Bird by Bird - Introduction

Though I haven't delved very deep into this book yet, I can say with great confidence that I'll thoroughly enjoy it when I do. In roughly twelve pages, Anne Lamott's sense of humor has extracted several chuckles from me, inspired me to write, and forced me to reflect on myself as a young author. She has already found her way into my heart, and through her novel she reads my creative spirit like a palm reader reads hands - which, honestly, concerns me! The way she talks about writing really emphasizes how enriching an experience it is, even if there is much aggravated keyboard slamming in the process. This is a personal doctrine of mine, and I often wonder how much of my book has been written by my forehead as opposed to my fingers. It cracks me up when I read about Lamott's "many, many drinks" which have preceded her greatest compositions; while I have no intentions of developing a drinking problem later in life, I do believe that alcohol possesses the ability to clear one's mind, allowing words to fly from fingertips a little easier. I wish I could meet one-on-one with all of these authors who seek solace in wine glasses and cups of coffee.

I think another reason why I've connected with Lamott so easily, so early on is the fact that I've spent hours educating myself on the writing process and frustrations of publication, treading water in the writing world on a journey to someday become a bestseller (my, am I ambitious). It's comforting to see a real, printed author detail what I've already read online. But it's also a let-down: the contents of Bird by Bird are nothing more than an eloquent regurgitation of what I've read on tumblr, the Huffington Post, and several unofficial blogs by starving artists; Anne advises aspiring writers to shell out time for their writing (i.e. "Write for one hour each day"), and she forthrightly states that most authors' first drafts are not perfect . (They're quite awful, actually, and I speak from experience. Remind me to burn my first draft with acid when I finally publish my story!) As I read on, I hope to discover some obscure writing advice virtually exclusive to itself.