Books for Writers: Bird by Bird / Books for Writers + #IWriteBecause

NOTE: I'm coming down with a cold, so it might take me some time to return comments.

Reedy's #IWriteBecause goes live today!

Hop on over to Twitter and use the hashtag #IWriteBecause to share why you write with us.

Let's get trending!

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I submitted a video for their campaign and explained why I write. My video was only 18 seconds, because I am nervous doing recordings, so I'll share a little more here. 

Ever since I was a child, I've loved to write, especially after my mom would write children's stories and read them to us. I started writing because...it was my destiny. A story idea came to me in the strangest way when I was twelve, and the rest Is history. lol 

As a disabled adult, writing is the one thing I can do. Thanks to the steel rod screwed into my spine, I often deal with back pain and restrictions that limit me from working normal jobs. Having the freedom of a writer gives me a purpose, a way to express myself, and it makes me feel like I'm doing something. It may not be a "real" job, but it's my job. It's my life.

#IWriteBecause it's my FREEDOM.

#IWriteBecause it's all I know.

#IWriteBecause I can!

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BOOKS FOR WRITERS:

One of my all-time favorite books written by a writer for writers is Bird by Bird by Anne Lamott. The subtitle: “Some Instructions on Writing and Life” is on par. If you don’t like how-to books, this isn’t one. This book is charming, funny, witty, and real. We get a glimpse into Anne’s life, family, and writing as well as sage advice about writing…and life.

Some chapters you’ll encounter are “False Starts,” “Plot Treatment,” “How do you know when you’re done,” “Broccoli,” “Someone to read your draft,” and “Writer’s Block.”

BLURB & BUY @ BOOKSHOP

I jotted down many quotes from this book, and I want to share them:

“One of the gifts of being a writer is that it gives you an excuse to do things, to go places and explore. Another is that writing motivates you to look closely at life, at life as it lurches and trams around.” 

“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.” 

“The act of writing turns out to be its own reward.” 

“…my writing is like a person to me—the person who, after all these years, still makes sense to me.” 

“…other than writing, I am completely unemployable.”

“You are probably going to have to let bad things happen to some of the characters you love or you won’t have much of a story.”

“Just don’t pretend you know more about your characters than they do, because you don’t.”

“Of course, there will always be more you could do, but you have to remind yourself that perfectionism is the voice of the oppressor.”

QUESTIONS: Have you read Bird by Bird? What's your favorite book by a writer for writers?