Blog #2 Shitty First Drafts

If we’re being honest, this blog post is terribly ironic. It is supposed to be a simple blog post, and yet, I cannot seem to find the words. I’ve been staring at my screen for 30 minutes trying to think of some quirky, captivating blog, but every time I’ve written a sentence, it has been far too messy. I guess it is true- first drafts are all over the place. As Anne Lamott states, “The first draft is the child's draft, where you let it all pour out and then let it romp all over the place, knowing that no one is going to see it and that you can shape it later.” If there were some magnificent trick into writing down a brilliant first draft, believe me, I would do it with immense speed and gratitude. However, writing is difficult and our minds are limitless. As an artist, my creativity may spark for hours and hours but never reach a page in an effective way. It is nearly impossible to mark down coherent sentences that find their immediate purpose and flow smoothly on a page. Following the reading, I know it is not about producing perfection in the first round. It is about the process of tweaking and improving draft after draft until the writer can find the groove and run with it.