If You Want To Write: A Book about Art, Independence and Spirit Book

If you want to read a good book about writing, don't read this one. Read Bird by Bird by Anne Lamott. Read On Writing by Stephen King. Read anything else, really.

The redeeming factors of this book were:
1. It was short(!), and

2. It made me realize that Van Gogh was kind of a badass, and I'll probably go out of my way to learn more about him.

Onto the not-so redeeming factors...!
1. I have a huge, nagging suspicion that Ms. Ueland is not a very good reader. One of the things that makes me long to write and write well is how much I enjoy reading. She does not like Dickens. She does not like F. Scott Fitzgerald. She thinks that a lot of people "read to waste time" and "be entertained." The lengths she went to to put in these tidbits of information made me blatantly dislike her.

Just because you find reading "entertaining" or you read something that may not be heralded as literature, does not mean that you can't get something worthwhile and meaningful from it. It makes me want to retreat into a cozy little corner with some tea and Stephen King. In On Writing, he tells it like it is: If you want to be a writer, and you're not writing at that exact moment-- the next best thing you can and should be doing is READING. And he doesn't discriminate. Read anything! I agree with that sentiment. Even reading filth is going to teach you something about not writing filth. So read. Read Dickens. Read F. Scott Fitzgerald. Read to waste time and be entertained.

Girl just pushed my buttons, to be honest. She's a bit of a priggish snot about Fitzgerald, Dickens, and books that don't meet her exact literary standards, and it irks me.

2. This is my very personal opinion and I certainly respect others' right to disagree with it, but -- for me -- I would have liked her to cut at least A THIRD of her references to God and Christianity. Anne Lamott briefly mentions God/religion/spirituality in Bird by Bird, but she does it in a way that's unobtrusive and doesn't make the reading any less accessible to people of different faiths, beliefs, mindsets, etc. I think religion is a very personal thing, and -- if you're trying to reach as many people as possible -- I think it's always safe to keep it vague or to a minimum.

3. I'm not sure whether to say this or not. Or how to say it, really. She encourages people to write-- even if it seems simple or conversational. She encourages people to write what's on their minds -- to get to the truth of matters -- instead of obsessively polishing writing to the detriment of its original intent/meaning. Makes sense. I'm on board.

HOWEVER, the author spews out all of this writing and life advice and, well, I don't think she's a great writer. I don't think there's anything particularly masterful about her style. She doesn't write lyrically (she admits that), but she doesn't write bluntly and truthfully either. Her writing style isn't concise. It's not funny. It's not unique. It's not my thing.