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If you can't write, you have to give up halfway. You can read this book

2022-03-29 21:19:23 【Knowledge hall】

Have you learned a lot of writing methods , Still can't write a satisfactory article ？ Do you often encounter the situation that your literary thoughts are exhausted and you can't type a word ？ Whether you can't always stick to it , Want to give up halfway ？

If in the process of writing , You encounter the above situation ,《 About writing ： One bird after another 》 This book is worth reading , It's on 1994 Published in , Since its publication, it has occupied the first place in the list of writing books for 14 years .

stay 2013 Translated by Zhu Yun in , Published by the Commercial Press , What I read is 2016 In the first 4 The first printed version .



This book is an American novelist 、 An essayist 、 Writing teacher Ann · By lamot , She was born in San Francisco ,26 She wrote her first novel for her cancer stricken father at the age of 《 laugh 》（Hard Laughter）, Then he published many novels 《 Rosie 》、《 Joe Jones 》 etc. .

Later, she was offered a job as a teacher in a writing class , She has been teaching writing since then , So this book is also what she taught her students in class .

This book is different from other written books on the market , It not only guides how to write , It also helps us how to face the various situations encountered in the writing process from the psychological level .

Next, I will ask three questions related to writing , Let's talk about the guidance given in this book .

01. Why we write ？

About writing, I think everyone has different purposes , Some people have a desire to express , Have something to say ; Some people simply like to use words to record every bit of life ; There are also people who want to publish books , Realize the childhood writer dream ; Now it's more for writing , Add a sideline income ; Of course, some people must have other different purposes .

There is no good or bad for either purpose , It's just that Lamott said that if you want to make a lot of money through writing 、 Peace of mind , The possibility of happiness is not even too high , On the contrary, the mood is low 、 hysteria 、 Bad skin conditions are common .

Lamott said she didn't improve her financial situation until she published her fourth book , This is a 20 century 90 The situation in the s . 

It's very difficult for Witt to reveal the facts to us alone , I think this is also the reason why she has been engaged in teaching writing .

Now we often see the phenomenon is also , After an author publishes several books , Then I set up a writing class to teach others to write , Their books have become proof of their strength and professionalism .

Lamott told people who wanted to write as people who came here , At first, it's best not to have too strong utilitarian heart , But just let go and write , To feel the fun and challenge of the writing process .

Because of pull No Walter's father was also a writer , He was influenced by his father since childhood , She has been looking forward to becoming a well-known writer .

She started writing at the age of seven or eight , I wrote a poem in grade two and won a prize , A lot of writing in high school has accumulated certain writing skills . Plus she's not good at most of the subjects in College , He dropped out of school and went back to San Francisco , I'm going to be famous as soon as I write .

However, the reality is that she has worked as a temporary employee 、 Clerical typing 、 Teach tennis 、 Cleaning the house, etc , She wept bitterly at the end of her life .

Because no one pays for our dreams , People will only pay for our abilities .

Fortunately, no matter what Lamott does , What I haven't given up is writing , She will write secretly after work , I will take a pen and notebook to the cafe every night to write , In this way, he continued to write for two or three years .

Until she 23 When I was 18, I learned that my father had brain cancer , In order not to be drowned by sadness , Her father encouraged her to pay attention to everything in life and write it down .

So pull No Special began to write down his father's living conditions after suffering from cancer ,  Father looked at it with great admiration , This gave her great encouragement , She sent the manuscript to her father's agent .

One year after Lamott's father died , That is, lamot 26 At the age of , This book recording the death of a close relative has been published .

This is la No Everything I miss so much , When her dream comes true , She thought she would be satisfied , Don't ask for nothing , The horn of victory sounded from then on .

But this is not the case , A few months before the launch of the new book , Lamott said it was the hardest time of her life .

Waiting and fantasy 、 Happiness alternates with gloom , It's exhausting . Add a lot of negative comments that the book is boring 、 Sprinkle dog blood 、 A collection of self indulgence .

During that time she became restless , You need to anesthetize yourself with alcohol every day , Drink for a while, cry for a while .

Of course, later her book was also liked and praised by many people .

