Bird by Bird: Some Instructions on Writing and Life

Anne Lamott

Dec 2007 · Sold by Vintage

About this ebook

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • An essential volume for generations of writers young and old. The twenty-fifth anniversary edition of this modern classic will continue to spark creative minds for years to come. Anne Lamott is "a warm, generous, and hilarious guide through the writer’s world and its treacherous swamps" (Los Angeles Times). 

“Superb writing advice…. Hilarious, helpful, and provocative.” —The New York Times Book Review

For a quarter century, more than a million readers—scribes and scribblers of all ages and abilities—have been inspired by Anne Lamott’s hilarious, big-hearted, homespun advice. Advice that begins with the simple words of wisdom passed down from Anne’s father—also a writer—in the iconic passage that gives the book its title:

“Thirty years ago my older brother, who was ten years old at the time, was trying to get a report on birds written that he’d had three months to write. It was due the next day. We were out at our family cabin in Bolinas, and he was at the kitchen table close to tears, surrounded by binder paper and pencils and unopened books on birds, immobilized by the hugeness of the task ahead. Then my father sat down beside him, put his arm around my brother’s shoulder, and said, ‘Bird by bird, buddy. Just take it bird by bird.’”

Ratings and reviews

The core lesson here is that if you're going to attempt something creative, you need to give yourself permission to make a "sh!##y first draft," and then improve that. This was very helpful to me. Much more useful than The Artist's Way. Little Bets carries this idea even further.

this was a good book to read up until i couldn't read the last five chapter because they weren't available for some reason? I would like my money back that i spent to read the whole book, because i wasn't even able to read half of it.

Bird by Bird is a really inspiring book about writing and life. It's full of practical advice and funny stories. Anne Lamott is a great writer and I really enjoyed reading this book. I would definitely recommend it to anyone who wants to improve their writing skills or just wants to feel inspired.

About the author

ANNE LAMOTT is the author of the New York Times bestsellers Almost Everything; Hallelujah Anyway; Help, Thanks, Wow; Small Victories; Stitches; Some Assembly Required; Grace (Eventually); Plan B; Traveling Mercies; and Operating Instructions. She is also the author of seven novels, including Imperfect Birds and Rosie. A past recipient of a Guggenheim Fellowship and an inductee to the California Hall of Fame, she lives in Northern California.