But it’s not straightforward, it takes a huge amount of effort and stress - and the satisfaction of writing is in the writing itself. Publication, the author insists, is not the supreme goal of writing, although it is, of course, very nice to be published. Indeed, it’s the way the book is written that makes it so engaging it’s not laugh-aloud funny but there are definitely some amusingly written sections of writing, not just the hyperbole. It’s not new advice, but the way it’s expressed is helpful.

She explains, too, how to get to know our characters, letting them wander into our minds, asking them questions, letting them lead the way in short stories or novels.

She recommends a minimum of 300 words per day, less than is commonly advised, but then it’s much easier to write 300 than 1000. It doesn’t matter if that first draft is rubbish (Anne Lamott uses a much stronger word which is perhaps more memorable) and it doesn’t matter if some of the writing is pointless, or goes nowhere. To have a final copy, one needs a first draft. In order to finish anything, one has to start. Some of the advice, of course, is the same as any writer would say. She uses hyperbole several times to make good points, and while I think I might find her a tad overwhelming if I attended one of her classes, I thought what she said in the book was excellent, encouraging, and extremely reassuring. It’s nonetheless a very engaging book, full of honesty, as the author recounts - for instance - the horrors of sitting in front of a blank screen when all ideas have vanished, or the way she describes her loathing in exaggerated terms of authors who are ‘successful’. There is some quite strong language used in places, and the ‘instructions’ of the sub-title are very general, relaxed and full of personal reflections, mostly from what might be called a ‘secular’ viewpoint. I should make it clear from the outside that although the author is a person of faith, and mentions God a few times, it’s not at all a religious book, or a typical one written by a Christian writer.

I’ve just finished reading ‘Bird by Bird’ which is the book about writing. I put this (and a couple of others) on my wishlist and was given them for my birthday earlier in the year. I discovered that she’s written both novels and non-fiction including some on the topic of faith, and one, which is highly rated on the topic of writing. I’m not sure where I first heard of Anne Lamott possibly recommended in some other book I read.

Bird by bird