My random thoughts for this week:

As I read the excerpt from "Bird by Bird" by Anne Lamott, I often found myself laughing quietly. There was something about her frankness and descriptions of the basics of creative writing that kept my attention. It was like my brain was a mangy stray salivating in an alley behind a butcher shop and Ms. Lamott was the meat cutter, occasionally throwing me the scraps that she couldn't sell to the paying public. I thought her explanation that a writer should start with their childhood when thinking of what to write about was dead on. I'm a big believer that the best writers are able to create the magic that they do because of their vast library of experiences. Two perfect examples that come to mind are Ernest Hemingway and Stephen King. Hemingway was essentially "The Most Interesting Man in the World" from the Dos Equis commercials. He boated off of Cuba, took siestas in Spain, relaxed in Idaho, galivanted with socialites in New York, and drank like a fish through it all. On the other hand, there's Stephen King. According to legend, King witnessed his childhood friend be obliterated by a train and wandered home in shock without any memory of the incident. It has been speculated that this experience has given him the ability, or "The Dark Half," that has allowed him to be the best there is at scaring the crap out of people for the last 40 years. Getting back to Ms. Lamott, I applaud her perfect honesty and ability to relate her advice through her wit and charm. Overall, "Bird by Bird" possessed what are the two most important qualities of good writing in my opinion: effectiveness and entertainment.