Bird by Bird: Some Instructions on Writing and Life by Anne Lamott

Lamott, Anne. Bird by Bird: Some Instructions on Writing and Life. Anchor Books, 1995. 239 pages. Trade Book $14.95. ISBN: 0385480016.

I loved the conversational tone of this book! I felt that Anne Lamott would be saying the exact same way if she was in front of me teaching. She must be a fabulous storyteller in person able to take an ordinary trip to the grocery store and turn it into the most fascinating story ever. This is my impression from reading her book. Of all three books I read, I found her writing to be the most hilarious!

Like the other books I read, it is not a how-to write book. Lamott does not sugar coat the writing experience and even discusses her flaws and failures. Writing is not easy and rejection is common. She says the book is written for anyone who writes NOT just those dreaming of publication. I don’t know if I ever will write well enough to be published so I appreciated the nod from her.

Much of her advice was not any different than Goldberg or Bradbury.

Write, write and write some more. Silence the perfectionist within. Observe. Listen. Communicate. Don’t be afraid. Explore your childhood and write about it. Remember when you were free. Everything is material.

I did take the tip of index cards to heart. I was trying to write something for our website and I kept coming up with ideas when I was not near my computer or at work. I took the index cards with me and was able to get some text down or at least an outline.

One of the final chapters is entitled “Finding Your Voice” and it is that exact thing I am trying to do. Lamott mentions when Isabel Allende comes out with a new book half of her class will start writing like her. I am doing that exact thing! When I write, the book I am reading seeps into my writing. How do you read, read, read and not take some of that into your writing? I think she would say that I am not opening the closed door and looking in but instead are staying behind safe topics. Probably true. She quotes Jesus “If you bring forth what is inside you, what you bring forth will save you. If you don’t bring forth what is inside you, what you bring forth can destroy you.” Great quote!

I am finding it hard to write when I get home from work because all that comes out is related to work. I haven’t been able to get it all out to move on. I was hoping reading her book would provide me with some inspiration. Today, it is not helping. I can barely get anything out that is coherent or meaningful. I must need a vacation from work!

Overall, a funny book that tells you what it is to be a writer and offers some advice when hitting the walls. I would recommend the book and will plan on rereading it again as I continue to write.

Writing Down the Bones: Freeing the Writer Within by Natalie Goldberg

Goldberg, Natalie. Writing Down the Bones: Freeing the Writer Within. Shambhala, 1986. 172 pages. Trade Book $10.00. ISBN: 0877733759.

I selected Natalie Goldberg’s book because she has a great reputation for teaching writing workshops AND she lives in New Mexico. When I lived in New Mexico, her photo, books and name were everywhere. I was pleasantly surprised when reading this book that she had lived in Minneapolis too. When describing areas in Minnesota, I recognized where she was referring. Her descriptions of the New Mexico landscape are spot on to what I see when I am there.

The writing advice comes from the place of a poet. My experience with poetry is very limited - I think we had to write some in elementary and middle school. One of the reviews on the back cover comments on the simplicity and accuracy of her sentences. I agree with that and attribute that to her writing of poetry. Poets work with less space than novelists so their choice of words must be right on - not wanting to waste space on too many words - in my opinion.

I learned some practical tips from Natalie Goldberg.

• Write in cheap notebooks and try to fill one a month. This seems like a reasonable goal. She says that buying fancy journals can inhibit what is being written - this journal is too nice to write garbage in thinking. I see that with myself.

• Find a pen that feels good in your hand - not too slow because your thoughts are fast.

• When unable to write, write about the best meal you have ever eaten.

• Verbs are important and I tend to use the same ones over and over again. On the left side of a paper list 10 nouns and on the right choose a profession and list 15 verbs that go with that profession. Now try out these new noun and verb combinations.

• Writing is 90% listening. Learn to listen deeply with your whole body. To become a good writer: Read a lot, Listen well and deeply, Write a lot.

• Know your internal censor/critic/editor well so you can ignore it. If you can’t ignore it, write what is being said to get the thoughts out of your head.

• Use timed periods of writing and just write. Don’t use punctuation, cross out, edit. Keep your hand moving at all times.

• When you want to write in a certain style, read everything you can in that style (for example, a short story writer would read short stories). Try and figure out why they opened with that line. Learn what makes a sentence remarkable.

• Learn to write anyplace.

• Become a tourist in your own town.

Zen in the Art of Writing by Ray Bradbury

Bradbury, Ray. Zen in the Art of Writing. Bantam Books, 1990. 158 pages. Paperback $7.99. ISBN: 9780553296341.

I chose this book to read because I have a fondness for Ray Bradbury. I remember being 10 or 11 sunning on a blanket reading a short story collection and being transported to another world. Then, I came upon a story that could have been written about the exact place I was on my blanket, I think it must have been Dandelion Wine or some version of that story. I couldn’t imagine how an author could describe both Mars and Wisconsin so well that I could see both places in my head. I have continued to read his stories over the years and find myself no less amazed at his ability to capture the essence of a place or the exact detail that makes that martian possible.

In this book, there are a collection of essays that provide a glimpse into Ray Bradbury’s life and the craft of writing. It is a unique book in that he doesn’t try and tell you how to write but instead tells his story and offers himself as the lesson in what worked for him. He says read a lot and write a lot. Ask the questions what if? and why? Become unfocused. Don’t be self-conscious. And write, write, write.

Enthusiasm and exuberance describes Bradbury’s attitude about life. He believes “... writing without zest, writing without gusto, without love, without fun...” makes you less of a writer. Stating that “for the first thing a writer should be is - excited.” He must have been a brilliant person to know.

He writes about the curiosity that has driven his life and his work. Growing up (in Waukegan, Illinois which explains why he could describe a Wisconsin stream bank so well!) he was fascinated with the Barnum and Bailey Circus and carnivals that pulled in to town every summer bringing exotic people and animals. It is these images that showed up in his work years later on other planets or haunting humans on Earth.

Bradbury loved words and books and libraries. He writes, “...lost in love, down the corridors, and through the stacks, touching books, pulling volumes out, turning pages, thrusting volumes back, drowning in all the good stuffs that are the essence of libraries.” How could I not love a writer who feels that way?!

I felt inspired by the book and went to write and everything sounded so false and simplistic. I hated everything! I can’t imagine how he sat down and churned out 1000 pages each day. However, he does counsel that from a young age the muse should have been observing and taking in everything but if it hasn’t it is not too late to start. This gives me hope.

I have adopted his loosely defined Zen writing advice:

WORK
RELAXATION
DON’T THINK
FURTHER RELAXATION