After completely finishing Bird by Bird, I came to really enjoy it. One aspect of the book that I really enjoyed was the fact that in the midst of all her advice and examples, there was always a life lesson that could be applied. However, when it comes to my writing I think the most useful advice that I gathered from the entire book was to listen to the characters in my head whenever I am writing a short story. I’ve always had difficulty developing characters in my head because I had a different mindset: I believed that I should create characters from scratch and they should act and do and say things a certain way. Anne Lamont disproved this idea in a great way for me. In her book, she explains that characters in your story are most often based off of people that you have met before, or noticed. She also explains that you should “squint” at your characters in your mind and try to listen to what their saying, how they are saying it, and jot it all down. I really liked the idea she posed about how “you are going to love some of your characters, because they are you or some facet of you.” Prior to reading this book, I never understood how phenomenal writers created these characters, but now I can say I understand.
Another part of Anne Lamont’s book that really stuck out to me was actually within the same chapter “Character” that I mentioned before. She explains that the characters that you grow to love in your story, wont have much of a story if you don’t let bad stuff happen to them. I think the reason why I agree with this idea so much is because it is completely true and relevant. In the real world, bad things do actually happen to good people and good things happen to bad people. Therefore, without all this, our lives would all be boring and so will your story. In addition to Anne’s ideas and advice, the way she expresses it in the book makes it even easier to understand and relate to. She uses personal examples after every point she makes so the reader is more captivated and excited to read and learn more. For example, uses quotes that she has read or heard before and incorporates it into her book to make her own points more clear to the reader. In her book, she says “A man I know once said to me, ‘The evidence is in, and you are the verdict.’” She says this after saying how you have to “get to know your characters the best you can, let there be something at stake, and then let the chips fall where they may.” Anne continues to use this technique thorough the book and in my opinion makes the whole book flow together quite smoothly that it’s easy to understand.
Overall, I’m glad that I had the opportunity to read Bird by Bird. It was more helpful than I originally thought and know for a fact that I will actually use some of the advice she gives whenever I write.
Another part of Anne Lamont’s book that really stuck out to me was actually within the same chapter “Character” that I mentioned before. She explains that the characters that you grow to love in your story, wont have much of a story if you don’t let bad stuff happen to them. I think the reason why I agree with this idea so much is because it is completely true and relevant. In the real world, bad things do actually happen to good people and good things happen to bad people. Therefore, without all this, our lives would all be boring and so will your story. In addition to Anne’s ideas and advice, the way she expresses it in the book makes it even easier to understand and relate to. She uses personal examples after every point she makes so the reader is more captivated and excited to read and learn more. For example, uses quotes that she has read or heard before and incorporates it into her book to make her own points more clear to the reader. In her book, she says “A man I know once said to me, ‘The evidence is in, and you are the verdict.’” She says this after saying how you have to “get to know your characters the best you can, let there be something at stake, and then let the chips fall where they may.” Anne continues to use this technique thorough the book and in my opinion makes the whole book flow together quite smoothly that it’s easy to understand.
Overall, I’m glad that I had the opportunity to read Bird by Bird. It was more helpful than I originally thought and know for a fact that I will actually use some of the advice she gives whenever I write.
Really great reflection, Avi. I thought you did a great way of showing how the process of creative writing -- of creating characters -- was demystified for you through reading Lamott. I always find it exciting when I'm finally able to understand HOW something works and that I might be capable of doing it myself. It's quite empowering!
ReplyDeleteThanks.