10 Writing Lessons Learned from Anne Lamott's “Bird by Bird” —Some Instructions On Writing And Life
Anne Lamott’s Bird By Bird: Some Instructions On Writing And Life has been heralded as one of the best books you can read as a budding writer. Despite being published 25 years ago (!!!) it’s still an immensely popular book.
I found a copy of this in the second-hand book shop at the university I used to work for and was delighted with my find. But it then sat on my shelf for almost 3 years until more recently. Part of me wishes I had read it the day I found it, as I’ve come leaps and bounds as a writer since the initial discovery, and as such, I don’t think I enjoyed the book as much as I could have. I do feel, however, that novice writers, frightened would-be writers, and those just emerging will get a lot of value from Lamott’s pithy and entertaining advice.
If you’re just starting out with your own writing practice, there are many wonderful lessons Lamott shares. Here are a few of my favorites:
Tell The Truth
“Writing is about telling the truth.”
I really love the sentiment behind this piece of advice, although I might adapt it to say that writing is telling a truth rather than the truth. For me, the wonderful thing about writing is that you can write yourself into a version of truth, a way of seeing the world and understanding your experiences that can be both healing and profoundly cleansing. I feel this might be a part of what Lamott is hinting at here.
Overcoming Writer’s Block
Lamott shares her insights around the dreaded writer’s block, her own experiences of it, and how she advises those in her creative writing classes to overcome it.
Crucially, Lamott advises that as a writer it’s important to carve out some time every single day for writing. In doing so, you invite the muse to join you, at the same time, every day, right on schedule, rather than sitting around waiting for her to turn up.
By writing every day you train your unconscious brain that now is the time to get creative.
Follow Your Beliefs
“You need to put yourself at their center, you and what you believe to be true or right. The core, ethical concepts in which you most passionately believe are the language in which you are writing.”
When you focus on the things you’re passionate about and what you believe in, readers will notice. I think what Lamott is trying to teach here is that it’s important to put ourselves into our writing. We talk a lot about ‘having a voice’ in the writing world. I believe that writing from your beliefs and values forms a huge part of this.
Don’t Be Afraid Of The Monsters
“When people shine a little light on their monster, we find out how similar most of our monsters are.”
Lamott uses the term ‘monster’ lovingly, as an expression for the hidden and disowned aspects of ourselves. Our monsters are the unwritten truths waiting to be acknowledged, expressed, and shared. She encourages us as writers to explore our monsters and bring them to light, in so doing, we also write our truth.
Abandon Perfectionism
Lamott speaks of perfectionism as the ‘voice of the oppressor’. It’s the enemy that forces you to get lost in the maze of scrutiny and detail. It’s the barrier preventing you from putting pen to paper or fingers to keyboard and actually finishing something.
She advises us to forget about perfectionism and to get messy, playful, to write it all down and see where the muse takes us. Who cares if it’s not perfect?!
On Character Development
“Knowledge of your characters also emerges the way a Polaroid develops: it takes time for you to know them.”
It’s rare for me to write more than one character in my stories, and I admit character development is something I struggle with. Lamott shares some excellent advice around this, encouraging us to really get to know them. We’re not creating a person on paper, we’re creating a living breathing entity. What are their habits, quirks, ticks, and mannerisms? She invites us to spend time really getting to know who these people are as we write them.
Move The Plot Forward
“Whatever happens, we need to feel that it was inevitable, that even though we may be amazed, it feels absolutely right, that, of course, things would come to this, of course, they would shakedown in this way.”
There’s lots of advice, guidance, and formulas out there around plot development, but I loved this insight from Lamott. Any good plot feels right. It moves forward in the right ways, and even when those ways drive us nuts, it always feels as though that was exactly what was supposed to happen. Good plots don’t stagnate. They move forward and take the characters with them.
Live Your Dialogue
“Dialogue is more like a movie than it is like real life since it should be more dramatic.”
Another confession, dialogue is something I tend to steer away from in my stories (I write short stories and flash fiction typically, so it can be easy to avoid in these formats!). But this advice from Lamott has really helped me to get a bit braver and start experimenting.
Essentially, we need to feel the dialogue as much as we read or hear it. How is it creating an impact? What is it adding to your characters? Where is it moving the plot forwards?
Proofread Proofread Proofread
Lamott shares that she has one or two people who are her go-to proofreaders for her work before she sends it to her editor or publisher. She’s chosen these people because they add value in the right ways and are able to offer her advice and feedback in ways that help improve her work without eroding her ego.
I can’t tell you the number of times I submit a piece of work thinking I’ve proofread the thing to within an inch of its life only to discover some blasphemous typo the MINUTE I hit submit.
Finding a proofreading friend or two is wonderful advice, as is making sure they can deliver feedback in the ways that work for you as a writer!
Be The Lighthouse
“Lighthouses don’t go running all over an island looking for boats to save; they just stand there shining.”
Quite possibly one of my favorite pieces of advice from the book is this line. As writers, it often feels we have to be constantly ‘running around’, whether that’s writing, editing, submitting, pitching, revising, drafting, entering competitions, seeing feedback, comparing ourselves to others all over the place … it’s quite exhausting.
It’s easy to forget why we write and lose the hum of enjoyment I’m sure many of us find in getting our words simply written down. Just for our own personal joy.
We forget to shine.
I have this line printed and stuck above my desk. It’s a wonderful reminder when I feel myself getting into a ‘should’ or ‘must’ or ‘need to’ mindset with my writing to simply write and let my words shine.
