For a quarter century, more than a million readers—scribes and scribblers of all ages and abilities—have been inspired by Anne Lamott’s hilarious, big-hearted, homespun advice. Advice that begins with the simple words of wisdom passed down from Anne’s father—also a writer—in the iconic passage that gives the book its title: “Thirty years ago my older brother, who was ten years old at the time, was trying to get a report on birds written that he’d had three months to write. It was due the next day. We were out at our family cabin in Bolinas, and he was at the kitchen table close to tears, surrounded by binder paper and pencils and unopened books on birds, immobilized by the hugeness of the task ahead. Then my father sat down beside him, put his arm around my brother’s shoulder, and said, ‘Bird by bird, buddy. Just take it bird by bird.’” An essential volume for generations of writers young and old, Bird by Bird is a modern classic. This twenty-fifth anniversary edition will continue to spark creative minds for years to come.

不论新入行的写手还是老练的作家，不论你有没有作品出版过，都不希望自己的书稿被拒绝。文学编辑和经纪人可能每个月都要拒绝掉几百个投稿，这是他们的职责所在。而写出能够在众多作品中脱颖而出的作品来，则是作者的职责。这些能够使稿件脱颖而出的关键所在，就是本书所要探讨的内容。作者在书中揭露了写出好作品的要素都有哪些，不论你写的是虚构作品、非虚构作品、新闻报道还是诗歌，都能从中获得教益。本书指出，有几个错误是要避免的： ◇ 一个薄弱的伏笔 ◇ 过多使用形容词和副词 ◇ 平庸的隐喻 ◇ 戏剧化的、平庸的或者令人困惑的对话 ◇ 人物塑造不深入，场景设置了无生趣 ◇ 不平衡的节奏以及缺乏情节的推进