Bird By Bird: Some Instructions on Writing and Life

Use these questions or activities to help gauge students’ familiarity with and spark their interest in the context of the work, giving them an entry point into the text itself.

Short Answer

1. Who is Anne Lamott? What has she written, and why should readers take her advice about writing seriously?

Teaching Suggestion: Knowing more about Anne Lamott will increase students’ confidence in her writing advice and increase their engagement with Bird by Bird. If students are unfamiliar with Lamott, they might investigate these or similar resources before attempting to respond to the prompt.

• This overview of Lamott’s career from her literary agency succinctly lists her accomplishments and describes the characteristics of her writing.
• In this 16-minute TED Talk from 2017 Anne Lamott offers a few pieces of life advice from her perspective.

2. What do you guess are the most significant differences between formal writing instruction in school and books on writing that are aimed at the popular market? Do you think both approaches offer something valuable to all writers, or do you think that these two sources of instruction serve different audiences with different needs?

Teaching Suggestion: Students are very familiar with traditional in-school writing instruction, but they may  be less familiar with writing books published for a general audience. This prompt is designed to get them thinking about how these two sources of instruction can be complementary and create more well-rounded writers. It also lays some groundwork for the summative activities at the unit’s end. Students might write preliminary answers to this prompt, consider the sources listed below, and then discuss or write about how they would improve their initial answers based on what they have learned.

• This overview describes several writing books chosen by published authors as particularly helpful examples of the genre.
• This essay by author Rebecca Frost considers the merits of reading about writing.
• This essay from Writer Unboxed offers some insight into how writing books can be helpful.

Personal Connection Prompt

This prompt can be used for in-class discussion, exploratory free-writing, or reflection homework before reading the text.

What are your own strengths and weaknesses as a writer? What advice would you give someone who is struggling to write something?

Teaching Suggestion: This prompt encourages students to engage in some metathinking about their own skills and knowledge before reading Lamott’s book. Admitting to weaknesses in front of their peers may be an obstacle for many students, and they may be more likely to think deeply and answer honestly in writing rather than in discussion. Some students may try to answer with only strengths or only weaknesses because they have a fairly narrow understanding of what it means to be a good writer. You might help them broaden their understanding of the many elements that go into good writing through a brief discussion before they begin responding to the prompt.