The developing Poloroid

Preferably, first drafts have always been my favorite. There is no pressure to be finished, no pinprick for perfection and no weight of comparison. I really enjoyed reading through this text although the title did make me a bit apprehensive. I did walk away much more confident in my own first draft and ready for any more first drafts I will have to feat. The author’s humor was far from dry and the points clear and valid.

            The section about perfectionism really resonated with me. I tend to, in every aspect of life, perfect what I am completing. I have learned to feel unachieved or incomplete if the task is not done to the fullest of my abilities. The thing about first drafts though, as the author noted, perfection is unachievable and in that sense unnecessary to strive after. First drafts are the first blob of thoughts, it is like you sat down read the assignment and started typing all you could. No really outline, no structured arguments, no proper grammar just you initial take. Just like any first shot, it’s not perfect. If it were it would be your final draft not your first.

            The author challenged me to find enjoyment in the first draft to discover and explore the topic and to not be afraid of a “shitty first draft”. Like stated it starts “shitty” then gets good then is finally great! Sometimes when you attempt to start with a great first draft you actually reverse the process and by the third draft have made it “shitty”. 

            The Polaroid analogy really helped because I just watched a movie about that was built around Polaroid pictures. In the movie the Polaroid’s would develop slow thus building suspense to the curious onlooker. In the same sense, if someone is reading your paper it is usually because your paper has grabbed their attention and they are the “curious onlooker”. As they read more and more of your paper the Polaroid develops more and more and the picture is more and more clear. The first draft is simply a developing Polaroid. We as the writer or capturer of the picture must be patient as the Polaroid picture develops and be confident that it will be what we expect it to be, just in time.

            I am not anxious about my first draft, and although I appreciate the rather long prompt about first drafts, I do not attribute my lack of concern to it. Although I do consider myself a perfectionist I have always understood the role of a first draft. The only thing that often stresses me about first drafts is just getting it done. I have to find the self-motivation to actually sit down and do it! Another thing I really hate about first drafts is they are not the final draft so although its an advantage to have to option to do further edits its also tedious to go back and re-read your first draft over and over again.