Write as if you were dying.
A personal reflection on Annie Dillard’s book ‘The Writing Life’.
On selection, reading, synthesis, and finally the process of writing.
Annie Dillard’s philosophy in her book The Writing Life is an intricate exploration of her mind and how she thinks about the writer’s journey, the discipline it requires, the struggles, and the profound rewards of the craft.
Here are some themes that I am (riveted about, and) thinking:
- Immersion and total commitment: Her idea is to spend all your creative resources immediately rather than saving them for later. Annie asks to commit, and it’s a scary thing. She says-
“Spend it all, shoot it, play it, lose it, all, right away, every time. Do not hoard what seems good for a later place in the book, or for another book; give it, give it all, give it now.”
The creative isolation helps. Writing is a solitary effort. She compares the writer’s life to living in a small, quiet room where imagination and memory “meet in the dark.”
2. Intensity of observation and reflection: Annie endorses uncovering the unique specifics and deeper truths, with a dogged effort..relentless and unforgiving. In her words-
“Push it. Examine all things intensely and relentlessly. Probe and search each object in a piece of art; do not leave it, do not course over it, as if it were understood, but instead follow it down until you see it in the mystery of its own specificity and strength.”
3. Accepting imperfection: Annie says that writing is a messy thing. So messy, that you might not just need to polish it, but discard half of it. She asks writers to be ready to brutally edit their own creation.
Usually you will have to rewrite the beginning the first quarter or third of whatever it is. Don’t waste much time polishing this; you’ll just have to take a deep breath and throw it away anyway, once you finish the work and have a clearer sense of what it is about.”
What I also love about her embodiment in this book is her acknowledging the creative paradox, such as needing both discipline and spontaneity. Or, the need of full immersion but also the need for detachment to view one’s work critically.
“The written word is weak. Many people prefer life to it. Life gets your blood going, & it smells good. Writing is mere writing, literature is mere.”
In summary, The Writing Life by Annie Dillard is a meditation on the writer’s craft, one that I am particularly enamoured by.
It is filled with wisdom on the need for discipline, the need for immersion, the patience to parse through and the acceptance of imperfection.
Her insights and quotes continue to serve as both a guide and inspiration for writers at all stages of their journey. This is my next read! So excited. :)
