Anne Lamott

Happy Birthday, Anne Lamott

Merlin — Mon, 10 Apr 2006 07:28:24 -0400

I learned via the Writer’s Almanac that today is the birthday of the Bay Area novelist and non-ﬁction writer, Anne Lamott.

Although I’ve mentioned my fondness for her work many times before, it’s worth sharing a favorite piece of advice she’s given to young writers. From (of course) Bird by Bird comes her notion of the “shitty ﬁrst draft.”

For me and most of the other writers I know, writing is not rapturous. In fact, the only way I can get anything written at all is to write really, really shitty ﬁrst drafts.

The ﬁrst draft is the child’s draft, where you let it all pour out and then let it romp all over the place, knowing that no one is going to see it and that you can shape it later. You just let this childlike part of you channel whatever voices and visions come through and onto the page. If one of the characters wants to say, “Well, so what, Mr. Poopy Pants?,” you let her. No one is going to see it. If the kid wants to get into really sentimental, weepy, emotional territory, you let him. Just get it all down on paper, because there may be something great in those six crazy pages that you would never have gotten to by more rational, grown-up means. There may be something in the very last line of the very last paragraph on page six that you just love, that is so beautiful or wild that you now know what you’re supposed to be writing about, more or less, or in what direction you might go – but there was no way to get to this without ﬁrst getting through the ﬁrst ﬁve and a half pages.

Lamott also mentions how she keeps a one-inch square picture frame on her desk. And every time she feels stuck, she picks it up and remembers that all she has to do to get started is ﬁll one square inch with words.

Although I doubt she’d choose the title herself, Anne Lamott is a life hacker of the ﬁrst order. Her tips for writers are practical, real, and stripped of the pretentious quill-pen affectations many of us grew up holding. Everyone I know who’s read her stuff cites it as some of the most inspiring advice they’ve received, and most of us return to it often for a shot in the arm.

Anyhow, Happy 52nd to Anne Lamott, and thanks for the good stuff.

”Happy Birthday, Anne Lamott” was written by Merlin Mann for 43Folders.com and was originally posted on April 10, 2006. Except as noted, it's ©2009 Merlin Mann and licensed for reuse under CC BY-NC-ND 3.0. "Why a footer?"

Anne Lamott: Put the puppy back on the paper

Merlin — Wed, 27 Apr 2005 08:12:53 -0400

put the puppy back on the paper, originally uploaded by hotdogsladies.

I’ve previously mentioned Bay-area writer Anne Lamott in the context of her fondness for index cards and her belief in the importance of capturing ideas at the moment they come to you (it’s something I also really believe in). It’s fun to hear her talk about this stuff, too. She has a discursive speaking style that’s, by turns, insightful, frustrating, and very funny.

Over the past few weeks, I’ve been reading her book Bird by Bird a section or two at a time whenever I have a few minutes, and I have to say, it’s one of the most inspiring books I’ve read in a long time.

As a guide for young or aspiring writers, I’d put it up there with On Writing Well and Writing Down the Bones in terms of practical, really useful advice. She strips away so much of the pretense and BS about the writing process and encourages you to just start writing—focusing on small assignments (all you need to do is ﬁll a 1″x1″ picture frame with words) and what she calls “the shitty ﬁrst draft.” Great stuff.

But I think some of the most amazing passages in the book have little to do with writing, per se. It’s all about how we choose to look at the world and ourselves.

Anne Lamott speaks very candidly and unromantically on topics that I typically regard as calciﬁed, pre-chewed, or just irredeemably corny. Faith in God, the realities of parenthood, and our sick feelings of inadequacy, jealousy, and self-doubt are all laid out with raw honesty and often potty-mouthed humor. So refreshing.

Anyway, this is mostly just in the service of explaining the photo above, which depicts one of the many index cards I have over my desk. It refers to a passage from Bird by Bird that’s been on my mind a lot lately.

I am learning slowly to bring my crazy pinball-machine mind back to this place of friendly detachment toward myself, so I can look out at the world and see all those other things with respect. Try looking at your mind as a wayward puppy that you are trying to paper train. You don’t drop-kick a puppy into the neighbor’s yard every time it piddles on the ﬂoor. You just keep bringing it back to the newspaper. So I keep trying gently to bring my mind back to what is really there to be seen, maybe to be seen and noted with a kind of reverence.

For my own reasons, I’m really attracted to the idea that our minds are not others that need to be subjugated or punished for non-compliance; to see yourself as somebody who could beneﬁt from a little stewardship and patience is really not such a terrible idea.

Next time you start to beat yourself up for all the things that aren’t working out or all the ways you’re falling short in your own eyes, try thinking about that puppy and what might be the best way to guide it back to the paper.

”Anne Lamott: Put the puppy back on the paper” was written by Merlin Mann for 43Folders.com and was originally posted on April 27, 2005. Except as noted, it's ©2009 Merlin Mann and licensed for reuse under CC BY-NC-ND 3.0. "Why a footer?"

Anne Lamott on index cards

Merlin — Mon, 04 Apr 2005 05:10:00 -0400

Lots of people had been suggesting I read Anne Lamott’s Bird by Bird (subtitled “Some Instructions on Writing and Life”) becaues she mentions how much she loves and relies on index cards for more than just composition.

In casting about for more information, I Googled across this wonderful quote, courtesy of Orange Crate Art:

I have index cards and pens all over the house—by the bed, in the bathroom, in the kitchen, by the phones, and I have them in the glove compartment of my car. I carry one with me in my back pocket when I take my dog for a walk. In fact, I carry it folded lengthwise, if you need to know, so that, God forbid, I won’t look bulky. You may want to consider doing the same. I don’t even know you, but I bet you have enough on your mind without having to worry about whether or not you look bulky. So whenever I am leaving the house without my purse—in which there are actual notepads, let alone index cards—I fold an index card lengthwise in half, stick it in my back pocket along with a pen, and head out, knowing that if I have an idea, or see something lovely or strange or for any reason worth remembering, I will be able to jot down a couple of words to remind me of it. Sometimes, if I overhear or think of an exact line of dialogue or a transition, I write it down verbatim. I stick the card back in my pocket. I might be walking along the salt marsh, or out at Phoenix Lake, or in the express line at Safeway, and suddenly I hear something wonderful that makes me want to smile or snap my ﬁngers—as if it has just come back to me—and I take out my index card and scribble it down.

That, for damn sure, got added to the wiki. I’ll also be picking up a copy of Bird by Bird today.

”Anne Lamott on index cards” was written by Merlin Mann for 43Folders.com and was originally posted on April 04, 2005. Except as noted, it's ©2009 Merlin Mann and licensed for reuse under CC BY-NC-ND 3.0. "Why a footer?"