In Anne Lamott’s Bird by Bird, the “Find Your Voice” chapter really moved me. I felt as though she was specifically talking to me. To summarize this chapter, she states that to be a good writer, you need to have your own voice. By consequence, you will have truth in your writing which should be the core component of all of your work. If you just write about rainbows and butterflies in the perfect little world, no one will buy it, and the readers will catch on to your façade. Good writer’s aren’t afraid to take it to the next level, or deeper than the surface. What Anne says that I believe will stick with me is this,
“I want people who write to crash or dive below the surface, where life is so cold and confusing and hard to see. I want writers to plunge through the holes—the holes we try to fill up with all the props. In those holes and in the spaces around them exist all sorts of possibility, including the chance to see who we are and to glimpse the mystery.”
Anne writes this concept so powerfully. For me, it brings writing to a different level. When I write, I always feel like I have restrictions on what I can say, because usually it’s for a class with guidelines, a specific purpose, or a structured format. Anne just tears this way of writing to shreds, as her focus relies on the sol fact of leading with truth and the rest will fall into place, rather than leading with a format which is just another barrier. By letting lose and letting my mind go where it wants to go, although messy and dangerous, something beautiful can be created.
I loved the analogy Anne uses about the frozen lake dancing around an abyss. She takes the thought of shinning a light into a big black hole and applies it to techniques on writing. As a reader, I want to see what lurks inside this mysterious dark place. I thought she ended this chapter very strong and it stuck with me. She said,
“Your anger and damage and grief are the way to the truth. We don’t have much truth unless we have gone into those rooms and closets and woods and abysses that we were told not to go in to. When we have gone in and looked around for a long while, just breathing and finally taking it in—then we will be able to speak in our own voice and to stay in the present moment. And that moment is home.”
After reading this I stopped just to absorb what that chapter had to say and how it pertained to my own life and my own writing. I completely agree with what Anne portrays here because in the world we live in, we’re always told to “play it safe.” But I don’t think there’s any growth or anything to learn when steps aren’t taken. When I write I tend to let loose and let my fingers do the talking on the keyboard, but then I always stop myself and press the delete button thinking, ‘I can’t say that.’ But I think what Anne is trying to say is that everyone’s mind is a beautiful disaster. It’s a clustered piece of art that is constantly caged into a box and told no. Writing is what tells you ‘yes, you can say that.’ The ugly sickening and broken parts of yourself are all a part of your voice and that together can be something amazing.
