You look at the ceiling, and over at the clock, yawn, and stare at the paper again. You begin rocking, just a little at first, and then like a huge autistic child. You put a piece of paper in the typewriter, or you turn on your computer and bring up the right file, and then you stare at it for an hour or so. So you sit down at, say, nine every morning, or ten every night. This is how you train your unconscious to kick in for you creatively. You try to sit down at approximately the same time every day.

But more to the point perhaps is the advice of Philip Roth, who said every writer needs “the ability to sit still in the deeply uneventful business,” a comment that Lamott echoes: Maya Angelou likes to work in dirty hotel rooms. But after a few days at the desk, telling the truth in an interesting way turns out to be about as easy and pleasurable as bathing a cat.Įveryone wants to know how to write. Year after year my students are bursting with stories to tell, and they start writing projects with excitement and maybe even joy- finally their voices will be heard, and they are going to get to devote themselves to this one thing they’ve longed to do since childhood.

We have so much we want to say and figure out. Sheep lice do not seem to share this longing, which is one reason they write so very little. We are a species that needs and wants to understand who we are. The very first thing I tell my new students … is that good writing is about telling the truth. Getting started is the hardest part of writing. Here are some of my takeaways from the book. “There is ecstasy in paying attention.” - Anne Lamott In fact, it’s one of the best books I’ve ever come across on writing. Lamott’s advice is down to earth, real, and void of any pretentiousness. I stumbled across Anne Lamott’s beautiful Bird by Bird: Some Instructions on Writing and Life.

Anne lamott from bird by bird