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On 2026-05-04 David Perell tweeted highlights from Anne Lamott’s interview…
Brief
David Perell's 2026-05-04 tweet collects Anne Lamott's compact life-and-writing prescriptions: resist less and embrace reverence, quiet the inner critic, follow practical rules—remove boring lines, write the hard stuff, honor editors, and start writing—and use ABDCE (Action, Background, Development, Climax, Ending) as a storytelling scaffold.
Why it matters
On 2026-05-04 David Perell tweeted highlights from Anne Lamott’s interview, quoting life guidance like: "The point is not to try harder; it's to resist life less" and asking "how alive am I willing to be?"
Key details
- Lamott's concrete writing rules: "Remove the boring stuff. Then, write the hard stuff," avoid sounding literary (aim to sound human), "worship good editors," and her workshop opener: "You've got to stop not writing."
- She gave a storytelling formula ABDCE (Action, Background, Development, Climax, Ending), quoted Flannery O'Connor that surviving childhood supplies lifelong material, and used metaphors—writing like cold water and "laughter is carbonated holiness."