“Writing a novel is like driving a car at night. You can see only as far as your headlights, but you can make the whole trip that way.” – E.L. Doctorow
I love to write. English is not my first language but reading a lot and consistently improving by writing a lot is a good training. I have read that “Bird by Bird” is just an awesome book for any writer to get new ideas and inspirations so I purchases it and read it in one sitting.
I was always into writing. As a child I had a diary and wrote something in it daily. I also loved writing assignment and research papers in college. Writing in English however is challenging for me. In my working life I was able for a while to write, analyze and assess but I could not really live out what writing ability I may possess. At some point I thought it give it a try with my own blog. I love to read other blogs and follow some on a daily basis but I thought I could never start my own. Then again, why not? I love to read so I can definitely write a review about any book. Who else than Anne Lamott can describe and advice how to go about the whole business of writing? I have read many other books on writing but none of them left this deep feeling of “yes, I can do this!”
I connect with any book I read. Some great books I cannot appreciate however because of where I am in life at that moment but when I read them again under different circumstances it changes my entire take on the book. Do you have this feeling sometimes? I just want to kick my writing up a notch and Lamott helped me just getting more confident. “Bird by Bird” is just full of wisdom if you want to start writing but are afraid of having no ideas or if you are just uncomfortable. She describes and offers advice in a very funny way which I love. She tells you what to do if you are stuck (writers block). Lamott also states that almost all good writers started out terribly. Sometimes I thought that a writer just sits down and types along until the book is done. Of course they all have drafts that they rewrite the next day because it simply sucks. Lamott gives writing lessons as well and this book is basically what she teaches in her class.
She offers a plethora of tips and ideas if you just want to write more generically or don’t want to start out with a novel. You get a great idea on structure of writing and to simply keep your readers interested and entertained.
Lamott describes how difficult and painful writing really is. It is a lot of fun, don’t get me wrong but it is hard. Especially if you doubt that your stuff you put out there is good. She is a great teacher who lets you know that with a lot of discipline you can do it if your true passion is writing. The book is a pleasure to read if you are feeling depressed or down (about writing.)
Enjoy!
