Maria Popova, impresario of BrainPickings.com, truly loves writers and writing. Check out her recent essay Bird by Bird: Anne Lamott’s Timeless Advice on Writing and Why Perfectionism Kills Creativity (“among my10 favorite books on writing,” she writes) which quotes extensively from Lamott’s book about writing, Bird by Bird.
Popova concludes with this worthwhile list of related reading:
Bird by Bird is an absolute must-read, and must-reread, in its entirety. Complement it with Annie Dillard on writing, which inspired Lamott, and Dani Shapiro on the pleasures and perils of the creative life, which was inspired by Lamott.
For more notable advice on writing, see Elmore Leonard’s 10 rules of writing,Walter Benjamin’s thirteen doctrines, H. P. Lovecraft’s advice to aspiring writers, F. Scott Fitzgerald’s letter to his daughter, Zadie Smith’s 10 rules of writing, David Ogilvy’s 10 no-bullshit tips, Henry Miller’s 11 commandments, Jack Kerouac’s 30 beliefs and techniques, John Steinbeck’s 6 pointers, and Susan Sontag’s synthesized learnings.
If you’re looking for even more on creativity, check out the free ebook download from Warren Berger: STOP • THINK • CREATE: 42 Things You Must Stop Doing Immediately So You Can Start to Think More Creatively.
