Count on Anne Lamott for wisdom and wit on writing and life
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Photo by Sam Lamott |
I have no idea how many of the hordes of people—mostly women—who
came to see Annie tonight at All Saints Church in Pasadena are writers,
but I have a feeling there were plenty of us. We hung on her every word,
leaning in a tad more closely for the nuggets that relate to our craft. Here
are a few…
Write what you would
like to come upon. In other words tell a story that you’d like to read.
Most miracles involve
writing. It seems she, like me, doesn’t
always know what she’s thinking or feeling until she gets it down on paper.
Waiting for
inspiration to write is another way to guarantee you won’t get any writing
done. You can make all the excuses
you want and “the thing is, no one cares, so you’d better... because the regrets
will be heartbreaking."
Writing a novel is
three years of commitment to having terrible self-esteem. Isn’t writing
creative none-fiction torture enough?!

And she left us with this beautiful piece of advice from the
great E.L. Doctorow:
“Writing
is like driving at night in the fog. You can only see as far as your
headlights, but you can make the whole trip that way.”
In other words—in Annie’s words—it’s still Bird by Bird….
Author's note: Click here to read about the first time I saw Annie.
I was there and haven't yet thought it all through let alone articulate it so masterfully. How you got this down already? Wizard you are, Mary. Brava!!!!!!
ReplyDeleteThank you, my dear. So happy you got to experience her. Such a presence! XO
DeleteWOW! I'm copying this to read again and again. Wonderful, Mary!
ReplyDeleteThank you so very much, Lori! I am so happy it spoke to you. XO
DeleteLovely Mary!
ReplyDeleteThanks so much, Stephanie! XO
DeleteOh, I wish I'd been there... what wonderful wisdom and inspiration! I've been increasingly nervous about finishing my memoir... coming up on the two year mark now... and thinking I was way behind. Looks like I may just be right on track. :)
ReplyDeleteIt takes as long as it takes, I guess. I sure understand the pressure of time... Write on, Veronica! XO
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