The writing life
by Annie Dillard, Tavia Gilbert, Alba Dedeu Sorribas · first published 1989
7mentions
4recommended by
7HN commenters
2008–2022first – last mentioned
57% recommend43% neutral
A meditative reflection in anecdote and vignette on Annie Dillard's writing process. Beautiful and vivid prose. Annie Dillard has written eleven books, including the memoir of her parents, An American Childhood; the Northwest pioneer epic The Living; and the nonfiction narrative Pilgrim at Tinker Creek. A gregarious recluse, she is a member of the American Academy of Arts and Letters.
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…folk at Byliner: http://www.byliner.com ) 2. Read about writing. Some worthy books on this: On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft, by Stephen King (really!) The Practice of Writing, by David Lodge The Writing Life, by Annie Dillard Bird by Bird: Some Instructions on Writing and Life, by Anne Lamott Good Prose: The Art of Nonfiction, by Tracy Kidder and Richard Todd To Show and to Tell: The Craft of Literary…
on “Why I Left Medium” ↗A quote I've always liked, from "The Writing Life" by Annie Dillard: "How we spend our days, of course, is how we spend our lives."
on “Why I Never Hire Brilliant Men (1924)” ↗1. On Writing Well by William Zinsser 2. Eats, Shoots & Leaves by Lynne Truss 3. The Elements of Style by Strunk & White 4. The Sense of Style by Steven Pinker 5. The Writing Life by Annie Dillard 6. Writing Tools by Roy Peter Clark 7. Bird by Bird by Anne Lamott 8. The Art of Plain Talk by Rudolf Flesch 9. A Writer's Reference by Diana Hacker 10. Writing Science by Joshua…
on “Ask HN: Non-technical books for technical people?” ↗"Pilgrim at Tinker Creek" is her signature book and for many (myself included) a spiritual experience to read. "The Writing Life" is the best book about the process of creating that I have ever read, and I often suggest it to my design teams. (Designers like to read books about design, but you don't hire designers because they're…
on “The Abundance of Silicon Valley” ↗…Quentin Tarantino talk about what makes a good movie? I'm sure you've watched any number of shows on VH1, where bands talk about what makes a good rock or pop song great. It's why Annie Dillard wrote The Writing Life. Hang around novelists or genre fiction writers, and you'll start to hear about what makes a novel great, story arcs,etc...
on “Something I've noticed about the rich and powerful” ↗…they needed. [0] Jonathan Franzen "Perchance to Dream: In the Age of Images, a reason to write novels" (Paywall) https://archive.harpers.org/1996/04/pdf/HarpersMagazine-1996... [1] Annie Dillard and the Writing Life https://themorningnews.org/article/annie-dillard-and-the-wri...
on “On Becoming an American Writer” ↗…died, someone found in his studio a piece of paper on which he had written a note to his apprentice, in the handwriting of his old age: “Draw, Antonio, draw, Antonio, draw and do not waste time.” (The Writing Life by Annie Dillard)
on “For Donald Knuth, good coding is synonymous with beautiful expression” ↗