"I like for (narrators) to have hope--if a friend or a narrator reveals himself or herself to be hopeless too early on, I lose interest. It depresses me. It makes me overeat."--Anne Lamott, Bird by Bird
Tag: Anne Lamott
Quintessential Quotes: #writingwisdom–Writealready2017
"I like (narrators) to be mentally ill in the same sorts of ways that I am; for instance, I have a friend who said one day, 'I could resent the ocean if I tried,' and I realized that I love that in a guy."--Anne Lamott, Bird by Bird
Quintessential Quotes: #writingwisdom–Writealready2017
"(Narrators) shouldn't be too perfect; perfect means shallow and unreal and fatally uninteresting. I like for them to have a nice sick sense of humor and to be concerned with important things..."--Anne Lamott, Bird by Bird
Quintessential Quotes: #writingwisdom–Writealready2017
"I like for narrators to be like the people I choose for friends, which is to say that they have a lot of the same flaws as I. Preoccupation with self is good, as is a tendency toward procrastination, self-delusion, darkness, jealousy, groveling, greediness, addictiveness."--Anne Lamott, Bird by Bird
Quintessential Quotes: #writingwisdom–Writealready2017
"Having a likable narrator is like having a great friend whose company you love, whose mind you love to pick, whose running commentary totally holds your attention, who makes you laugh out loud, whose lines you always want to steal."--Anne Lamott, Bird by Bird
Quintessential Quotes: #writingwisdom–Writealready2017
"If your narrator is someone whose take on things fascinates you, it isn't really going to matter if nothing much happens for a long time. I could watch John Cleese or Anthony Hopkins do dishes for about an hour without needing much else to happen."--Anne Lamott, Bird by Bird
Quintessential Quotes: #writingwisdom–Writealready2017
"Think of the basket of each character's life: what holds the ectoplasm together--what are this person's routines, beliefs? What little things would your characters write in their journals: I ate this, I hate that, I did this, I took the dog for a long walk, I chatted with my neighbor. This is all the stuff … Continue reading Quintessential Quotes: #writingwisdom–Writealready2017
Quintessential Quotes: #writingwisdom–Writealready2017
"How would your main characters describe their current circumstances to a close friend, before and then after a few drinks? See if you can take dictation from them as they tell you who they think they are and what life has been like lately."--Anne Lamott, Bird by Bird
Quintessential Quotes: #writingwisdom–Writealready2017
"Whatever your characters do or say will be born out of who they are, so you need to set out to get to know each one as well as possible."--Anne Lamott, Bird by Bird
Quintessential Quotes: #writingwisdom–Writealready2017
"Bad things happen to good characters, because our actions have consequences, and we do not all behave perfectly all the time. As soon as you start protecting your characters from the ramifications of their less-than-lofty behavior, your story will start to feel flat and pointless, just like in real life."--Anne Lamott, Bird by Bird
Professional Copyediting, Proofreading, and Content Writing 