The Writing Life

By: Annie Dillard

Narrated by: Tavia Gilbert

With color, irony, and sensitivity, Pulitzer Prize winner Annie Dillard illuminates the dedication, absurdity, and daring that is the writer’s life. As it probes and exposes, examines and analyzes, The Writing Life offers deeper insight into one of the most mysterious of professions.

©1989 Annie Dillard (P)2011 Blackstone Audio, Inc.

Critic reviews

“Annie Dillard is a wonderful writer, and The Writing Life is full of joys.” ( New York Times Book Review)

must read

good for all who are looking to write something. the imagery is fantastic.i loved it even more the second time.

Lyrical

This piece about what it’s like to be a writer - both philosophically and practically - has been illuminating for me. Thank you for the insights and a few tips, Ms. Dillard.

Audible narration is top-notch.

Random Thoughts on the Writer’s Craft

Dillard is a Pulitzer Prize winning Poet, Essayist and Novelist whose work I read many years ago. She married a friend of mine and I’ve followed her work over the years. Since I’ve been doing a little writing recently I thought I would read her thoughts on the craft.

That’s exactly what the bulk of this brief work is: a Stream of Consciousness of her thoughts as she has struggled with the challenges the writer faces when they sit down with the blank page. It’s not a step by step how-to manual but rather a scattering of notions that go through one’s mind during the process.

That said, just hearing the thoughts of an accomplished author and sympathizing with her experiences has value to anyone who enjoys writing or even reading. Four stars.

I might add that her final story about the work of a professional acrobatic performance pilot and his bi-plane on how he sees his art is worth the price of admission.

Reads like a poem

This is written in the spirit of a long-form poem, as an ode to (and lamentation of) the creative life. There's some good information here—not presented as a to-do list, but rather as a story, where we learn from the example of the author and her life as a writer. The narrator is absolutely excellent, with her voice inflections worthy of a poetry performance.

Entertaining Read

Riveting and poignant description of the life of a writer. Brimming with many metaphors and descriptions of the difficulty and apparent impossibilities which come with the territory.

Started strong, ended meh

I enjoyed the early chapters which did, indeed, relate to writing. Less so the latter chapters. The final chapter was so out of context and the book ended so abruptly that I actually went back and played the last part of chapter 7 to see if I missed something? Nope. Disappointed.

A quick fun listen

This book is little sparks of wisdom about writing and writers surrounded by lovely prose.

How Odd--How Poorly Written?!?

If you can weed through the flowery language, the endless adjectives and adjectives, you might find something here. I, however, feel that this was a waste of time. This had more the feel of a "reality check," which, okay, writers sure as hell need from time to time, but there was little wisdom offered in its place.
This is a very short work, not a lot of money, but still. The only thing worse than a waste of money is a waste of time. Save both of yours; go for a longer, more in-depth work for real education, real inspiration, real guidance.
Avoid the adjective/adverb exhaustion

Stimulating

It's interesting The way they describe fighting through riders block Issues that come up with writing.

She Crashed and Burned

This book was a downer about the writing process, but I’m glad I listened, because it showed me that even a great writer, like Dillard, doesn’t really know how she does it. It’s a gift, and she’s clueless about it.

What she does share well is what a bore it is to slog through monotonous days, trying to call forth inspiration. In fact she does it so well, I felt completely bored by her myself. After listening to this, I’d think she never wrote a thing worth reading. But she has!

Why the disconnect? No idea.

Her writing here sounds self conscious and self consumed, and assumes the reader is an idiot. I felt insulted by it, listening to her go on and on about nothing. If you’ve got nothing to say, give the reader the respect of not wasting his/her time.

I read that she disavowed this book years after she wrote it, except for the last chapter about the stunt pilot. I found it just as forgettable as the rest of it. She goes on and on, losing the pilot in the clouds of her metaphor, trying to transcend gravity and achieve something grand, but imho, she crashes and burns, just like he does.

For very helpful books on the writing process, I recommend Bird by Bird by Anne Lamott and On Writing Well by William Zinsser.