updated 6d ago
Bird by Bird: Some Instructions on Writing and Life
For me and most of the other writers I know, writing is not rapturous. In fact, the only way I can get anything written at all is to write really, really shitty first
from Bird by Bird: Some Instructions on Writing and Life by Anne Lamott
Peter Shoemaker added 2mo ago
E. L. Doctorow once said that "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." You don’t have to see where you’re going, you don’t have to see your destination or everything you will pass along the way. You just have to see two or three feet ahead of yo
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Peter Shoemaker added 2mo ago
“Bird by bird, buddy. Just take it bird by bird.”
from Bird by Bird: Some Instructions on Writing and Life by Anne Lamott
Matthew Carey added 1mo ago
“Do it every day for a while,” my father kept saying. “Do it as you would do scales on the piano. Do it by prearrangement with yourself. Do it as a debt of honor. And make a commitment to finishing things.”
from Bird by Bird: Some Instructions on Writing and Life by Anne Lamott
Matthew Carey added 1mo ago
Start with your childhood,
from Bird by Bird: Some Instructions on Writing and Life by Anne Lamott
Matthew Carey added 1mo ago
the only way I can get anything written at all is to write really, really shitty first drafts.
from Bird by Bird: Some Instructions on Writing and Life by Anne Lamott
Matthew Carey added 1mo ago
awareness is learning to keep yourself company. And then learn to be more compassionate company, as if you were somebody you are fond of and wish to encourage. I doubt that you would read a close friend’s early efforts and, in his or her presence, roll your eyes and snicker. I doubt that you would pantomime sticking your finger down your throat. I
... See morefrom Bird by Bird: Some Instructions on Writing and Life by Anne Lamott
Matthew Carey added 1mo ago
some days the smoke is faint and you just have to follow it as best you can, sniffing away. Still, even on those days, you might notice how great perseverance feels. And the next day the scent may seem stronger—or it may just be that you are developing a quiet doggedness. This is priceless. Perfectionism, on the other hand, will only drive you mad.
from Bird by Bird: Some Instructions on Writing and Life by Anne Lamott
Matthew Carey added 1mo ago
Vonnegut said, “When I write, I feel like an armless legless man with a crayon in his mouth.”
from Bird by Bird: Some Instructions on Writing and Life by Anne Lamott
Matthew Carey added 1mo ago