Bird by Bird by Anne Lamott really gets me confused. It is quirky and funny but its hard to understand what she is getting at.
Here is what I am thinking. Anne is a writing teacher who wants to express to her students what is important in getting a story down on paper. When her students have writers block for example she tells them to write about school lunch. She is firm on the idea that writing about the different parts of a school lunch, such as what bag it is in what the main course is or the sides or what they taste like. All of these things are like the details or parts of a writers story. She is really big on just starting and getting things down on paper.
In the chapter titled polaroids she goes on to compare the development of a story to be like a polaroid. Over time the story develops into something new or different then the writer once thought. I can think this way in shooting a story for class or for a publication. I can go into the event or the new environment with an idea of what I need to get and how I imagine things turning out. I can have an idea but things can change and that is alright. You can not predict everything so you need to be prepared to adapt or find inspiration in new things found.
Colleen DeAnna Photo 