L.J. Lee (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
ljwrites) wrote in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
write_away2014-04-22 12:21 am
ljwrites) wrote in write_away2014-04-22 12:21 am
Review: Bird by Bird, by Anne Lamott
Bird by Bird was the first book recommended in a thread I started here about writing advice books. I've made it something of a project to read the recommendations in my free time. I started with Bird and finished it a couple of weeks ago. Now I'm about 2/3 through Jeff Gerke's Plot versus Character, which I have considerably more mixed feelings about. But all in good time, first the Bird by Bird review:
Bird is a more a "motivation" kind of book than a "practical help" book, a difference helpfully put forward by userinkdust who recommended it. A shorter sample of "motivational" writing might be Anna Quindlen's 1999 commencement speech at Mount Holyoke College where she exhorted graduates to find their own voice. There is also Octavia Butler's essay Furor Scribendi (with its crucial last word, "Persist.") in her short story collection Bloodchild and Other Stories, and many more.
So what is the value of reading a book about writing inspiration when essays and clever, pithy quotes are available on the same subjects? The foremost, I think, is the value of any book if done right--you get a whole, organized treatment on the subject of writing, rather than one aspect of it like authenticity, persistence, or editing.
Lamott also goes into aspects of the writing life I haven't seen any other writer talk about: She cautions that publication, which seems a shining land of promise for the unpublished, won't turn one's life around, and that runaway success is a rare thing. She discusses how writing might not make you immediately financially secure and there's no guarantee of material success, but that success for her isn't defined by those metrics. Perhaps most refreshingly, she speaks frankly about the almost taboo subject of jealousy and other less-than-pretty emotions.
Perhaps the greatest joy of a book like this, though, is the sense of getting to know the author, what she's passionate about, what makes her tick. That's the thing about these motivation-type writings, they are revelatory about the person behind the text in a way that technique-oriented writing seldom is. And Lamott's is a highly enjoyable voice with its combination of dry wit, keen observation, and overflowing passion.
It should be said her voice isn't for everyone: One of the commenters in the original thread said they were turned off by Lamott's unkindness, and I can see where they're coming from at the same time that I cringe at myself. I cringe because I also have that sense of humor that comes across as unkind--admitting flat-out my worst impulse and laughing at the ridiculousness of it, which can seem like an endorsement but isn't, or at least I don't understand it that way. So Lamott's style worked fine for me, but it might feel abrasive to some.
For all this book falls on the "motivation" pile of books on writing, it nevertheless has great advice drawn from the author's own experience as a writer and writing teacher. Things like the two-inch picture frame, calling around for research, putting together writing groups, and using index cards to jot down everything might be classified as "soft" technique. Of course we have smartphones for notetaking now, something the book--published in the 90s--doesn't reflect.
Speaking of the Stone Age, there is one thing that was a small irritation to me. I noticed that black people in Lamott's anecdotes are always labeled as such, e.g. "the black man" and "three African Americans." Also, they never get names. It wasn't exactly offensive, but somewhat embarrassing. I can promise Ms. Lamott and anyone reading, on my word of honor, that people of color don't disappear in puffs of smoke if you call us by name without reference to our race. Really! Well, except for that one group, but I'm not telling you which because they have it coming.
So, bumps and all, Bird by Bird is a worthwhile read for anyone interested in a perspective on the ups and downs of a writer's life, especially one that is funny and compassionate at the same time. I liked it a lot.
Bird is a more a "motivation" kind of book than a "practical help" book, a difference helpfully put forward by user
inkdust who recommended it. A shorter sample of "motivational" writing might be Anna Quindlen's 1999 commencement speech at Mount Holyoke College where she exhorted graduates to find their own voice. There is also Octavia Butler's essay Furor Scribendi (with its crucial last word, "Persist.") in her short story collection Bloodchild and Other Stories, and many more.So what is the value of reading a book about writing inspiration when essays and clever, pithy quotes are available on the same subjects? The foremost, I think, is the value of any book if done right--you get a whole, organized treatment on the subject of writing, rather than one aspect of it like authenticity, persistence, or editing.
Lamott also goes into aspects of the writing life I haven't seen any other writer talk about: She cautions that publication, which seems a shining land of promise for the unpublished, won't turn one's life around, and that runaway success is a rare thing. She discusses how writing might not make you immediately financially secure and there's no guarantee of material success, but that success for her isn't defined by those metrics. Perhaps most refreshingly, she speaks frankly about the almost taboo subject of jealousy and other less-than-pretty emotions.
Perhaps the greatest joy of a book like this, though, is the sense of getting to know the author, what she's passionate about, what makes her tick. That's the thing about these motivation-type writings, they are revelatory about the person behind the text in a way that technique-oriented writing seldom is. And Lamott's is a highly enjoyable voice with its combination of dry wit, keen observation, and overflowing passion.
