Forum 1 SHITTY FIRST DRAFTS
Prompt:
- Lamott says that the perceptions most people have of how writers work is different from the reality of the work itself. She refers to this in paragraph 1 as "the fantasy of the uninitiated." What does she mean?
- In paragraph 7 Lamott refers to a time when, through experience, she "eventually let [herself] trust the process - sort of, more or less." She is referring to the writing process, of course, but why "more or less"? Do you think that her wariness is personal, or is she speaking for all writers in this regard? Explain.
- From what Lamott has to say, is writing a first draft more about the product or the process? Do you agree in regard to your own first drafts? Explain.
Why I chose this Forum:
Out of all of the forums, I believe this one is my favorite. I enjoyed the reading for this discussion and I loved the points that Lamott brings up. She shines a whole new light on the difficulty of writing. I always believed that I was a terrible writer because I could not just sit down and write, but now I know that every writer experiences writing blocks and can get extremely frustrated while staring at a blank screen or blank piece of paper and this makes me feel much better.
Out of all of the forums, I believe this one is my favorite. I enjoyed the reading for this discussion and I loved the points that Lamott brings up. She shines a whole new light on the difficulty of writing. I always believed that I was a terrible writer because I could not just sit down and write, but now I know that every writer experiences writing blocks and can get extremely frustrated while staring at a blank screen or blank piece of paper and this makes me feel much better.
Entry:
1) When we look at different objects, tasks, jobs, chores, etc. we often find that our perception/view of them are much more glorified then what they actually are. For example, when I first saw my older brother mowing the lawn I was extremely jealous because it looked like he was have a ton of fun, but when I was old enough and started mowing the lawn myself I found that I absolutely hated it. I found that my initial perception was actually completely wrong. Lamott is talking about this very idea when she is talking “the fantasy of the uninitiated.” Basically, she is saying that more often than not, we have a distorted view of whatever it is we are looking at, that is until we gain some experience in that field. In the realm of writers, our view of them is first distorted, and we believe that all writers can just sit down and type a novel, but the truth is that it is not as easy for them as it seems.
2) Though I am in no means a writer, I have noticed that there are days where I write a bad paragraph erase it start again and experience the pain that she was referring to when we have no idea where to go or what we are trying to say, but there are other days when I can just sit down and type a paper and I feel like a complete champion because all of the right words are coming to my mind right away. When Lamott states “more or less” about trusting in the writing process, I believe she was referring to the aspect that not all writings are the same. Sometimes we can just sit down and write an amazing paper, but other times we have to go through the writing process and develop our thoughts before we are even able to write a decent paper.
3) I believe that the first draft is more about the process and I think Lamott views it the same way. The product is something that you don’t mind other people seeing or reading, but she makes a point of stating that no one is going to see your first draft. That begs the question; if no one is going to see the first draft, then why would it be the product?
1) When we look at different objects, tasks, jobs, chores, etc. we often find that our perception/view of them are much more glorified then what they actually are. For example, when I first saw my older brother mowing the lawn I was extremely jealous because it looked like he was have a ton of fun, but when I was old enough and started mowing the lawn myself I found that I absolutely hated it. I found that my initial perception was actually completely wrong. Lamott is talking about this very idea when she is talking “the fantasy of the uninitiated.” Basically, she is saying that more often than not, we have a distorted view of whatever it is we are looking at, that is until we gain some experience in that field. In the realm of writers, our view of them is first distorted, and we believe that all writers can just sit down and type a novel, but the truth is that it is not as easy for them as it seems.
2) Though I am in no means a writer, I have noticed that there are days where I write a bad paragraph erase it start again and experience the pain that she was referring to when we have no idea where to go or what we are trying to say, but there are other days when I can just sit down and type a paper and I feel like a complete champion because all of the right words are coming to my mind right away. When Lamott states “more or less” about trusting in the writing process, I believe she was referring to the aspect that not all writings are the same. Sometimes we can just sit down and write an amazing paper, but other times we have to go through the writing process and develop our thoughts before we are even able to write a decent paper.
3) I believe that the first draft is more about the process and I think Lamott views it the same way. The product is something that you don’t mind other people seeing or reading, but she makes a point of stating that no one is going to see your first draft. That begs the question; if no one is going to see the first draft, then why would it be the product?