It's also why I have acquired a nice collection of books about writing. The first book on writing I ever owned is Anne Lamott's Bird by Bird. I received it as a Christmas gift from my aunt when I was in high school and dreaming of becoming a bestselling novelist. I read the title and thought, "Why is she giving me a book about birds??" But when I looked at the full title I noticed it said: Bird by Bird: Some Instructions on Writing and Life.
It's a book I didn't fully appreciate for a long time until I finally sat down and really read it. I have since re-read it many times and often pick it up to reference particularly helpful passages. I find that I discover something new each time I read it.
One of my favorite bits of advice from Anne Lamott is about shitty first drafts. Most writer's have heard the quote from Ernest Hemingway that "The first draft of anything is shit." Lamott expands on this, encouraging writer's to write shitty first drafts. "You need to start somewhere. Start by getting something - anything - down on paper." Lamott goes on to say the best way to get started is to simply write it all down without self-editing "because there might be something in the very last line of the very last paragraph on page six that you just love, that is so beautiful or wild that you now know what you're supposed to be writing about... but there was no way to get to this without first getting through the first five and a half pages."
Lamott also writes about the writing life and issues like jealousy and silencing your inner critic (see the chapter on Radio Station KFKD.) She writes about publication (and the myth of publication) about which she says, "...if what you have in mind is fame and fortune, publication is going to drive you crazy" (she reminds us the real payoff is the writing itself.)
Anne Lamott is funny and honest, sharing her own triumphs, tribulations and humiliations. Reading about her experiences reminds me that I'm not alone in those moments when I sit at my computer staring at the cursor blinking back at me, feeling as though I should just give up on writing altogther.
If you are a writer this book is an absolute must-have.
