bird by bird by Anne Lamott

Bird by Bird: Some Instructions on Writing and Life by Anne Lamott

Books about writing. especially those that are done by someone who is very skilled at the process, give you a boost and renew you.  

Carolyn See, Natalie Goldberg, Mary Karr, Anne Lamott, Anne Dillard and a few others are all very talented, and it is just a pleasure to read what they write about writing.  

Anne Lamott's  seems to have been born a writer. I mean most of these talented people loved writing and books from an early age, but she really seems to have been a actual writer at an early age.

Her father was a writer and her accounts of her early life and his influence are a unique side of her.  In this book she transitions into her chapters on writing technique from her own life story and the advice her father gave her brother. The book took it's name from that advice where he counseled him to tackle his story on birds, one bird at a time.

Her advice on writing is pretty basic, but it just feels different.  It is her ability to offer simple advice in such a easy to read, free flowing style, that is so effective. You find yourself relaxing and just enjoying her language and her perspective on the process.

Some authors seem to put an unusual word or phrase into the dialog to "wake you up", but with Anne she evolves quite naturally from instruction to the language of life itself.  

It is a good book and it can help you go back and "sharpen the saw" as Steven Covey would say.