And Annie LaMotte is no exception. But if you're looking for some encouragement to get your fingers back on the keyboard, you won't go wrong with this one. She's terrific. I even went out and bought the paperback of her book, Bird by Bird, which is also terrific. Highly recommended.

Anne Lamott is wonderful, funny and wise. If you are at all interested in writing you should listen to this. No, it's not about plotting, but it is about life. And the writer's life. And writing about life and living through writing. What else could you ask for?

This is not really an audio book, it is a recording of a lecture that does ramble on a bit at times. Much of the groud she covers is done more adeptly and more thoroughly in her book "Bird by Bird", which I did find to be very helpful.

This is not a "how to" lecture, but a recording of a workshop that encourages wanna be writers to go ahead and write. I found it entertaining and motivational. Ms Lamont is witty and wise on the subject of writing. She sees writing as a means of self discovery and after listening I found myself writng more freely.

You should understand before you spend your hard-earned money on "Word by Word" that what you'll be getting here will not be a book; in fact it will be just another ho-hum recording of a writing workshop (done in 1996?). If you?re into that kind of thing, go for it. Personally, I was looking for something more substantial.

Here we have yet another successful author giving us her valuable advice, recorded as she stands in front of her lectern, riffing live before a decidedly female audience (from the sound of it) and ultimately delivering one of the most rambling monologues -- in the manner of, say, Ellen DeGeneres -- that I've ever heard on the topic of writing.

As a listener, you'll probably get the idea straight away that she's not there to instruct you (she makes that point clear); rather, she wants to encourage you. That's all, just encourage you. She starts off her lecture by imparting her personal belief that in the great "cosmic" scope of things, getting published doesn't really matter (groan). Next she reveals that she doesn't really know a thing about plot points (something she seems to take great pride in, as a matter of fact), so she won't be able to help you there either. Finally she settles into her main role -- that of a motivational speaker.

Some of it's not bad. She manages to keep you entertained, at least. And some of what she says is actually kind of inspiring. (I for one particularly enjoyed her comments on writing "sh**ty first drafts, which was sort of liberating for me to hear.) And for that, I grant her two stars. As such, I suppose that if you're feeling down in the dumps about writing, you might give this two-hour bit of fluff a try; but it's not for the serious student. Don't download it with the idea that you're going to learn anything about the technique of writing a novel. You won't.