Bird by Bird by Anne Lamott

It may seem that I'm working my way through Brain Picking's list of books to improve reading and writing, but I heard of Anne Lamott before. She coined the term to my favorite writing technique, the "shitty first draft." Indeed, I tell my students that as an upperclassman in college, I titled my first drafts, "Really Shitty Rough Draft", and my second draft, "Not-so-shitty Rough Draft."

Perhaps I am reading too many books on writing, however, because they're starting to sound alike. I actually considered not finishing Lamott's book. Although I learned more from Stephen King's On Writing (see my post here), Bird by Bird is nicely organized; each chapter is like a session of a writing class. Lamott also has some memorable anecdotes, but her writing isn't as "hilarious" as the reviews on the back cover make it out to be.

One major take-home message from the book is to love the process of writing, not the end goal such as publication. Partially because not many get to be published, and also, publishing rarely brings happiness. Here are some other ideas I highlighted, some of which are not her own:

• One of the gifts of being a writer is that it gives you an excuse to do things, to go places and explore. Another is that writing motivates you to look closely at life, at life as it lurches by and tramps around.
• Writing has so much to give, so much to teach, so many surprises. That thing you had to force yourself to do - the actual act of writing - turns out to be the best part. It's like discovering that while you thought you needed the tea ceremony for the caffeine, what you really needed was the tea ceremony. the act of writing turns out to be its own reward.
• The very first thing I tell my new students on the first day of a workshop is that good writing is about telling the truth. We are a species that needs and wants to understand who we are.
• On jealousy, from a poem by Clive Evans: "The book of my enemy has been remaindered / And I am pleased."
• A quote by Daniel Hillel taped to her wall: "I get up. I walk. I fall down. Meanwhile, I keep dancing."
• A quote from the movie "Cool Runnings," a film about the first Jamaican bobsled team: "If you're not enough before the gold medal, you won't be enough with it."

Finally, I love this anecdote from when she - "all over the place, up and down, scattered, high, withdrawing, lost" - asked a pastor how to find "some elusive sense of serenity":

   "The world can't give that serenity," he said. "The world can't give us peace. We can only find it in our hearts."
   "I hate that," I said.
   "I know. But the good news is that by the same token, the world can't take it away."

Dates: 4-11 May 2012
Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars