Bird by Bird

Read from Sunday, July 24th to Tuesday, July 26th.

Bird by Bird, Some Instructions on Writing and Life, by Anne Lamont.  I picked up this book about a year ago at the National Book Festival on the Mall.  I started reading it once, but stopped a few chapters in.  It is a classic (written in the early 90's) about the approach Anne uses in writing her novels, and how that might help any aspiring writers.  It is a mix between a memoir and instruction guide, as Anne's voice definitely comes through, and the reader knows all about her personal quirks, battles and emotions.

As Anne is writing this, she is a teacher of a writing class, and this book is designed to be her class in portable, book form.  She describes her upbringing in California, the daughter of a somewhat famous writer in their hometown.  Her father passed away from cancer when she was a young woman, and Anne wrote stories about his death and its effect on her family, and that was her first published book.  She published a few more books after that, and she claimed that by her fourth book, she was self-sufficient as an author.

Anne describes typical writing subjects, such as characterization, plot, voice and dialogue.  But she also has advice on how to get started.  She advises you write about your childhood, and focus on one subject, such as school lunches, and from there, characters emerge that you want to get to know more, and stories develop from there.  Small writing assignments eventually emerge into shitty first drafts, and then lots of revision and plot treatment.  She describes her somewhat nervous breakdown after an editor did not like a novel she submitted, so she spent months reworking the plot in order to get it acceptable.

Anne also discusses the not-so-glorious life of a writer.  There are tremendous bouts of jealousy when things go well for others, and not yourself, and there are constant voices inside her head saying how untalented she is.  You need to find people you trust to read over your work, and you should start writing groups for support.  And publication isn't all that it is cracked up to be.  There are no glamorous parties, and it is not financially rewarding, and it is a tremendously long process.  However, there are other reasons to write.  You can write something as a gift for others, as Lamont did for her father, and other friends who died or lost loved ones.   Most importantly, you write for yourself, as writing is the most rewarding thing spiritually a person can do (for those of us who love to do it in the first place.)

I enjoyed this simple book, and it makes me want to get back and start writing again, even if its just for myself.  At some points I got annoyed with how neurotic and crazy Lamont could make herself out to be, and she does not seem like someone I would like to hang around with.  However, she is honest, and interesting, and she teaches a good class.  The title refers to advice her father once gave to her brother, who was struggling to write a report on local birds.  "Just take it bird by bird, that's all you have to do."  Three and a half out of five stars.