PULL No What I want to remind us with my own story is that publishing a book is not as good as ordinary people think , But writing is .

When writing, we can contribute our own methods , Let others avoid detours ; We can share our thoughts and collide with others ; We can also eliminate personal loneliness through writing 、 worry 、 Boredom and other emotions .

Writing itself is a reward .

Just like you needed caffeine to make tea , In the end, I found that what I really need is to experience the whole process of the tea ceremony .

Therefore, those who want to write may as well let go to write , The process of writing is the most wonderful part of the whole writing process .


02. What to do when you encounter writing obstacles ？

Many people think that professional writers always full of inspiration while writing sth. , Take a deep breath , Then roll up your sleeves , Turn your neck , Can write thousands of words freely .

Lamott tells us that it's just a fantasy of inexperienced people , This is not the case , She also often encounters frustrating , When you can't write something .

She said ： It's a state of anxiety exhaustion , Sitting in a chair like a corpse staring at the white paper , Feel your head knotted , Vince flows down his legs , Light leaks from the soles of your feet .

Sometimes it lasts for days or even weeks , Your head will be empty . This sense of anxiety and frustration about not being able to write something is very damaging to people's confidence , Is often the best way to destroy a group of Writers .

Lamott doesn't think this should be a writing barrier , But there is a problem with our perspective .

We thought Wensi was exhausted , In fact, I was evacuated .

At this time, we need to accept the fact that we are not creative now , Only in this way can we untie the shackles , It is possible to be filled again .

In his book, Lamott provides a way to encounter this situation ：

① Free writing

Lamott would advise her students to relax their nerves when they can't write , Try to write freely , The content and form are unlimited , Write something about it , Just to keep your fingers from getting stiff .

Calm down and , Deep breathing , Listen to your inner voice , Write about your current feelings 、 mood , You can write down anything you want to say , It doesn't matter even if it's written out that people can't bear to read .

Sometimes we don't know what we're going to say , But in the process of writing, I gradually clarify the key points I want to express , This requires us to write first , No matter what , Just start writing .

Lamott said that when you suddenly find what you really want to write in the process of free writing , It is inseparable from the credit of the content written down earlier .

② Live the way your life is coming to an end

Live in a deathbed state of mind , It can give us the opportunity to experience the real present , Let us learn to forgive 、 Pay attention to everything around you , Stop worrying about small things .

For the dying , Find that there are many things to do , Not willing to waste every minute .

You may want to go for a walk by the sea 、 Maybe I want to eat delicious food 、 Maybe I want to see a long-awaited movie 、 Maybe you want to talk to your loved ones , Maybe there are other urgent things to do .

And all this is starting the smell 、 idea 、 scene 、 The process of filling yourself with memories .

③ Waiting for the call of the subconscious

Instead of sitting at your desk and meditating , Hope to make progress , Why don't you get up and do something else . That's what we usually call brain change .

Because I have been engaged in the same job for a long time , Will think rigidly , Can only write platitudes, lack of new ideas .

Lamott spends a little time sitting at her desk every day writing her novels , She'll go for a walk the rest of the time 、 read 、 See a movie , Wait for the door of the subconscious to open to her .

Every time the subconscious comes , Lamott described it as having dysentery , I was dealing with something else a minute ago , In the next minute, I rushed to the desk in a hurry .

Similarly, , stay 《10 Double writing 》 The author also mentioned ： Compared to sitting at a desk and meditating , Think while doing other things , Inspiration is more likely to flash .

④ Finish first and then perfect

Many people can't write because perfectionism is causing trouble , Always want to write beautiful 、 Articles with depth , Often backfires .

Lamott said ： First drafts are usually bad , This is something that all good writers cannot avoid .

As Dean said ：“（ writing ） The most important thing is to finish , Every writer has a period , I just look back at my works and feel like shit , But you have to admit that this is your ability at that time , And every writer's writing ability must be inferior to your aesthetic , This is the inevitable stage .”

The trick for Lamott to write anything is to write a really bad first draft . She was very worried that her first draft would be leaked , Because those first drafts look smelly and long , And incoherent .

Sometimes I make this perfectionist mistake when writing , The final result will only lead you to give up .

