Bird by Bird

How do you tackle one of the most famous writing craft books, you take it “Bird by Bird.” That’s what we’ve done with Anne Lamott’s book over the past 12 episodes and in this final episode we cover her end of the class advice, along with how to avoid libel (not sure why that got placed there) and give our opinion about the book as a whole. And then, because there’s always another writing craft boo...

Well, why do you? The answer for most authors is to get published. But is that the only reason, or even the best reason? As we near the end of Anne Lamott’s Bird by Bird we investigate other rewards for writing, like to to find ones voice, or as way of giving. And then we get back to publishing (this is a writing advice podcast) and discuss Lamott’s opinion that it’s not all that it’s cracked up t...

Anne Lamott (in her Bird by Bird book) says the dreaded writer’s block isn’t about being blocked, it’s about being empty. In today’s podcast we discuss Lamott’s approach to writer’s block, as well as her technique of letter writing to get at the heart of your story. We also have an insightful conversation on exactly why memoirists (or at least Renee) want strangers to read about their lives. But b...

Behind most successful authors there is a writing group (at least according to their novel's acknowledgment section). But how does one find a writing group, and how do you get the most of out of one once you're in? In todays episode, we discuss the chapters "Writing Groups" and "Someone to Read your Drafts" from Anne Lamott's book Bird by Bird. We also recall some WTF moments from our own writing...

Some advice is timeless, some is not. In this episode, we evaluate writing techniques from Anne Lamott's book Bird by Bird and see if they still have value in our current Information Age. Specifically, Lamott writes about capturing one's thoughts on index cards, and how to use a telephone to get information and also, to get a larger sense of people's views. Although we now use our phones for much...

Sometimes just showing up isn’t enough. You’ve set time aside for writing and instead of your story unfurling on the page (or screen) other things come out. In this episode, we’ll discuss author Anne Lamott’s struggle and solutions to this problem from her book Bird by Bird. First we’ll tackle the good voice, the inspiration that we keep ignoring, Lamott calls this the “Broccoli” then the bad voic...

We’re onto the second section in Anne Lamott’s Bird by Bird — The Writing Frame Of Mind — and it’s getting a bit nebulous folks. In “Looking Around,” Lamont encourages us to see, truly see, the world. That sounds like mindfulness training to Kim, it sounds like something else to Renee. And then it’s onto “The Moral Point of View” which brings out an even more heated discussion. In the end, we’re n...

Even published authors have problems getting the magical stories in their heads into finished manuscript. But Anne Lamott’s account of how, over the course of three years, she completely rewrote what would be her second novel several times, probably deserves a prize for perseverance (or stubbornness). In this podcast we discuss what was wrong with each of those drafts and the techniques she used t...

We’re covering two different topics from Ann Lamott’s book Bird by Bird. First off is scene setting, both its importance for your characters and how to get all the details right (quick answer, ask an expert). Then we’re back to finding out what your story is about and how to return to a scene or chapter again and again (and again) until you can finally say, “Yes, that is how it needs to be written...

We’ve gotten to some hearty chapters in Ann Lamott’s book Bird by Bird. First up is plot, which “grows out of characters.” We discuss what this means and if it’s applicable to genre writing. Then we turn to dialogue, and how you distill intent from the rambling conversation of what people say while maintaining their unique voice. Putting our writing chops to the test, Renee took a hilarious 3000 w...