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So you want to be a writer? Probably the answer is yes, otherwise why would you even pick up a book like this? But reader beware; Anne Lamott is not going to soft soap you into believing that writing is a glamorous or painless pursuit. Trouble and toil is at the heart of the process so if you nurse any romantic ideals about being struck by the muse, you are best advised to discard them immediately.

Lamott says that writers who succeed have to contend with stress, insecurity and loneliness. The feelings that drive them include jealousy, paranoia and anger. This means that only a happy few are able to apply their compulsive obsessive disorders to meet tangible goals.

Certainly, Lamott make it crystal clear that you must be prepared to sacrifice the niceties of social interaction if you’re serious about achieving your ambitions. In other words, the more self-centered and selfish you are, the better. Discipline and persistency, also known as plain bloody-mindedness, will stand you in very good stead. “To be a good writer, you not only need to write a great deal, you have to care”, she writes.

Most of what she says doesn’t paint a pretty picture but Anne Lamott manages to serve up these bitter truths in a lively and humorous manner. She doesn’t pretend to be perfect herself and openly admits to bearing grudges and being petty-minded. Her argument is that unless you are prepared to face up to such personality flaws, whatever you write will rarely ring true. She firmly believes that “becoming a writer is about becoming conscious.”

Aside from writing novels and non-fiction books, Lamott draws upon her experience as a teacher in a creative writing class. Anecdotes about her students are not always complementary. Shattering the illusion that writing will guarantee fame and fortune even to those blessed with talent is one of her first lessons.

The title of this book comes from some words of wisdom her father imparted to her brother when he was just 10-years-old. Faced with an overwhelming task of writing a report on birds to a tight deadline, her father put his arm around him and said “Bird by bird, buddy. Just take it bird by bird”. It strikes me that this practical advice is one can be applied to any project that at first seems unsurmountable. In the context of writing, Lamott says that producing what she calls “shitty first drafts” is infinitely better than staring at a blank page. Getting something down means you have something to edit and improve upon.

Where I part company with Lamott’s viewpoint is on the topic of motivation. She argues that, as social animals, we all have an innate need to share anything we create. What would be the point, she asks rhetorically, of painting a picture that is never made public?

I think this ignores the fact that many artists are driven by a need to create, irrespective of whether or not their work seen, let alone admired. The great figurative painter Frank Auerbach was driven to paint on a daily basis, often using the same model. At the end of each day, he would frequently scrape the canvas clear and start all over again. Only a small number of portraits would be saved. This indicates to me that creativity of this nature is often a compulsion in which the primary goal is to please yourself. Any acclaim or even modest approval is merely a fortunate by-product.

People will always write, paint and create; the vast majority will do so poorly but that hardly matters. The act of creating is enough to fulfill a human need as fundamental and necessary as eating and sleeping. To ignore or stifle this creative outlet is to sleepwalk through life.

After reading Anne Lamott’s witty and elegant guidebook, I am resigned to the fact that I don’t have what it takes to be a novelist. I can live with this. Her observations, do however confirm that even if a piece of writing only provides personal satisfaction , or gives pleasure to just one other person, it is nevertheless worthwhile. I write this blog knowing that very few will read read it and still less think what I say has any significant value.

It keeps me off the streets!