Reading: Bird by Bird by Anne Lamott
Section: Getting Started and Short Assignments

Still light-hearted and full of wit, but also telling a sobering, yet all too familiar, tale of aspiring authors idealizing the writing profession.

The problem that comes up over and over again is that these people want to be published. They kind of want to write, but they really want to be published.

Anne reminds us (drills it into our subconscious, actually) that in order to become good writers, worthy of publication, we need to write well. With passion and determination. In bite size doses, of course.

…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 should, and said, “Bird by bird, buddy. Just take it bird by bird.”

Wise words.

Sometimes we need to think small when we want to accomplish something big. Take it one small step at a time, and before you realize it, you’ll have the big picture sitting right in front of you.