--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: It's one of the things writing students…" description: "\"It's one of the things writing students don't understand. They write a first draft and are quite disappointed, or often should be disappointed. They do..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/eac/elizabeth-hardwick-10519_disappointed_it-s-one-of-the-things-writing-students_1771100.jpg" --- # It's one of the things writing students don't understand… ![“It's one of the things writing students don't understand. They write a first draft and are quite disappointed, or often should be disappointed. They don't understand that they have merely begun, and that they may be merely beginning even in the second or third draft.” quote by Elizabeth Hardwick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/eac/elizabeth-hardwick-10519_disappointed_it-s-one-of-the-things-writing-students_1771100.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/eac/elizabeth-hardwick-10519_disappointed_it-s-one-of-the-things-writing-students_1771100.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/eac/elizabeth-hardwick-10519_disappointed_it-s-one-of-the-things-writing-students_1771100.jpg) > “It's one of the things writing students don't understand. They write a first draft and are quite disappointed, or often should be disappointed. They don't understand that they have merely begun, and that they may be merely beginning even in the second or third draft.” [Elizabeth Hardwick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-hardwick/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Early drafts are intentionally imperfect; they signal the start of refinement, not final quality. **In simple terms:** First drafts are just the beginning. Key Takeaway Embrace drafts as steps toward improvement. Themes writing learning growth Mood reflective encouraging Type advice inspirational When to use this quote - academic writing - creative projects - self‑editing - peer review Key Concepts process iteration development Questions to Reflect On - How can you reframe disappointment into motivation? - What habits help you improve subsequent drafts? A Different Perspective Drafts may still feel discouraging despite being early. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Disappointed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/disappointed/) [Firsts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/firsts/) [May](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/may/) [Second Draft](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/second-draft-718656/) [Should](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/should/) [Students](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/students/) [Thirds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thirds/) [Understand Write](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/understand-write-757401/) [Write Draft](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/write-draft-335521/) [Writer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writer/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) [Writing Students](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing-students-1383091/) ## Related quotes > [I think I got spoiled and that writing a short story and getting it published, or writing a novel and getting it published, you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-sayles/i-think-i-got-spoiled-and-that-writing-a-short-story-and-getting-it/) [John Sayles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-sayles/) > [Almost all good writing begins with terrible first efforts. You need to start somewhere. Start by getting something-anything-down on paper. A friend of mine…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-lamott/almost-all-good-writing-begins-with-terrible-first-efforts-you-need-2/) [Anne Lamott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-lamott/) > [It is necessary a writing critic should understand how to write. And though every writer is not bound to show himself in the capacity…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-ashley-cooper-7th-earl-of-shaftesbury/it-is-necessary-a-writing-critic-should-understand-how-to-write-and/) [Anthony Ashley-Cooper, 7th Earl of Shaftesbury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-ashley-cooper-7th-earl-of-shaftesbury/) > [“The great thing is to last and get your work done and see and hear and learn and understand; and write when there is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-hemingway/the-great-thing-is-to-last-and-get-your-work-done-and-see-and-hear-2/) [Ernest Hemingway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-hemingway/) > [The great thing is to last and get your work done and see and hear and learn and understand; and write when there is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-hemingway/the-great-thing-is-to-last-and-get-your-work-done-and-see-and-hear/) [Ernest Hemingway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-hemingway/) > [Once you understand how to write a program get someone else to write it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-perlis/once-you-understand-how-to-write-a-program-get-someone-else-to-write/) [Alan Perlis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-perlis/) > [“I don't write so that people will understand me, I write because I know they don't. And, I can't help feeling like I should…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thurman-p-banks-jr/i-don-t-write-so-that-people-will-understand-me-i-write-because-i/) [Thurman P. Banks Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thurman-p-banks-jr/) > [“I don’t know when I started to realize that my country’s past was incomprehensible and obscure to me, a real shadowy terrain, nor can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/juan-gabriel-v-squez/i-don-t-know-when-i-started-to-realize-that-my-country-s-past-was/) [Juan Gabriel Vásquez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/juan-gabriel-v-squez/) > [“It was a simple account of an incident from his childhood. At the time I recall that I wondered why he had written it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-hobb/it-was-a-simple-account-of-an-incident-from-his-childhood-at-the-time/) [Robin Hobb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-hobb/) > [I can't understand how anyone can write without rewriting everything over and over again.