As Lamott said ： Perfectionism drives people crazy , And clutter is the artist's true friend .

Want to keep writing , We need to overcome our perfectionist tendencies .


03. Advice on writing

The author Lamott mainly writes novels , The book lists many techniques for creating stories , How to create characters 、 Develop the plot 、 Conceive the dialogue 、 Design scenes, etc , The authors have given pertinent 、 Practical advice .

For example, many people want to add wonderful plots to their stories , Lamott tells us that a good plot should be developed from the story characters .

The character should not be kidnapped by the set plot , Because of any plot imposed on the character , It will only appear empty and false .

We should focus on the thinking of the character , Their words and deeds will reveal what kind of life they will participate in , What will be the relationship between the characters , What kind of plot has evolved .

There are many very practical suggestions , I summed up a few points ：

① Look at the world from a child's perspective

If you want to continue writing, you can't do without the accumulation of materials , I believe many people understand this .

Lamott suggested that we should collect materials from the perspective of children , Not in the eyes of adults , Because most adults have their own prejudices , And lack of curiosity about many things .

Children are different , They are always surprised at what is around them ,“ wow ！ Look at that dog ！ Look at the red sky ！ Look at that little baby ！”

When we try to see the world from a new perspective , We will notice things we haven't noticed . This sensitivity is a very scarce ability for Writers .

"Murakami said ：“ Want to write , Please look around carefully , The world seems boring , In fact, it is full of many charming , Mysterious original stone . ”

② Get into the habit of writing

Lamott's father was also a writer , No matter how late her father stayed up the day before , I always get up at 5:30 every morning , Write in the study for two or three hours .

His father taught lamot , Make time every day to write , It's like practicing the piano , Advance discharge time , Think of it as a debt that must be paid morally , And ask yourself to finish it .

This method allows Lamott to make a living in other jobs , Still formed the habit of continuous writing , So she can be engaged in writing related work all her life .

What I deeply understand is , Don't write for a while , When you want to write again, you will face confusion and confusion , That is, the lack of hand feel , I can't get into the state for half a day .

Forming the habit of fixed writing can help us form the habit of writing “ Muscle memory ”, Let writing become a natural thing in our daily life .

③ One bird after another , Write step by step

Whenever the author or her students encounter writing difficulties , One story she always tells is ：

Thirty years ago , His brother is ten years old , I have to hand in a bird report the next day . Although he had three months to do this homework , But there has been no progress .

When my brother sits at the table , Homework books are scattered around 、 Pencil case, an unopened bird book . He faced the arduous task ahead of him , I don't know how to start , I'm almost crying .

Then their father sat down next to his brother , Put your hand on his shoulder and say ：“ One bird after another , partner , Just one bird after another , Write step by step .”

This story is also the connotation of the subtitle of this book .

We are always frightened by the arduous task of writing , So I don't know how to write , At this time, we might as well do as the author's father suggested “ One bird after another , Write step by step ”.

Like this book review I was supposed to publish last week , Put it off until today .

Because last week I met “ Writing Disabilities ”, It's the kind of time when the author said that the spring of literary thoughts no longer exists , Instead, the brain is empty .

Follow the guidelines of this book , I'll start by writing down the title , Write word by word , Although the process is difficult , Every word is painstakingly , But it's done after all .

As doc cotteno once said ： Writing a novel is like driving at night , Your vision is only within the range of the headlights , But you can still walk the whole way .

So is writing , You don't have to keep thinking about how much you have to accomplish , But just write hundreds of words at a time .

Lamott said that some people are really sensitive to words , Writing is also very good , Some people are not so keen , Not so well written .

But the common characteristic of all people who like writing is that they like outstanding works , I also want to write , That's enough , Go ahead and write .

Although the book is not too thick , But the knowledge is very rich , It's a very classic book about writing .

Sometimes what we lack may not be writing methods , But can't correctly face the setbacks on the way of writing , I can't help but doubt myself , Even close the pen .

Lamott's book on writing , It will make us laugh when we read , Sometimes moved to tears , Sometimes marvel at her frank writing .

This is a book worth reading over and over on your desk .

End

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