Bird by Bird

By Anne Lamott

Categories: Reference

The title comes from a family story. Anne Lamott's ten-year-old brother sat close to tears over a report on birds he'd had three months to write, due the next day. Their father put an arm around him and said, "Bird by bird, buddy. Just take it bird by bird." That advice runs through this funny, big-hearted book of instructions on writing and life: take one small piece at a time, allow yourself a terrible first draft, and keep going.

Recommended by 11 people

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• Seth Godin: “Anne Lamott relates an image from a friend in her great book on writing, Bird by Bird.”
• Shane Parrish: “This is a beautiful book. If you’ve ever wanted to write better — from the first draft to the final product — I highly recommend this readable book. Make no mistake, it’s not a ‘how to’ book, rather it is an exploration of the process of writing and what it means to write”