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-tolstoy/i-can-t-understand-how-anyone-can-write-without-rewriting-everything/) [Leo Tolstoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-tolstoy/) > [We write to understand our deepest secrets to ourselves, to understand. We write in an outpouring of love. We write in secret, either for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sophy-burnham/we-write-to-understand-our-deepest-secrets-to-ourselves-to-understand/) [Sophy Burnham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sophy-burnham/) > [“Is it crazy to say that I sometimes don't understand what I write but I write it anyway, because maybe someone, somewhere, somehow, would…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nema-al-araby/is-it-crazy-to-say-that-i-sometimes-don-t-understand-what-i-write-but/) [Nema Al-Araby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nema-al-araby/) > [“We are writing in the age of stylish minimalism that in truth has become even more cautious because of word processing. Nowadays, creative writing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-kuusisto/we-are-writing-in-the-age-of-stylish-minimalism-that-in-truth-has/) [Stephen Kuusisto](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-kuusisto/) > [It's very hard to find good and wholesome, edifying and challenging writing for the students to perform. In my classroom I strive to do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patricia-mauceri/it-s-very-hard-to-find-good-and-wholesome-edifying-and-challenging/) [Patricia Mauceri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patricia-mauceri/) > [Pace is crucial. Fine writing isn't enough. Writing students can be great at producing a single page of well-crafted prose; what they sometimes lack…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rose-tremain/pace-is-crucial-fine-writing-isn-t-enough-writing-students-can-be/) [Rose Tremain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rose-tremain/) ## More by Elizabeth Hardwick > [“Leonard Woolf’s endurance of Virginia’s famous frigidity is, we must suppose after the fact, altogether to his credit. Their honeymoon did not bring the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-hardwick/leonard-woolf-s-endurance-of-virginia-s-famous-frigidity-is-we-must/) [Elizabeth Hardwick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-hardwick/) > [“The Brontë sisters have a renewed hold upon our imagination. They were gifted, well-educated, especially self-educated, and desperate. Their seriousness and poverty separated them…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-hardwick/the-bront-sisters-have-a-renewed-hold-upon-our-imagination-they-were/) [Elizabeth Hardwick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-hardwick/) > [Biographers, the quick in pursuit of the dead, research, organize, fill in, contradict, and make in this way a sort of completed picture puzzle…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-hardwick/biographers-the-quick-in-pursuit-of-the-dead-research-organize-fill/) [Elizabeth Hardwick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-hardwick/) > [Adversity is a great teacher, but this teacher makes us pay dearly for its instruction; and often the profit we derive, is not worth…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-hardwick/adversity-is-a-great-teacher-but-this-teacher-makes-us-pay-dearly-for/) [Elizabeth Hardwick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-hardwick/) > [I have come to the belief that there is not merely an accidental relationship between bad writing and routine sociological research, but a wonderfully…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-hardwick/i-have-come-to-the-belief-that-there-is-not-merely-an-accidental/) [Elizabeth Hardwick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-hardwick/) > [“The large, gaping flaws in the construction of the stories--mad wives in the attic, strange apparitions in Belgium--are a representation of the life she…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-hardwick/the-large-gaping-flaws-in-the-construction-of-the-stories-mad-wives/) [Elizabeth Hardwick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-hardwick/) > [The greatest gift is a passion for reading.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-hardwick/the-greatest-gift-is-a-passion-for-reading/) [Elizabeth Hardwick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-hardwick/) > [History ... with its long, leisurely, gentlemanly labors, the books arriving by post, the cards to be kept and filed, the sections to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-hardwick/history-with-its-long-leisurely-gentlemanly-labors-the-books-arriving/) [Elizabeth Hardwick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-hardwick/) > [Sex, without society as its landscape, has never been of much interest to fiction.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-hardwick/sex-without-society-as-its-landscape-has-never-been-of-much-interest/) [Elizabeth Hardwick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-hardwick/) > [Self-love is an idolatry. Self-hatred is a tragedy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-hardwick/self-love-is-an-idolatry-self-hatred-is-a-tragedy/) [Elizabeth Hardwick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-hardwick/) > [“The greatest gift is a passion for reading. It is cheap, it consoles, it distracts, it excites, it gives you knowledge of the world…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-hardwick/the-greatest-gift-is-a-passion-for-reading-it-is-cheap-it-consoles-it/) [Elizabeth Hardwick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-hardwick/) > [Houses of evil similarity appeared like rows of disciplined, humiliated orphans.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-hardwick/houses-of-evil-similarity-appeared-like-rows-of-disciplined/) [Elizabeth Hardwick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-hardwick/) > [Gertrude Stein, all courage and will, is a soldier of minimalism. Her work, unlike the resonating silences in the art of Samuel Beckett, embodies…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-hardwick/gertrude-stein-all-courage-and-will-is-a-soldier-of-minimalism-her/) [Elizabeth Hardwick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-hardwick/) > [“In those years I did not care to enjoy sex, only to have it. That is what seeing Alex again on Fifth Avenue brought…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-hardwick/in-those-years-i-did-not-care-to-enjoy-sex-only-to-have-it-that-is/) [Elizabeth Hardwick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-hardwick/) > [The private and serious drama of guilt is not often a useful one for fiction today and its disappearance, following perhaps the disappearance from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-hardwick/the-private-and-serious-drama-of-guilt-is-not-often-a-useful-one-for/) [Elizabeth Hardwick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-hardwick/) [Explore all 65 Elizabeth Hardwick quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-hardwick/) ## More Disappointed quotes > [Sometimes it's just enough for me to have the idea. I don't need to see it through to the end. When it actually happens,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-sedaris/sometimes-it-s-just-enough-for-me-to-have-the-idea-i-don-t-need-to/) [Amy Sedaris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-sedaris/) > [If you expect the worst from a person you can never be disappointed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-burgess/if-you-expect-the-worst-from-a-person-you-can-never-be-disappointed/) [Anthony Burgess](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-burgess/) > [Somebody said that part of my reaction to British cinema is actually, paradoxically, a patriotic one. I'm so disappointed that we're not better.