Bird by Bird summary

If there’s one thing critics agree on when it comes to defining a great writer, it’s that the writer has a “voice” – a unique style that includes not only the details of a story but also how it is told.

The only way you can develop your own voice is by being honest with the reader about your true feelings.

Another thing that all good writers have in common is that they don’t worry about whether they’re good writers!

If you believe with every fiber of your being that you should write, just write. With time and practice, you’ll eventually become good at it.

A common assumption about writers, and all artists, is that they work only when inspiration strikes.

Yet all good writers follow a strict routine. If you want to become a better writer, you should do the same.

Many people think that good writing springs fully formed from the writer’s imagination. If you’ve ever written even a college paper, you’ll know this isn’t true: nobody writes an elegant first draft.

All good books are the end result of a series of increasingly good versions, beginning with the roughest formulation of one’s ideas – or, as the author calls it, the “shitty first draft.”

Every good story has memorable characters, and every aspiring writer wants to know how to create them. So how do you create unforgettable characters?

To create great characters, you have to get to know them. Then, once you understand them, your job as a writer is to bring them to life.

If you’ve ever been engrossed in a novel, you know how important details are to storytelling. Because details make a story more tangible and believable, a writer uses details to bring a reader “inside” her story.

One important detail is your story’s setting. A good setting can bring your story to life, making the world of your characters more three-dimensional.

It happens to every writer: suddenly, you simply have no idea of what to write. In other words, you’ve been struck with writer’s block.

The feeling of being creatively empty can be debilitating, much like shame and frustration. Fortunately, though, there are things you can do to get through this.

We all deny our own feelings. For writers, especially, denying one’s feelings can result in a great loss, since the value of what we feel is in what we learn from those feelings.

This is true even when it comes to potentially dangerous feelings – like jealousy.

The world is full of stories. There are so many people out there waiting to share their own, looking for just the right writer – like you. All you have to do is talk to them!

Of course, writing is usually a solitary endeavor, and for that reason many writers end up isolating themselves.

Why is it that so many writers are obsessed with being published?

Certainly, writers need readers. No one wants to write in a vacuum.