Tag: first drafts

Your First Draft Should Suck (And Here’s Why)

Posted September 22, 2022 by Amanda Shofner in Writing

When I took my first college-level English course, my professor had us read “Shitty First Drafts” (from Bird by Bird) by Anne Lamott. The point? Your first draft is supposed to be shitty. It was something I understood on an intellectual level, but never applied to myself. In fact, I have a long history of […]

Your First Draft Should Suck

Posted April 10, 2014 by Amanda Shofner in Editing

It’s better to write a sucky first draft than a good one. Not because your goal should be to write crap, but because your first draft is ultimately the part of the process where you get everything down. How bad—or good—the draft doesn’t matter. Hitting the end is the beginning, not the end. Editing is […]