Why I Reject the Idea of Shitty First Drafts (And What I Do Instead) [Podcast]
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PODCAST TRANSCRIPT
Hey there, and welcome to the very first episode of Write for Joy! The Podcast. My name’s Renee Long, and I’m here to help you make creative writing a joyful process so you can go from dreaming about writing to becoming a real writer. It’s time for you to start and finish the stories tugging at your heart...without it feeling like another chore on your to-do list.
A quick note about the podcast before we dive in. For now, Write for Joy! The Podcast is a scrappy experiment. Right now I’m thinking of it as an extra arm to my email newsletter, which is my primary outlet for connecting with my audience. But if you’ve known me for any length of time, you know I love to talk, and I’ve always dreamed of creating a podcast, but the idea of launching it onto iTunes, Spotify, and all the places, making cover art, and all the other details that go with traditional podcasting felt overwhelming. So here’s what I’m doing. I’m gonna record some talks here in this closet, slap the audio files onto my website, and email them to you. That’s my version of podcasting for now. If it feels good and you lovely listeners enjoy it, I’ll keep going and it’ll continue to evolve. If it doesn’t feel good, I’ll do something else. If you’re not already on my newsletter list and you’d like to join me for this adventure, go to writeforjoy.co/subscribe to hop on there so you don’t miss an episode or a love letter from me.
With that, welcome to my scrappy podcast experiment, episode one. My seed podcast, if you will. And fittingly… today we’re talking all about shitty first drafts.
Today’s episode is a love letter to all my perfectionists out there. You know who you are… You finally make time to write, sit down with your steaming cup of tea, the sun sprinkling shimmery light on your keyboard–– you’re ready! You start writing, but the words immediately come out like garbage. Your inner critic is raging inside. That frustration and pain makes you avoid writing all together.
Well, you are in for a treat, my dear perfectionist. Today we’re talking about Shitty First Drafts and why I reject that idea these days. I’ll also share what I do instead to ease the pain of perfectionism and make writing feel more joyful and less like an unpleasant chore. Let’s dive in!
If you’ve been dabbling in the writing world for any length of time, you’ve probably heard the phrase “shitty first draft.” The idea was popularized by Anne Lamott in her incredible book, Bird by Bird. Both the book and Lamott’s ideas about shitty first drafts are viral in the world of creativity. You’d be hard pressed to find an article about perfectionism without a mention of “shitty first drafts.” But if this is new to you, let’s define what I mean when I say, “Shitty First Drafts.”
Lamott argues that all writers produce terrible writing on their first draft of a piece. She explains that even though we see beautifully polished novels and memoirs on bookstore shelves, no story starts out that way. All writers start with a shitty first draft. It’s a given and expected part of the creative writing process.
Thinking about your early drafts as inevitably “shitty” can be helpful because it takes the pressure off to spin gold from the very first word. It normalizes imperfection. Understanding that all writers produce terrible first attempts also connects you with the wider writing community. If everyone, from Toni Morrison to Shakespeare, writes a shitty first draft, you have more patience to stick with the process. You can believe that something great is on its way, eventually. You feel less alone and less like there’s something wrong with you.
Those are all the good reasons to embrace the shitty first draft strategy. And let me be clear: Bird by Bird is one of THE BEST books on writing and creative courage. Anne Lamott is a creative genius, and I recommend the book AND the shitty first draft strategy to my writing students all the time. Why? Because it does work for some people in some circumstances.
There’ve been times when I’m really struggling to get words on the page, and when I give myself permission to write terribly and not make it such a big deal, it’s much easier. Plus, cursing and telling myself “just write the shit!” can be motivating when I’m in a certain mood or need a tough-love style of motivation.
AND this style isn’t always what I need.
Often, when my creative spirit is demoralized, I’m doubting myself, feeling like an imposter, or I’m confused, tired, or blocked for one reason or another... When I’m in that place, writing a shitty first draft doesn’t help — it just makes me feel more shitty about myself. Maybe that resonates with you.
Maybe you’re like me and there are times when telling yourself to “write a shitty first draft” frankly just… piles on more shit to your already shitty mood.
