Bird by Bird by Anne Lamott
Hey Fellow Writers!
I just realized that the book I am doing has also been started by Kristina. She does a great overview of what this book is about. I have to agree with her on all levels. Her is what I want to discuss about this book.
Why is writing such a scary process? Why do we (or our students) assume that because it takes time we are ‘poor’ writers? Why is the importance of writing not as obvious to everyone as it is to some?
It all started when I told my co-teacher that I was going to take the Northern Nevada Writing Project Summer Invitational back in May. I expressed to her how worried I was to have to actually write in front of so many others and wondered if I was up to the challenge. She giggled and told me I had to read this book, Bird by Bird by Anne Lamott. I put it off through most of summer until about a month ago. Then, as I began to read I wondered how I had not read this years ago. All the scary things that go on every time I write anything even semi-formal. Then, as I was reading, I had this epiphany. If I was feeling insecure about my writing what must my students feel like? So this year, I started off writing with excerpts from the book. I read them aloud to my class. In particular the chapters “Shitty First Drafts”, ” Index Cards” and “Calling Around”. The new element of teaching writing for me, is being honest about their feelings, reaffirming their fears and reminding them that everything is a process…including writing and that it is a process for EVERYONE.
Do we always try to find ways to understand our student’s weaknesses or fears and then try to show them how noraml that truley is? If we were constantly doing this, would student’s feel like they were understood, feel more equal to the content and possibly strive to do better?
In Bird by Bird, Anne Lamott has a unique gift to make every writer feel like they are all on the right track. She reaffirms a writer’s fears and accomplishments through laughter and sorrow, and yes some religious undertones.
She says it best when she quotes Henry James. “A writer is someone on whom nothing is lost,” while looking for his glasses, and that they were on top of his head. We might feel out of whack, confused and unsure if we can truley write soemthing wonderful (both our students and ourselves) but we are never lost and information and stories and never lost (even though the wrieter may feel that way. Sometimes we just need a little reaffirmation.
So again I ask: Why is writing such a scary process? Why do we (or our students) assume that because it takes time we are ‘poor’ writers? Why is the importance of writing not as obvious to everyone as it is to some? Are there other novels about writing that we can include in our curriculum to make the writing process less intimidating?
Hi Karen!
So, yes, why is writing so scary? I did my Master’s thesis on the connection between writing output and self-efficacy (one’s insecurities about writing) and I found that many of the students I worked with wrote primarily for their teacher as an audience and not for themselves. They often took one negative or even constructive comment and internalized it to the nth degree about their writing, ultimately never forgetting it or moving on (I too remember my college German teacher telling me that “my writing skills were like fine grains of sand sifting through fingers with no substance!”)
So, ultimately, I think we need to devise a non-subjective rubric for writing or in a utopia, have students eventually determine what makes writing good or not based on what they have learned. We see those who write quickly and assume they are good writers, when in reality, they might merely be FAST, not GOOD writers. But, maybe we need to teach students that those who get stuck (aka Writer’s Block) often come out with the best pieces- a good piece of writing can take time. We need to get our students to a point where they not only value re-writes, but understand the purpose behind them as well!