PB2B

When it comes to moves, Anne Lamott, author of the excerpt, “Shitty First Drafts,” and Kerry Dirk, author of the essay, “Navigating Genres,” often dance to the same beat. What, then, makes the two pieces of writing so distinguishable? Although the authors incorporate several of the same writing concepts and components, each has a flair that pertains to her unique style of writing, something perhaps better known (at least in De Piero’s Writing 2 Class) as a move.

Anne Lamott has a style all her own; first and foremost, the title of the selection taken from her book, Bird by Bird, is “Shitty First Drafts.” This title, in itself, is a move; it is a unique word choice that characterizes this piece of writing. I am going to go ahead and take the initiative to say that very few of you have read an academic book, article, essay, or anything of the sort that has the word “shitty” in the title, let alone the body. And I am also going to make the blanket statement that I bet it grabbed almost everyone’s attention, as it did mine. In a similar manner, Lamott’s writing is laced with comparisons that the average “how to be a better writer” book lacks, such as:

“The first draft is the child’s draft, where you let it all pour out and then let it romp all over the place, knowing that no one is going to see it and that you can shape it later. You just let this childlike part of you channel whatever voices and visions come through and onto the page. If one of the characters wants to say, ‘Well, so what, Mr. Poopy Pants?,’ you let her” (Lamott, 1).

This comparison is wildly casual and quite unfiltered, a couple of moves that Lamott seems to maintain throughout her writing in order to connect with her audience. This works because it makes the audience feel as though they are being spoken directly to, rather than spoken at. She blatantly and sarcastically remarks that she knows only one great writer who “writes elegant first drafts,” but because of this, “[Lamott and peers] do not think that [the writer] has a rich inner life or that God likes her or can even stand her” (1). This unfiltered way in which Lamott writes appears to be a defining characteristic, or repeated move, in her writing that helps her to relate to her audience and draw them in.

              Author Kerry Dirk, like Lamott, appreciates a casual approach to writing, but simultaneously preserves a more academic tone than that of the previous author. One of Dirk’s most prominent moves is her use of rhetorical questions and examples—often in response to said rhetorical questions. For instance, Dirk poses the series of questions, “What features…should go into this essay? How personal could [she] get? What rhetorical moves might [she] use, effectively or ineffectively?” (250). She aims to prompt the readers to ask themselves similar questions when analyzing a piece or writing one themselves; however, readers that were not already interested in writing and genre analysis likely will not feel any more inclined to ask themselves these questions due to their lack of interest. Dirk also relies on other authors (primarily Professor Amy Devitt) to support her claims and increase her credibility repeatedly throughout her writing, often using large excerpts from their pieces that must be offset from the rest of the text. A very bold move, in my opinion, is the use of her own writing as an example of a self-proclaimed “effective” letter. She provides an example of a letter she wrote that was intended to remove a late fee from a credit card, then proceeds to analyze it and discuss why it is effective. This is a move that I have seen from very few (if any) scholarly writers, and to be frank, it did not do the trick, so to speak; her use of her own writing as an example drastically weakened her credibility in my opinion.

Regardless of their unique styles, there are still several moves that unite the dances of two authors, such as including personal anecdotes in their writings to provide background information and perhaps seem more personable; Dirk gives a short account of the process she went through in order to write her essay, and Lamott shares her account of the times when she was the author of California magazine’s food reviews. Another move both authors make is the use of parentheticals to share their less significant thoughts. For example, after mentioning that California magazine folded, Lamott says, “(My writing food reviews had nothing to do with the magazine folding, although every single review did cause a couple of canceled subscriptions. Some readers took umbrage at my comparing mounds of vegetable puree with various ex-presidents’ brains)” (1). Dirk makes use of parentheses when she discusses why people choose to watch horror movies or chick flicks based on their predetermined response, “(nail-biting fear and dreamy sighs, respectively)” (Dirk, 254). While these “side-notes” are not essential to make the authors’ points, they DO add personality and perhaps serve to re-interest the audience. In a piece of writing, the words written in parentheses are often interpreted as being spoken in a whisper, further implying that they are not crucial to producing an effective essay. Both Dirk and Lamott follow the same path with another significant move regarding sentence structure, the use of fragments, or incomplete thoughts. Regardless of context, Dirk makes “complete” statements that begin with the word or, like “Or groan. Or tilt your head” (249), and Lamott writes, “Nor do they go about their business feeling dewy and thrilled” (1). This move serves to maintain a casual, conversational tone between the authors and their readers, allowing the authors to further engage their audiences in the subject at hand.