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Bird by Bird: Some Instructions on Writing and Life

Book by Anne Lamott · 50 quotes · Writing, Ifs, People

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Bird by Bird: Some Instructions on Writing and Life Quotes

“Writing can be a pretty desperate endeavor, because it is about some of our deepest needs: our need to be visible, to be heard, our need to make sense of our lives, to wake up and grow and belong. It is no wonder if we sometimes tend to take ourselves perhaps a bit too seriously.”

IfsNeedsWritingSometimesGrowsBitsWonderOur LivesHeardWake UpMake SenseVisibleDesperateEndeavor
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“The best thing about being an artist, instead of a madman or someone who writes letters to the editor, is that you get to engage in satisfying work. Even if you never publish a word, you have something important to pour yourself into.”

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“The writer is a person who is standing apart, like the cheese in 'The Farmer in the Dell' standing there alone but deciding to take a few notes. You’re outside, but you can see things up close through your binoculars. Your job is to present clearly your viewpoint, your line of vision. Your job is to see people as they really are, and to do this, you have to know who you are in the most compassionate possible sense. Then you can recognize others.”

PeopleKnowsPersonsJobsLinesVisionStandingWho You AreNotesFarmersCompassionateCheeseViewpointsStanding ThereDellBinocularsStanding Apart
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“Hope begins in the dark, the stubborn hope that if you just show up and try to do the right thing, the dawn will come. You wait and watch and work: you don't give up.”

IfsGivingTryingShowsHopeWaitingDarkInspiringWatchesInspirational LifeGiving UpPersistenceDawnRight ThingStubbornDon't Give UpDoing The Right ThingHaving HopeStubbornnessHoping For The BestHope And FaithDoing RightGreat HopeFaith HopeNever Give Up HopeHope InspirationalHopes UpDo N't Give UpNot Giving Up HopeDon't Give Up HopeWaiting And HopingDon't Lose Hope
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“Almost all good writing begins with terrible first efforts. You need to start somewhere.”

NeedsWritingFirstsEffortTerribleGood WritingGood WritersWriting FictionWriter's BlockGreat WritingReading And WritingStory WritingWriting StoriesCreativity And WritingWriters ReadingWriting And ReadingInspiration To WriteFamous WritersInspiring WritingReading WritingWriting From Famous AuthorsStarting To Write
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“Becoming a writer is about becoming conscious. When you're conscious and writing from a place of insight and simplicity and real caring about the truth, you have the ability to throw the lights on for your reader. He or she will recognize his or her life and truth in what you say, in the pictures you have painted, and this decreases the terrible sense of isolation that we have all had too much of.”

WritingRealLightAbilityToo MuchReaderBecomingTerribleConsciousSimplicityInsightCaringIsolationWriting AdviceDecrease
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“Perfectionism is the voice of the oppressor, the enemy of the people. It will keep you cramped and insane your whole life, and it is the main obstacle between you and a shitty first draft. I think perfectionism is based on the obsessive belief that if you run carefully enough, hitting each stepping-stone just right, you won't have to die. The truth is that you will die anyway and that a lot of people who aren't even looking at their feet are going to do a whole lot better than you, and have a lot more fun while they're doing it.”

PeopleIfsThinkingWritingFirstsEnoughWholeRunningDiesBeliefFunVoiceEnemyFeetTruth IsStonesObstaclesWhole LifeInsaneHittingTough TimesBetter Than YouPerfectionismObsessiveOppressorsStepping Stones
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“If you don't believe in God, it may help to remember this great line of Geneen Roth's: that awareness is learning to keep yourself company. And then learn to be more compassionate company, as if you were somebody you are fond of and wish to encourage. I doubt that you would read a close friend's early efforts and, in his or her presence, roll your eyes and snicker. I doubt that you would pantomime sticking your finger down your throat. I think you might say something along the lines of, 'Good for you. We can work out some of the problems later, but for now, full steam ahead!”

IfsThinkingBelieveMayHelpingProblemMightEyeRememberWishLinesEffortCompanyDoubtAwarenessFingersDon't BelieveWork OutBelieve In GodThroatCompassionateSteamClose FriendsPantomimeSnickers
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“The problem is acceptance, which is something we're taught not to do. We're taught to improve uncomfortable situations, to change things, alleviate unpleasant feelings. But if you accept the reality that you have been given- that you are not in a productive creative period- you free yourself to begin filling up again.”

IfsHas BeensFeelingsProblemRealityGivenSituationAcceptingCreativeAcceptanceTaughtPeriodsUncomfortableProductiveFillingWriter's BlockAlleviateFree YourselfFilling UpUncomfortable Situations
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“The society to which we belong seems to be dying or is already dead. I don't mean to sound dramatic, but clearly the dark side is rising. Things could not have been more odd and frightening in the Middle Ages. But the tradition of artists will continue no matter what form the society takes. And this is another reason to write: people need us, to mirror for them and for each other without distortion-not to look around and say, 'Look at yourselves, you idiots!,' but to say, 'This is who we are.”

PeopleNeedsWritingLooksMeanHas BeensMatterReasonSeemsAgeFormArtistSoundSidesDarkMiddleDyingTraditionMirrorsNo Matter WhatIdiotOddDramaticRisingWho We AreFrighteningMiddle AgesDark SideDistortion
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“For some of us, books are as important as almost anything else on earth. What a miracle it is that out of these small, flat, rigid squares of paper unfolds world after world after world, worlds that sing to you, comfort and quiet or excite you. Books help us understand who we are and how we are to behave. They show us what community and friendship mean; they show us how to live and die.”

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“We write to expose the unexposed. Most human beings are dedicated to keeping that one door shut. But the writer's job is to see what's behind it, to see the bleak unspeakable stuff, and to turn the unspeakable into words - not just into any words but if we can, into rhythm and blues. You can't do this without discovering your own true voice, and you can't find your true voice and peer behind the door and report honestly and clearly to us if your parents are reading over your shoulder.”

IfsWritingHumansJobsTurnsReadingStuffParentVoiceHuman BeingsBehindsDoorsHonestlyShouldersRhythmReportsDedicatedDiscoveringPeersBleakUnspeakableRhythm And Blues
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“The very first thing I tell my new students on the first day of a workshop is that good writing is about telling the truth. We are a species that needs and wants to understand who we are. Sheep lice do not seem to share this longing, which is one reason they write so very little. But we do. We have so much we want to say and figure out.”

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