Here’s the problem with this framework: NO ONE wants to write shit. No matter how much we normalize terrible writing and say everyone goes through it, no one really wants to think of their creativity as shit.
This mindset confirms everything the inner critic is screaming at you. It gives her more ammunition to beat up your sensitive inner artist child.
Calling yourself or your work shitty, no matter how universal it is, no matter how wonky or imperfect your writing is, isn’t motivating. If success came from constantly beating yourself up for being a piece of shit, we’d have a lot more bestselling writers, billionaire entrepreneurs, and overall happy successful people in the world.
Again, when you need that tough love energy or a boost of chutzpah, embracing the shitty first draft can feel great. But when it doesn’t feel great, here’s a reframe I use instead:
Swap the idea of a “Shitty First Draft” with a “Seed Draft.”
To understand the idea of a seed draft, call to mind the images of an acorn and an oak tree.
An acorn is an oak tree. It’s also not an oak tree… it’s a seed. (Well, technically it’s a nut because it houses the oak tree seed, but go with me for the purposes of the metaphor).
There’s nothing shitty or wrong about a seed or a nut. You don’t look at an acorn and think “Oh man, look at that acorn, it’s really effed up. It has no branches or leaves or roots! What a failure. What a piece of shit.” You’d never do that. Because that’s ridiculous.
An acorn is an early stage of an oak tree. It looks nothing like a full grown oak. It doesn’t have a trunk, branches, or greenery. And yet, on a cellular level, it’s still Quercus john-tuckeri (the Latin name for the oaks here in California).
Your fully polished and published story is your full grown oak tree. All those shimmering novels and memoirs on bookstore shelves are oak trees.
The acorn is your first draft, AKA your “Seed Draft." So when you're getting frustrated with the raw, unpolished work of an early draft, remind yourself that you are seeding ideas and images that need time and nourishment to grow into a beautiful, thriving tree.
The seed metaphor is also popular in business strategy. You’ve got seed funding and a seed product, which is meant to help budding entrepreneurs get started simply and quickly without getting overwhelmed. Apple just released the iPhone 13, and every new version gets better and better. Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniac started Apple in a garage with a very basic personal computer. If they’d waited to create something until it was 100% perfect, we wouldn’t have Macbooks, iPads, or iPhones. They had to start with a seed product.
Entrepreneurs also have a concept called the “Minimum Viable Product,” which again, is defined as the simplest offer possible you can bring to market. The same applies for writers. Your first draft is your minimum viable draft. It’s your seed draft. You’re laying the groundwork of ideas and fertilizing the soil. To quote the writer Terry Pratchett, “The first draft is just you telling yourself the story.” To call that shit can be disrespectful.
The benefit of framing your early drafts as seed drafts instead of shitty drafts is there’s no mean-girl connotation to the idea of a seed. A seed is just a seed, an early version of an oak tree. No judgement, just reality.
A seed draft eases perfectionism because you’d never ask an acorn to sprout into a live oak overnight. It grounds you in the reality of the creative process instead of judging yourself for not spinning gold in one sitting.
So if the idea of calling your early drafts “shitty” hasn’t served you or makes you feel worse about yourself, shift to the idea of a seed draft. Imagine yourself planting beautiful seeds in fertile soil, and get cozy in that fresh and raw stage of the process. Remember that there’s no reason to judge your acorns while they’re sprouting into oak trees.
To take this metaphor even further, I’ll share a real-life story that happened recently.
I was walking back from the park with my dog Nala when a rude guy shouted at me on the street. Here in LA, catcalling and harassment is pretty common, unfortunately. In this instance, the guy yelled at me from across the street, “Hey Lady! You’ve got SHIT stuck to the bottom of your shoe! Better take care of that before you get home!”
He was not saying this to be helpful or kind. He was saying it to embarrass and belittle me. The thing is… I knew exactly what was on my shoe, and it wasn’t shit. It was crushed figs. You see, there are tons of fig trees in the park where Nala and I walk, and fig trees produce, you guessed it, figs! So if you’ve never seen a fig, they’re a dark purplish red, almost brown, soft fruit full of tiny yellow seeds. If you step on them or crush them, they turn into a paste.
