The first important paper I had to write was in third grade. I remember coming back from Christmas break and being bombarded with an assignment to write a five paragraph essay explaining our activities over break. We had plenty of time to write in class, but I sat. Weeks led up to the paper being due and I still sat. Nothing on my looseleaf but doodles of flowers and haphazard attempts at cursive. So, the day it was due I wrote it on the bus on the way to school. The "paper" that I turned in was nothing more than a less than impressive brainstorm. And now, after reading "Shitty first drafts" I realize why I was so stumped by that entire writing process I was introduced to and subsequently rejected.
It's somewhat relieving to have an author say your first draft can be shitty. There's a sort of connotation when walking into an English class that everything you write will be that of an author. And I think that is exemplified by my third grade paper. Because I was told how my writing process should go I rejected the process as a whole. We're told to brainstorm, write a first draft, edit, and then turn it in our final paper. But in reality, authors don't just have one draft. And often times their first draft barely resembles their finished product. Authors find what works for them, what makes them tick, what air temperature, surroundings, and time of day produces their best writing. School systems should focus on what goes into making a good writer, because otherwise they turn students into robots that churn out essays. There's no individuality in the process that they require you to use. It's unfortunate, but easily fixable. By simply allowing people to write how they want to write the end result would be much more impressive and fulfilling.
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