The first book I read that was specifically about writing — and not a memoir or an essay by a writer — was “Bird by Bird,” by Anne Lamott. The book loosely revolves around the lessons Lamott uses to teach writing at Book Passage, a bookstore in the Bay Area (this arrangement is discussed in an essay about Book Passage in James Patterson’s book, “The Secret Lives of Booksellers and Librarians”). The owner of Book Passage knows Anne Lamott, a not-yet-established author, and asks her to help in the bookstore by overseeing a writing group. In the course of describing these lessons, “Bird by Bird” has many tools to help you keep writing (or start writing!) when you are stuck, or overcome by self-doubt or the inner critic. 

The tools are helpful strategies for any overwhelming project, from laundry to grading papers to writing a novel, where you are having trouble completing the task (or starting it!). This is where the title comes in, and I cannot do justice to the story as Lamott tells it, but the gist is that one can get into a panic over a complex task that is impossible to complete within the time remaining before it is due. The human response to this is to rail against the powers that be that are making you do the task, and yourself — why didn’t you start earlier? — and completely give up and go watch TV. 

The solution offered by Lamott is to simply start one tiny part of the task. I have had to learn this lesson over and over. If you just start, it turns out not to be so bad, and any task will eventually get tackled as long as you consistently put in effort, day by day and bird by bird.

The thing I love most about “Bird by Bird” is Anne Lamott herself, and her cranky, jealous, critical personality. She throws vitriol at all those who seemingly find it easy to write and who are hugely successful. She criticizes them, even those who are her best and closest friends, and I found it funny and comforting to read about a fellow ungenerous spirit. 

At one point, she describes how she worked very hard to revise a manuscript that had been negatively received by her editor. She revised and revised, but he remained unsatisfied. Finally, she completely tears it down and starts again from the beginning. Eventually, she produces something she knows is good, and you realize by then that it no longer matters what the editor thinks. This is a book that made me fall in love with the author, which few books have done in my life. It is a bonus that you also learn dozens of effective actions to kickstart your writing.

More to come…