From far away, crushed figs can certainly look like shit. But if you’ve ever spread fig butter or paste on a fresh baguette (omg mmm) you know it’s freakin’ delicious and makes you feel like you’re on a fancy holiday in Paris.
The park where Nala and I walk is FULL of figs. Sometimes they’re hard to avoid stepping in. This particular day, there was a significant amount of fig paste on the bottom of my shoe. And of course I scraped it off before going into the house, but it’s a HECK of a lot nicer to scrape fig off your shoes than shit.
The point is: Don’t harass yourself about your seed drafts. Don’t yell at your creative work saying “This is SHIT!” When in reality, it’s fruit paste full of fertile seeds that will eventually sprout into a gorgeous fig tree. Don’t be a nasty dude screaming at your sensitive inner artist!
Of course, sometimes it's impossible to control the inner critic in our head. In the same way it wouldn’t have been worth it to fight or argue with that guy on the street, it’s not worth it to argue with your inner critic. Just tell her you’re making some fig paste and would she like that on a cracker or a baguette?
Okay, here’s my final thought for today, which includes one more story.
About a year ago, I bought my sister one of those variety potted plants from Trader Joe’s. It had about 5 species of tiny succulents all snuggled together in one pot. Within a few weeks, the aloe plant in the group had tripled in size.
After about 3 months, the aloe had crowded out the other plants and needed a new home all to itself. Just a year later, the aloe is enormous and takes up a good portion of my sister’s small patio. In just one year, the aloe went from an itty bitty baby to a huge mamajama. That doesn’t happen with oak trees – they take years to sprout and grow into a full grown tree.
Not every story you write has to be an oak tree. Maybe as a writer, you’ve struggled with starting or finishing projects. To stick with my plant metaphor, your stories often die on the vine. Maybe you have a brown thumb as a writer.
If we think of an oak tree as a 400 page masterpiece novel, why not start with a chia pet first? Or an aloe plant? Start with something that grows from seed to adulthood quickly and easily so you feel accomplished. That might look like writing a 1000 word short story instead of writing the next great American novel. I’m a huge advocate for short projects for writers who struggle with perfectionism and procrastination. You need to rack up those quick wins so you’re confident and courageous enough to tackle a behemoth of a story like a novel.
To recap and land this baby, here are 4 things I’d love you to take away from this episode:
If the idea of shitty first drafts makes you feel more shitty, think of your early work as seed drafts instead.
Don’t judge or berate your early acorns for not being oak trees. Trust and rest in the seed phase of creativity.
Your early creative work isn’t shit. It’s fertile fruit and seeds that need time, energy, and love to sprout into something awesome.
You don’t have to grow an oak tree. You can grow quick and easy aloe instead. In other words, if you struggle with procrastination or perfectionism, focus on short and easy projects to build up your momentum and confidence.
I hope this message was inspiring to you and you’re ready to dig into the soil and plant some fertile seeds. And I encourage you to share this episode with a creative or writerly friend or loved-one who may need a boost of creative confidence.
For more episodes and letters of encouragement like this one, please subscribe at https://writeforjoy.co/subscribe.
If you’d like a mega-boost of accountability, motivation, and inspiration for your writing, I’d love to work with you 1-1. This month, I have three spots available for a VIP Day with Renee virtual intensive. A VIP Day with me is basically like rocket-fuel for your writing practice. If you’re tired of going it alone in your writing practice, join me for a full day and we’ll…
Take a deep dive into your writing and creative practice (about 4 hours plus restorative breaks).
You’ll get my very best strategies for moving through writers block, self-doubt, the “messy middle,” and sticky sections of writing.
You’ll also get in-depth, expert feedback on your writing so you can revise with confidence and excitement.
You’ll walk away from your VIP Day with a full tank of inspiration, motivation, and crystal clear clarity on what to do next in your story project.
If you’d like to learn more, email me at renee@lithabits.com with the subject line “VIP DAY!” and I’ll share more about how you can apply.
Thanks so much for listening, and happy writing.
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Thumbnail photo by Photo by @sincerelymedia on Unsplash.