![]() Having a likable narrator is like having a great friend whose company you love.” On developing compelling characters: “I could watch John Cleese or Anthony Hopkins do dishes for about an hour without needing much else to happen. It calls you like the beckoning finger of smoke in cartoons that rises off the pie cooling on the windowsill, slides under doors and into mouse holes or into the nostrils of the sleeping man or woman in the easy chair.” On inspiration: “You set out to tell a story or some sort, to tell the truth as you feel it, because something is calling you to do so. Here are a few of my favorite quotes from that section-I have to restrain myself, since this book is eminently quotable. There are three main sections of the book, and I’ve highlighted each one. But then, I never waged war against adverbs, even though I recognize the advantages of not littering every sentence with them. I prefer this book on the writing life to that other book that is always shoved in the direction of newer writers learning their craft. ![]() Bird by Bird: Some Instructions on Writing and Life by Anne Lamott is more a book about the writing life than it is a how-to manual, although there are plenty of tips and suggestions on writing as well. Most of my writing craft reviews have been on fairly technical books on specific aspects of writing, focused on fundamental skills such as establishing setting, developing plot, and conveying deep emotion. ![]()
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