Advice That Sticks
A Review of "Bird by Bird" by Anne Lamott
STAR RATING: ✰✰✰✰✰
Spoiler-free review.
Anne Lamott delivers the same advice we've all heard for years in a way that actually sticks.
Bird by Bird is what I could call half self-help and half writing guide, and equal parts hit just as hard. She discusses the more subtle and intimately relatable parts of writing, the struggles that come with it, and how to slug through it all. She gives advice on everything from note-taking to drafting to the jealousy of other more successful writers. The part that stuck out to me the most, given my current project, was how to get through the first few drafts knowing that they're dogshit and that's okay. Her advice got me out of a weeks-long writing slump, and I find myself more excited and inspired to write my novel.
Some have complained about her describing her own life, but I found those sections to be some of the most entertaining. It's one thing to be told how something works, it's another (even better) thing to be shown how it applies to the real world. Her story of her dying father, her tales of teaching college writing, and the path of rejection were all sections I found to be very helpful and entertaining.
My few complaints can be summarized by how dated this book is. It was written in the ‘90s, so there are some less-than-savory metaphors that I found offensive by modern standards, mostly in the beginning of the book. I also wish she'd mentioned God less. An atheist reading about how God can help with motivation is much like someone telling you that Zeus can help with the weather. That is not to say the book was bad (I still gave it 5 stars!) and those are my only complaints.
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Bird by Bird is an intelligent and witty guide to helping you see the world through the lens of a writer, making everything a little more interesting. There is beauty in the mundane, you just have to look for it.
