Annie Lamott's Shitty First Drafts

I really loved this chapter. I completely relate to what Lamott is talking about. Last year while writing English and history essays and articles for yearbook I would do nearly the same thing.... Sit down and try to think of something, anything, to write and nothing would come. Then I'd freak out a little bit and wander around the house, distract myself with my cats or instant messaging friends who were trying to write the same paper, grab some crackers, jump up and down, breath deeply and then sit down again and start the process over. My mom told me basically the same thing that Lamott is saying we should do. Just get something down; start writing and see what happens. (Did I use that semicolon right...?) A lot of the time I just skip the first paragraph completely and start writing somewhere in the middle. A lot of the time I find that I know what I want to say, just not how to express myself, so I find it helpful to just write it in the plainest way possible and fix it later, in to what I was truly trying to say.


I think the method she got from the hypnotist could be really helpful. I don't usually experience voices in my head whilst writing, but it is easy to start thinking about other things I have to do or things I am worrying about. I bet I could put those in a jar just as easily as her voices. I am definitely going to try it. I think turning down the volume is a better choice than shooting them in the head as well.