There are a few helpful allegories for this, like Anne’s one-inch picture frame, where she challenges herself to a short assignment, writing just one-inch at a time. When we’re desperate for a place to start, Lamott suggests taking it ‘bird by bird’, or piece by piece.

Conversely, if you’ve received good feedback, you may feel increased pressure to fulfill the expectations set by previous writing assignments.

Audience looms over us, too: if you’ve gotten bad feedback on your writing in the past, you might be scared to submit yourself to criticism again. If you’re not familiar with the type or style of writing expected of you, starting might evoke anxiety. Most writers’ anxiety isn’t about the act of writing itself it’s the purpose of the assignment that stresses us out. Don’t worry, no one besides you will see the shitty first draft, unless you want them to. Otherwise, your writing will sound cramped and oversaturated with intention. Give yourself permission to write poorly. Release the slew of raw material first, then work at refining it. The second, third, and possibly fourth drafts are the “up” drafts - because you fix them up.

She credits her friend with another title for first drafts: the “down” draft - because you just get it down. The bare bones of a “shitty first draft” (a term Lamott lovingly coined) is closer to completion than ten pages of anxious outlining. But it’s true! Douse your self-doubt with an approach closer to free writing, gradually developing your sense of direction. You may find her first tidbit of advice frustrating: Just write. Sound familiar? Well, read on.Ī kind professor recently lent me her copy of Anne Lamott’s book, Bird by Bird, which addresses the obstacle of writer’s anxiety, among others. The confidence I’ve carefully curated over the years evaporates, leaving lackluster doubt where my words should be.

I can see a fuzzy mental image of all the brilliant points I want to make however, I’m so overwhelmed by my ambitions that I’m having trouble materializing it. Despite my experience writing papers for high school and college, I still find myself staring at a blank Word document, struck by the need to write something brilliant, but terribly unsure of where to begin. Each day we casually compose texts, tweets, posts, and reviews but as soon as we’re expected to break out our professional writer’s voice for an assignment, the pressure is on. Posted by Emma Raupp, Poetry Reader for 8.1

Bird by bird