My Appreciation for Bird by Bird

I couldn't help but refer to our first day of class on Friday when reading through Anne Lamottt's Bird by Bird. Our first writing task was to compose a free-write in the ten minutes professor Maxwell lent us. I was completely lost as to what to write about. I ended up scribbling down a horribly long event that took up a large chunk of my summer break for the assignment; not one specific memory of the prior 3 months had popped into my mind and said to me, "This, Nora, is what you should write about, and this is how you should convey your thoughts into a well-composed short story that will catch the attention of your classmates when read aloud." I impatiently and embarrasingly sat through the next ten minutes of class listening to people read aloud their well-written assignments, periodically staring back at my full page of words that seddenly seemed to make zero sense to me, feeling shameful of my words staring back blankly at me. I walked back to my dorm room and cracked open Bird by Bird, and felt a wave of relief when I realized that my experience writing a shitty first draft was shared by many other writers. I siddenly didn't deel so bad about what I'd written. I thought back to my ideas during class and remembered that my first draft had reminded me of specific instances over the summer. What Lamott was explaining in her instruction manual was happening to me. I was not initally and instantly struck with inspiration on what to write about, but that time spent in class that I at first thought was a waste helped me get to a point in which I could decide what my real story would be about, and that in turn helped me understand and convey an idea in my free write that was initially non-existent. I opened my laptop that same Friday and re-wrote my free write, pleased with my outcome after the second and third drafts were complete; I was comfortable knowing that no one had to read my first draft if I didn't want them to. Am I saying that Lamott's advice helped me create my best work? Absolutely not. But her advice gave me a push that I was in absolute need of to keep writing. As I kept reading, I realized that writing creatively is a process that takes time. Lamott's chapter-by-chapter parallel to a step-by-step process of writing was helpful in the sense that she gives her readers a certain structure by which to follow when attempting to create a story that captures the reader's atttention, flows smoothly, and contains all of the necessary elements that a good story, fiction or non-fiction, should. With her set plan for 'how to write', she gives no further necessary steps or rules within her chapters, but she subjectively tells her readers ways that can help them establish ideas of get their points across while giving them leeway to do it in a way that puts them at ease. Her instruction manual definitely helped me gain insight as someone who has never been confident in creative writing skills, and find ways to dig deep inside my concious mind in order to begin a story without having to put in too much effort to help the story flow. I've always studied and worked well with a structure that was set in stone, and this book was a first step in helping me break my habit of needing strict rules to follow when doing an assignment. Never had I thought of letting my subconscious take over and create a story for me. As a student new to creative writing, I found Bird by Bird to be insightful, helpful, witty, and most importantly comfortable.