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-brownlow/somebody-said-that-part-of-my-reaction-to-british-cinema-is-actually/) [Kevin Brownlow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-brownlow/) > [I don't hate you, i m just disappointed you turned into everything you said you'd never be.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-don-t-hate-you-i-m-just-disappointed-you-turned-into-everything-you/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Every producer in Hollywood had set me down as a type. I was both amused and disappointed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bela-lugosi/every-producer-in-hollywood-had-set-me-down-as-a-type-i-was-both/) [Bela Lugosi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bela-lugosi/) > [I just hate meetings. Though it's true that once you've made a lot of money, people around you might be full of ideas about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-k-rowling-2/i-just-hate-meetings-though-it-s-true-that-once-you-ve-made-a-lot-of/) [J. K. Rowling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-k-rowling-2/) > [You wanted to become a doctor to help people and feel better at the end of your job, I think, watching them, as the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/caitlin-moran/you-wanted-to-become-a-doctor-to-help-people-and-feel-better-at-the/) [Caitlin Moran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/caitlin-moran/) > [I've had to learn that not everybody does things my way. But I do expect the absolute best of everyone around me, and I'm…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-johnson/i-ve-had-to-learn-that-not-everybody-does-things-my-way-but-i-do/) [Michael Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-johnson/) > [I am far from any intention to limit curiosity, or confine the labours of learning to arts of immediate and necessary use. It is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/i-am-far-from-any-intention-to-limit-curiosity-or-confine-the-labours/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [I want violence. I want punching in the face. I'm disappointed in Trump supporters for not punching enough.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gavin-mcinnes/i-want-violence-i-want-punching-in-the-face-i-m-disappointed-in-trump/) [Gavin McInnes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gavin-mcinnes/) > [It's core to my beliefs now: Sometimes in being given a challenge, you're actually being given a real opportunity, and a lot of that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lauren-graham/it-s-core-to-my-beliefs-now-sometimes-in-being-given-a-challenge-you/) [Lauren Graham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lauren-graham/) > [Lamon, that speech won't scour. It is a flat failure and the people are disappointed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-lincoln/lamon-that-speech-won-t-scour-it-is-a-flat-failure-and-the-people-are/) [Abraham Lincoln](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-lincoln/) > [Never aim to be proactive with your day. That way, if you end up getting stuff done, you’re never disappointed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-blagden/never-aim-to-be-proactive-with-your-day-that-way-if-you-end-up/) [George Blagden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-blagden/) > [I am disappointed by this controversy surrounding A Million Little Pieces because I rely on the publishers to define the category that a book…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oprah-winfrey/i-am-disappointed-by-this-controversy-surrounding-a-million-little/) [Oprah Winfrey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oprah-winfrey/) > [It is always the time of hope, confidence and love. Everything passes; love remains. We will not be disappointed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carlo-maria-martini/it-is-always-the-time-of-hope-confidence-and-love-everything-passes/) [Carlo Maria Martini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carlo-maria-martini/) [Browse all 1,145 Disappointed quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/disappointed/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "It's one of the things writing students don't understand. They write a first draft and are quite disappointed, or often should be disappointed. They don't understand that they have merely begun, and that they may be merely beginning even in the second or third draft.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Elizabeth Hardwick" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-hardwick/it-s-one-of-the-things-writing-students-don-t-understand-they-write-a/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Disappointed" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-hardwick/it-s-one-of-the-things-writing-students-don-t-understand-they-write-a/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/eac/elizabeth-hardwick-10519_disappointed_it-s-one-of-the-things-writing-students_1771100.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/eac/elizabeth-hardwick-10519_disappointed_it-s-one-of-the-things-writing-students_1771100.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/eac/elizabeth-hardwick-10519_disappointed_it-s-one-of-the-things-writing-students_1771100.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“It's one of the things writing students don't understand. They write a first draft and are quite…” — Elizabeth Hardwick", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Elizabeth Hardwick", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-hardwick/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "It's one of the things writing...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-hardwick/it-s-one-of-the-things-writing-students-don-t-understand-they-write-a/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-hardwick/it-s-one-of-the-things-writing-students-don-t-understand-they-write-a/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```