Shitty First Drafts
Updated 2026-07-31
INTRODUCTION
English translation pending.
CORE DEFINITION
The phrase comes from Anne Lamott's Bird by Bird, which argues that all good writing begins with a bad first draft. The method separates two modes that interfere when combined: a generative mode that produces material without judgement, and an editorial mode that cuts and shapes it. Attempting to write well on the first pass is identified as the main cause of blockage, because the two modes make contradictory demands on the same attention. The practical instruction is to lower the standard for the first pass deliberately and on purpose.
SCAFFOLDING EFFECT
Reduce cognitive load
- Permission Slip: declare the first pass garbage so that the pressure to be good lifts - Mode Separation: keep generating and editing in different sessions, never at the same time - Volume before Quality: produce material first and shape it only afterwards
Anchor fast decisions
Producing and evaluating text draw on the same limited attention and impose opposite criteria. When both run at once, every sentence is judged before it is finished and the flow stops. Separating them in time lets generation run without interference, and lets editing work on a fixed body of material, where cutting is far more effective than it is against a blank page.
MINIMUM ACTION
In progress 0/1Practice this model in one real situation:
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Source support: Explicit
- theintuitivewritingschool.comhttps://www.theintuitivewritingschool.com/blog/how-to-write-a-shtty-first-draftverified
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