Writing is lonely. So whenever I start a new project, I look for a book about it I haven’t read yet. It’s like having a sympathetic friend holding my hand, reassuring me.
Somehow, the book I choose is precisely what I need. Well, that’s not always true, but when it’s not, I quickly spot it and move on to another. But this one filled the bill. It came out thirty years ago, but I only recently became aware of it, although I remember hearing her spots on NPR way back when.
Lamott’s advice in this book is sensible, even if little of it is new. It’s not a problem; I need to hear it all again with each new project. And I’ve never read it in such a humorous, self-deprecating manner. She and her friends sound like a lovable, walking collective of personality disorders (I think those are really her words, but right now, I can’t find the quote). Somehow, they keep each other’s spirits up.
She is honest about the rivalry and jealousy writers experience. She also makes it clear (repeatedly) that publication is not the main reason to write, much less the gateway to fixing everything wrong in your life. If, toward the end, her reporting of her neuroses wears thin through repetition, along the way, there are descriptions of it that had me laughing out loud.
This book helped me get through the first five days of a new project, allowing me to make a solid start. Thank you, Anne, for being there. ( )

Absolutely charming, but stale and a little oblivious. ( )

I so identify with every small feeling and anxiety she has about herself and others that I'm almost ready to sign up for her support groups and church suppers. The insights into writing and ego and truth reflected and articulated here are so authentic that it seems like revealed truth, like truth I already knew. It also made me feel extremely neurotic. ( )

This book is over-rated. I can see why this book is so popular, but Lamott just tries too hard to be funny. Her two key concepts, working with small assignments and producing shitty first drafts, are valuable, although most working writers figure them out on their own.

Honestly, I enjoyed the prologue more than the rest of the book. ( )

Fantastic insights and advice on the writing life. Lamott has a breezy voice, filled with humor and a healthy dose of sarcasm. She doesn't sugarcoat the tougher aspects of embarking upon a writing career, and she makes it clear from the beginning that the goal of publication is not the fabulous end-all-and-be-all so many people make it out to be. Writing is its own reward even when it's painful, frustrating and just damned hard. Lamott never lets us forget that. (A) ( )