Productivity
Bird by Bird Summary & Review: Start the One Bird in Front of You
Anne Lamott’s 1994 classic: stop staring at the whole flock. Write the next short assignment — one bird, one ugly first draft,…
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Anne Lamott
"The teacher who made the first draft allowed to be terrible."
Anne Lamott is a novelist, memoirist, and teacher from Northern California. Bird by Bird (1994) collected the classroom talks she gave to new writers: short assignments, terrible first drafts, and a way to keep working when the flock is still too big. She has also written Operating Instructions, Traveling Mercies, and other memoirs on faith, motherhood, and recovery.
1 book·Writing practice
Books by Anne Lamott
Our in-depth summaries and reviews of his work
Key Ideas & Recurring Themes
Short assignments
Cut the flock to one bird you can finish today.
Down, up, dental
A terrible first draft, then shape, then one sentence at a time.
Quiet KFKD
Comparison will play. Write the next line anyway.
Notable Quotes
"Bird by bird, buddy. Just take it bird by bird."— Bird by Bird
"Almost all good writing begins with terrible first efforts."— Bird by Bird
Book Author Anne Lamott
Bird by Bird Summary & Review: Start the One Bird in Front of You
Anne Lamott’s 1994 classic: stop staring at the whole flock. Write the next short assignment — one bird, one ugly first draft, one finished day. Then stop.