“Hope begins in the dark, the stubborn hope that if you just show up and try to do the right thing, the dawn will come. You wait and watch and work: you don‘t give up.”
— Anne Lamott
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Posts Tagged ‘Anne Lamott’
You Don’t Give Up
Posted in Writing, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2024, Anne Lamott, creativity, genre fiction, hope, inspiration, persistence, Thoughts, Writers, writing on January 19, 2024| Leave a Comment »
Every Single Thing
Posted in Other, Writing, tagged Anne Lamott, artists, birthdays, creativity, death, finishing, inspiration, persistence, Thoughts, work, Writers, yay on April 10, 2015| Leave a Comment »
Author Anne Lamott is turning 61 and took the opportunity to write down “every single thing I know, as of today.”
It’s a lovely list, full of the poignant and practical advice for which she’s known. It can be moving and a little sad, as when she touches on the challenges of family and death, but she also brings out useful truths on such topics as the necessity of exercise and writing shitty first drafts, the beauty of life and persistence and the fact that any of us are even here at all.
I especially like #2:
“Almost everything will work again if you unplug it for a few minutes, including you.”
The original post was on Facebook, which I don’t use, but you can find the rest of her list and more on her thoughts in this Salon article.
Trying to Focus Here…
Posted in Writing, tagged Anne Lamott, creativity, Motivation, quotes, sauerkraut, Thoughts, work, writing on December 12, 2013| Leave a Comment »
Some days I find it hard to focus. My mind wanders, and if I don’t turn off the internet I suddenly discover myself researching machine embroidery, the weather patterns of eastern Nepal, or the art of lactic acid fermentation. All fine topics, to be sure, but sadly Not What I Am Supposed to be Doing at the moment.
If you also have this problem at times, I recommend the following bit of wisdom from Anne Lamott:
Try looking at your mind as a wayward puppy that you are trying to paper train. You don’t drop-kick a puppy into the neighbor’s yard every time it piddles on the floor. You just keep bringing it back to the newspaper.
― Anne Lamott
That was yesterday. Today will be better.
If I could just find some more newspaper.
Sing with Me
Posted in Writing, tagged Anne Lamott, creativity, Fiction, inspiration, Motivation, Thoughts, Writers, writing, yay on October 24, 2013| Leave a Comment »
“Writing and reading decrease our sense of isolation. They deepen and widen and expand our sense of life: they feed the soul. When writers make us shake our heads with the exactness of their prose and their truths, and even make us laugh about ourselves or life, our buoyancy is restored. We are given a shot at dancing with, or at least clapping along with, the absurdity of life, instead of being squashed by it over and over again. It’s like singing on a boat during a terrible storm at sea. You can’t stop the raging storm, but singing can change the hearts and spirits of the people who are together on that ship.”
― Anne Lamott, Bird by Bird: Some Instructions on Writing and Life
By this definition, I spent the morning singing. Hope you did too.
Thought for the Weekend
Posted in Likes, tagged Anne Lamott, inspiration, Motivation, quotes, Thoughts on October 4, 2013| 1 Comment »
I’m busy, as I am most Fridays, but I wanted to send you into the weekend with this thought:
Your problem is how you are going to spend this one and precious life you have been issued. Whether you’re going to spend it trying to look good and creating the illusion that you have power over circumstances, or whether you are going to taste it, enjoy it and find out the truth about who you are.
― Anne Lamott
This weekend I think the truth will taste like cookies:)
It’s Enough
Posted in Writing, tagged Anne Lamott, creativity, E.L. Doctorow, finishing, inspiration, Motivation, Thoughts, work, writing, yay on September 26, 2013| Leave a Comment »
For a friend who is facing down a challenging project, here’s a quote I like:
“E.L. Doctorow once said that ‘Writing a novel is like driving a car at night. You can see only as far as your headlights, but you can make the whole trip that way.’ You don’t have to see where you’re going, you don’t have to see your destination or everything you will pass along the way. You just have to see two or three feet ahead of you. This is right up there with the best advice on writing, or life, I have ever heard.”
― Anne Lamott, Bird by Bird: Some Instructions on Writing and Life
Who among us couldn’t use a little perspective, and some encouragement? I would add that it’s helpful to remember that whatever the undertaking, the work doesn’t have to be perfect. Heck, I can guarantee that it won’t be perfect, nothing is. That’s not the point.
To my friend, and to myself, and to anyone else confronting a difficult task, I recommend taking a breath, and just making it as good as you can.
It will be good enough.
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