The Writing Life
by Annie Dillard
Dillard's short, intense book on the writing life: the schedule, the solitude, the throwing away, and the stunt pilot who shows what mastery looks like. Beautiful and bracing; not a how-to.
Read it if…
you write and want a serious writer's company and standards.
See the book →
Skip it if…
you want craft instruction.
Try instead: Zen in the Art of Writing →
Three things you will actually use
- How we spend our days is how we spend our lives.
- Throw away what does not serve.
- Give it all now; do not save.
Do this first
Read the chapter on the stunt pilot.
Our verdict
Beautiful and bracing.
See the book →
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