Another week, another book in my quest to FINISH at least one book per week.

This time, I've taken my task into Monday to wrap it up, but it's been worth it. Anne Lamott's BIRD BY BIRD is a collection of lessons on writing, mostly gleaned from her writing classes in the SF Bay Area. I've read some of her essays (great piece on her here, all "Jesusy"), but this is the first time I've read any books. I'd like to pick up one of her novels later on, maybe compare notes and figure out how she wrote this one according to what she says of writing in BIRD BY BIRD. Most of the anecdotes are dead on, even for those of us who are novice writers at best. But I do hold onto a dream of being published, and, perhaps more, of having something worth saying/writing/publishing in the first place, and I appreciate the story of her writing that's been presented here. There are many good tidbits of advice on plot, characters, dialogue, watching people, taking notes on index cards so you don't forget - and just writing, the disciplined act of sitting down at a desk and PC or paper, and making words appear that mean something. Or if they're meaningless, who cares? You're still writing, right?

It's all in the followthrough...
- posted by Rick @ 09:05