In “Revision is Central to Developing Writing,” Doug Downs talks about the importance of the revision process in writing. Downs says that revising a first draft can help a writer develop full ideas and see other points of view. When reviewing one’s writing, one may think of other things to help complete an idea, and the understanding of the writing. Finally, Downs emphasizes that being told to revise does not make the writing bad, it is just another opportunity to complete ideas, and shows that a writer is mature.
I think that “Shitty First Drafts” by Anne Lamott and “Revision is Central to Developing Writing” by Doug Downs share the same idea. The idea is that your first draft does not have to be perfect and the reason we revise our writings is to make our first drafts complete. However, Lamott thinks that we should be carefree in our first draft, not think too deeply about our ideas, but refine our ideas later in the writing process. Downs thinks that we revise to make our writing more cohesive and understandable. After reading both of these articles I have learned that my first draft can not always be perfect and that’s okay.
