the same strain. Lamott’s personal conflicts and self-doubt have built an amazing opportunity to use her story to convince her audience that for some people, perfectionism and self-criticism can be the cause of failure. Through the prolific use of metaphor in the form of personification and interesting similes relating to her personal experiences, Lamott lays a foundation in her life story and aggressively finishes with a sound logical argument. For Lamott, it is okay to have shitty first drafts because those are just a step in the difficult process of writing.…
"If anything at all, perfection is finally attained not when there is no longer anything to add but when there is no longer anything to take away" These words were spoken many years ago by a woman who worked endlessly to achieve her goals. She had to give up many things but she never lost her passion. Her name was Maria Tallchief. The first Native American Prima Ballerina. Elizabeth or Betty Marie Tall Chief was born on January 24, 1925 in Fairfax, Oklahoma, to Alexander and Ruth Porter Tall Chief.…
What is seeing? According to the New Edition Webster’s Dictionary seeing can be defined as having the power of sight or to view with one’s eyes. This definition describes one aspect of seeing; it does not give a thorough explanation of this controversial, concept. I am a senior in high school and I am in a sophisticated college class where I was charged with obtaining the answer to this question. However my perception was weak, I failed to answer this question effectively and the answer haunted my mind like an apparition from beyond the grave. Thus, I ask once again, what is seeing? The immaculate, answer was perfectly wrapped in the second chapter of Annie Dillard’s Book Pilgrim at Tinker Creek. I have reread this chapter, at least a million times, searching for more. More literary devices, more subliminal messages, more persuasive techniques, elaborate vocabulary, incomparable writing style and sentence structure. I wanted more: It is such an intoxicating feeling when an individual such as Annie Dillard can reach within the furthest corners of the mind and alter an entire concept; a concept that I thought to have mastered over my brief time on earth. As Bill Cosby said “Every closed eye is not sleeping, and every open eye is not seeing.”…
ohn Knowles novel, A Separate Piece, is written to show the fall of man. It has connections between Genesis and the fall of man throughout the book underlining the main story. Genesis and the fall of man are used in the novel solely to understand human nature and the good and evil living inside everyone. Throughout the book the protagonist Gene, puts himself in a competition with his best friend and biggest enemy Finny. Finny is the perfect athlete and caries along innocence and pure thoughts of life itself and others around him. Gene and Finny both show representations of Cain and Abel as well as the creation of man with Adam and Eve.…
To Kill a Mockingbird has multiple major themes that are outcomes of significant scenes throughout the book. One of the most well-known scene is the trial scene where Tom Robinson is found guilty for a crime he did not commit. Because Scout and Jem were at the trial, the verdict deeply affected their view on the goodness of the people of Maycomb. Lee throughout the novel explores the concept of human morality, the inherent goodness or malevolence of people and how it can have a positive or negative affect on people. Lee achieves this through the coming of age and development of Jem and Scout, and through the effect that human morality has on the characterization of the mockingbirds, Boo Radley…
The essay entitled, Perfectionism was an inspiring piece, discussing that of which haunts all writers: perfect writing. The over all though of perfectionism seemed to be that it was a curse but one that could be over come. Perfectionism seemed to focus more on acceptance of mistakes, and enjoying the process instead of forcing a perfect product. Lamott's Shitty First Drafts, to me seemed more focused on a subtopic of perfectionism. Letting the urge to write carry you, type whatever it is the story demands of you then... simply fix it up later.…
In “Dearest Margaret” by Eleanor Byers, the speaker’s lifestyle focuses on isolation and simplicity. First, the speaker expects to isolate herself from the busy cities. She proposes to “live side by side on [Margaret’s] farm in Vermont” (2) and reside at the countryside where the population density remains low. She also agrees to travel “as long as [they're] home by noon” (20), implying that they will stay away from the cities and other humans and thus, live in their lives peacefully and avoid other’s criticism. At the same time, the speaker wants to attain simplicity. She envisions her and Margaret “drinking mint tea or watered white wine” (16) and “[unraveling] the prose of James Joyce” (33), revealing her desire for an nonmaterialistic…
The novel, A Lesson before Dying, was written by Ernest J. Gaines in 1993. Gaines was born on the River Lake plantation in Louisiana, where he was raised by his aunt, Miss Augusteen Jefferson. Racism was prevalent shown by the whites-only libraries in Louisiana. After 15 years of living in Louisiana, Gaines moved to California, although he states Louisiana never left him. California had libraries available for the blacks also. In California, he lived with his mother and which inspired him to the point of writing about six novels and scores of short stories. In 1953, Gaines was drafted into the Army, and he later went on to study creative writing at Stanford University. While in the library, Gaines…
Throughout her multitude of works, author Flannery O’Connor employs the primary use a descriptive style of writing, with her works illustrating religion. Religion makes an appearance throughout her works, but for all the wrong reasons. Without context, religion is often seen as a positive, but under the hands of O’Connor, religion is depicted as being manipulated and used for crime. This can be visualized within her three works, “A Good Man is Hard to Find,” “The Life You Save May Be Your Own,” and “Good Country People,” as within those short stories, religion is introduced and used in a twisted manner. Although religion is a central component to her descriptive writing style, O’Connor also frequently utilizes as elements of that style, foreshadowing,…
Maya Angelou “Phenomenal Woman” is a very strong poem. It is a poem speaking about how a conceited a women is about herself. Maya Angelou is a great poet, but this poem is far most the best one I have ever read. Maya Angelou Phenomenal Woman has a lot of self-confident. She goes on and on about how she loves herself and how anyone can’t tell her different. For example, the line where she stated, “I’m a woman. Phenomenally. Phenomenal woman. That's me.”(321-322). That line itself makes me see what kind of woman she is. Phenomenal means very remarkable, that is powerful. Another thing about this poem she accepted herself. Even though she is considered a full figured woman, she still loved every curve on her body. She knows she is not a super model, not even the most attractive. By her constantly telling herself she’s beautiful, makes her and others think as well. “I'm not cute or built to suit a fashion model's size. But when I start to tell them, they think I'm telling lies. I say, It's in the reach of my arms. The span of my hips, the stride of my step, the curl of my lips.” (321). I love the way Maya kept repeating how phenomenal she is. It makes the reader thinks she really is, even if she is not. By her saying it after every line kind of makes us readers feel like she keep reminding herself that she is. This poem makes me feel like nobody can tell Maya Angelou anything about her that’s negative. This poem is very positive and self-moving. One of the reason I chose this poem not only because I love this poem, but also I love Maya Angelou personally. As a person she has been through so much. Her lifestyle is/ was surprising and eye-opening. Maya Angelou was born April 8, 1928, in St. Louis MO.…
A perfect essay is the one which is not only free of grammatical errors but also has continuous flow of sentences. You need someone to edit your essay to make is correct, while you can bank on parents or friends for this; you know they are neither professionals nor have time. Many professionals offer free and paid essay editing service that help you complete what seemed like an impossible task; with multiple options available it is very crucial to understand which is best for you. Let us see:…