It should be said her voice isn't for everyone: One of the commenters in the original thread said they were turned off by Lamott's unkindness, and I can see where they're coming from at the same time that I cringe at myself. I cringe because I also have that sense of humor that comes across as unkind--admitting flat-out my worst impulse and laughing at the ridiculousness of it, which can seem like an endorsement but isn't, or at least I don't understand it that way. So Lamott's style worked fine for me, but it might feel abrasive to some.
For all this book falls on the "motivation" pile of books on writing, it nevertheless has great advice drawn from the author's own experience as a writer and writing teacher. Things like the two-inch picture frame, calling around for research, putting together writing groups, and using index cards to jot down everything might be classified as "soft" technique. Of course we have smartphones for notetaking now, something the book--published in the 90s--doesn't reflect.
Speaking of the Stone Age, there is one thing that was a small irritation to me. I noticed that black people in Lamott's anecdotes are always labeled as such, e.g. "the black man" and "three African Americans." Also, they never get names. It wasn't exactly offensive, but somewhat embarrassing. I can promise Ms. Lamott and anyone reading, on my word of honor, that people of color don't disappear in puffs of smoke if you call us by name without reference to our race. Really! Well, except for that one group, but I'm not telling you which because they have it coming.
So, bumps and all, Bird by Bird is a worthwhile read for anyone interested in a perspective on the ups and downs of a writer's life, especially one that is funny and compassionate at the same time. I liked it a lot.
no subject
What does she say about jealousy, out of curiosity?
no subject
She talked about how corrosive jealousy is to self-confidence and how awful it feels, and how nothing seems to help. Perhaps most helpfully, she talked about her actual experience with having a writer friend who became very successful. This friend would call Lamott up to say things like "I just don't know why God is giving me so much money this year" when she knew Lamott and her son were strapped for money at the time.
Basically Lamott worked through it, bit by bit, by getting her sense of humor and perspective back, realizing others had gone through the same thing, and writing about her feelings and their roots in her childhood. This helped her balance herself enough to realize the writer friend's behavior was toxic and to take a break from their friendship, and to accept her feelings and herself to a greater degree.
no subject
no subject
I definitely have mixed feelings about Plot versus Character too, especially when I reread some of it last week, so I'll be interested to hear your thoughts on that one. I think for me it was more useful last year when I was approaching my first real brand new novel idea in 7+ years and I needed to learn more about crafting. On this second read, I felt the limitations and bias more, which I think is mainly a sign that I've outgrown a lot of it (yay!). Still I find the general guideline of [knot] ---- [moment of truth] useful to keep in mind as I work on crafting.
...way to take a post about Bird by Bird and make it about the other book. Sorry, lol.
no subject
My review for Part 1 of PvC is muuuuch longer than my review of BbB in its entirety. Negative comments do tend to take up more space than positive ones. Don't get me wrong, I learned a lot and I think it was worthwhile, it's just that this for me is a book where I learned more through disagreement than agreement. It's interesting that your reactions were mixed too, I would love to hear your thoughts on the book.
no subject
I might be reading this soon since I unexpectedly came across a copy.
no subject
no subject
no subject
Interviewers ask famous writers why they write, and it was (if I remember correctly) the poet John Ashbery who answered, "Because I want to." Flannery O’Connor answered, "Because I’m good at it," and when the occasional interviewer asks me, I quote them both. Then I add that other than writing, I am completely unemployable. But really, secretly, when I’m not being smart-alecky, it’s because I want to and I’m good at it.
I'm glad she quoted these two and said that it held true for her too. The same goes for me. But I hear so much about how True Writers have some kind of burning need to write. That's just not how it works for me. As much as I love writing, it's not something I need to do, but the idea of writing as a need is everywhere, or maybe it just seems that way to me because it's not true for me.
no subject
"Good" is a pretty packed term, though. I think I'm more skilled than I used to be, but I wasn't born building plots or deconstructing character motivation. I don't think I would have had the patience to become good at writing if I didn't like it so much. For me that manifests as need, but maybe that's just a convenient cover for inclination and desire.
no subject
I've never posted here before, since I don't usually use this account. But inkdust mentioned this group on F!S yesterday, so I thought I'd join. (I couldn't find an intro thread or anything, sorry if this is posted in the wrong place. Still getting used to this website.)
no subject
no subject
no subject
no subject
no subject
no subject
no subject
no subject
no subject
no subject
It's amazing how much there's to be gained from looking back on childhood. I didn't do much of it yet, being too chicken, but it's basically the time when we were learning to be human and is a font of personal truth.