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

[rachelmanija]

"I began to stalk around his living room, like a trial lawyer making her case to the jury, explaining various aspects of the book, some of which, in my desire not to appear too obvious, I had forgotten to put down at all."

This and Strunk and White's The Elements of Style are the only two books on writing I've ever read which are both useful and a pleasure to read. As a bonus, both are funny. There were a great many parts of Lamott's book which had me laughing out loud, but most of them were the culmination of several paragraphs or pages of build-up, and so I can't excerpt them here. Take my word for it.

In addition to a great deal of solid, non-dogmatic, and practical advice on writing and the writing life, Bird by Bird is a hilarious dissection of the neuroses, panic states, jealousy, paranoia, insanity, depression, addiction, psychotic rage, insomnia, vengefulness, and rare but delightful moments of schadenfreude which make up the life of the writer. I suspect that Lamott is probably more neurotic in some ways than I am, but I have experienced virtually every moment of insanity and pettiness which she describes, except for the bit where, after her editor hated her book after she was positive she'd finally gotten the umpteenth rewrite right, she goes off and snorts coke like an anteater.

I highly recommend this book to all the writers on my list, but I most frequently thought of copperwise as I read it. Lamott's advice on how to write a memoir without getting sued for libel is to change the identifying details of any characters who are portrayed in unflattering terms, and, if they're male and you want to be extra-sure they won't publicly claim the altered evil character is based on them, to say they have a teeny-weeny penis.

I also like her Operating Instructions, the least sappy book on motherhood I've ever read.

Comments

[mistressrenet.livejournal.com]

Operating Instructions was a wonderfully liberating pre-motherhood book to read, because you realized all the hideous things you were thinking really did happen to people and were okay. So many books about parenthood-- even the ones that address the bad stuff-- feel like they're written by robots.

I had forgotten the memoir bit. Ha!

[copperwise.livejournal.com]

I highly recommend this book to all the writers on my list, but I most frequently thought of copperwise as I read it. Lamott's advice on how to write a memoir without getting sued for libel is to change the identifying details of any characters who are portrayed in unflattering terms, and, if they're male and you want to be extra-sure they won't publicly claim the altered evil character is based on them, to say they have a teeny-weeny penis.

ROFL!!!!

Thank you, I will try to pick up a copy of this book. Teeny penis. I'm sure that's true of many of my "characters"...hee.

Does she say anything about people you can't help but identify? I mean, I'll change E.F.'s name, but I only had one husband so it's not like I can say it's not based on him...

[rachelmanija.livejournal.com]

She didn't say, but my understanding is that as long as you change some details and otherwise tell the truth, you are unlikely to get in trouble. To win a lawsuit against you, EF would probably have to prove both that you lied about him and that your lies caused him financial (not just emotional) damage. It's a difficult standard to meet.

[copperwise.livejournal.com]

I rather count on the fact that the last thing E.F. wants to do is go to court and have me give a detailed description of every little thing that he did, under oath.

I also rather count on the fact that he and his family don't read, and so won't ever know that I wrote it, much less sit down to read it.

[hokelore.livejournal.com]

Besides, what are the odds that he'll stand up in court, and state: "Yes your honor, I really did dress up in frilly lingerie and stuff my johnson up my hinder!" Hmmm?

[matociquala.livejournal.com]

Oddly enough,I loathed Bird By Bird. I felt it was whiny and self-indulgent and glamorized neurosis.

I guess I should go sit in the back of the bus now....

[larryhammer]

I also feel odd. The only writing book I've read that I found useful (aside from The Chicago Manual of Style) is The Unstrung Harp.

---L.

[matociquala.livejournal.com]

I liked Gardner's On Becoming A Novelist, but that's not a book on writing so much as a book on observing.

[faithhopetricks.livejournal.com]

I really like Gardner -- hell, I even liked the Moral Fiction book, which most of my friends want to burn.

[faithhopetricks.livejournal.com]

Oh, The Unstrung Harp is marv (an amusing point -- that's my friend masterae's HTML-ization of the book for me).

[larryhammer]

So now we know who to point to when the estate's lawyers come calling.

---L.

[marith.livejournal.com]

That's a terrific icon. I don't suppose you'd be willing to share it?

[matociquala.livejournal.com]

I think I could see my way clear to do that, sure. *g*

[marith.livejournal.com]

Thank you!

[sartorias.livejournal.com]

Well, it didn't work for me either, so we can both put bladders on our heads and sit in the corner.

[rachelmanija.livejournal.com]

You guys, it's not like there's some kind of rule that everyone has to like the same books or they're cast forth from livejournal on a rail.

[marith.livejournal.com]

There isn't? Now what do I do with these train tickets?

[sartorias.livejournal.com]

I know. Facetious = me. (But it is odd to find oneself in a minority on a given subject, Ann Lamott being one. Battlestar Galactica being another. STrawberries being a third!)

[faithhopetricks.livejournal.com]

((sulks, makes plans to cast forth other people instead))

[marith.livejournal.com]

*snork* I'd forgotten that particular bit.

Lamott's fiction hasn't done much for me so far, but I loved BbB and OI and also her books of essays, Traveling Mercies and um the other one. They went a long way towards explaining to agnostic me why intelligent people choose religion and what it does for them.

[faithhopetricks.livejournal.com]

Her fiction is OK -- I like Blue Shoe and Joe Jones (before she revised it) best, but her stories are sort of....flat. Her nonfic has such a bold humorous personal voice in it, and almost none of her fic has it....she's got a new book out, Plan B, sort of a continuation of TM (but not quite as good, sadly).

[sekhmets-temple.livejournal.com]

It's good to hear feedback about Lamott's book. I've been wanting to pick that up for a while now...so I can add it to the books-I-have-yet-to-read-bookcase. Eurgh.