I decided to reread Anne Lamott’s treatise on writing, Bird by Bird, because I was looking for some inspiration to jump-start my own creative life, and I got it. The underlying messages are:

Everything is OK.

Do it [writing, creating, whatever] because it’s fun, it’s personally satisfying, it helps you and heals you.

Don’t bother being perfect.

These are things I desperately need to hear, probably more than once.

http://shannonturlington.com

Most of the time, How To Write books are either reeeeally touchy feely, or completely technical. I get annoyed about books like that because writing is a combination of both. So I wasn’t convinced I’d much care for this book, which leans toward the touchy feely. I was NOT expecting to find touchy-feely with a hint of tough love.

I enjoyed it very much. Lamott manages to inspire without fist-pumping theatrics or lies about the publishing business. Instead, she offers humorous, straight-forward, sometimes tough-love advice aimed at helping you get over yourself and get on to your writing. If you’re in a rut, do yourself a favor and pick up this book. It helped me immensely.

This is a great book with some great advice, offered in a conversational, chummy fashion. Anne Lamott repeatedly addresses some of the psychological barriers to writing, such as writer’s block, low self-confidence, insecurity, etc. She has specific advice on how to get past these things and get going, such as managing the impulse towards perfectionism, using a memory to get you started, focusing on writing about only what will fit in a one-inch picture frame, etc. I found her sections on specific writing issues, such as characters, plot, and dialogue, to be the most useful.

Here’s a great quote from the book:
“Writing is about hypnotizing yourself into believing in yourself getting some work done, then unhypnotizing yourself and going over the material coldly.”

And another of my favorites:
“A writer paradoxically seeks the truth and tells lies every step of the way.”

It’s great reading, with down-to-earth observations and humor on uncorking the creativity within you (but not in a way that just adds more pressure, counteracting this).

I intend to reread it before NaNoWriMo 2006.

Because Stephanie thought I should read it. I have always liked Anne Lamott, and I want to write more, so I figured “have at it!”

This is one of my favorite books on writing (and life). I especially like the advice about writing a novel being compared to driving in the dark – you can only see what your headlight illuminate right in front of you, but you can make the whole trip that way. All of Anne Lamott’s non-fiction books are refreshing and honest.

One of my favorite pieces of advice in life, from this book is “Don’t compare your insides to other people’s outsides”.

It give good advice on both writing and life. I like this ladies philosophies. I love the honesty of her writing. My favorite chapter is Sh**ty First Drafts. A definate read and reread.

I’ve been wanting to read this for a while.

A gift from my mother. So far it’s lovely.

I highly recommend this book to anyone who’s ever wanted to write. I read it all the way through in just a few days, but I will definitely be going back to it and re-reading various parts so that they really sink in!

I confess, I haven’t yet read this book, which is odd considering that I own a million books for writers. Well, maybe dozens. I’m kicking myself for not getting it sooner.

A book for writers from the author of Traveling Mercies. Just as funny, but not quite as moving, for obvious reasons.

This is my favorite book about writing, period.