Advice from Anne Lamott: Just write a crappy rough draft

Tell a new story.

Put your butt in the chair.

Don’t set out to write something great. Just write a “shitty rough draft.” Anyone can do that, right?

That’s the advice writer Anne Lamott gave the audience at the Mimi Ohio Theater at Playhouse Square in downtown Cleveland. She came to Cleveland on March 16 to promote her new book, “Dusk Night Dawn: On Revival and Courage.”

I had the pleasure of hosting the event. What an honor and a joy! Playhouse Square felt like one grand living room, with that gorgeous chandelier and all those smiling, friendly faces in front of us.

Anne told the audience she got married two years ago for the first time at 65. She met Neal online. She talked about experiencing moments of “buyer’s remorse” and told the crowd, “It’s so wrong that Protestants can’t get annulments.”

When she was having a rough day with her marriage, a friend asked her, “What story are you telling yourself about him?” Once she told herself a new story, the marriage was fine.

Sometimes it’s not what’s happening, but what we are telling ourselves about what is happening that can change everything. Give it a try. Change the story about your spouse, your kids, your work. Everything changes when we change.

Anne shared her recovery from addiction and alcoholism, and encouraged those in the audience struggling with both to find the right support group. It’s important to reach out for help even when it’s hard to “pick up the 200-pound phone,” she said.

She believes change is an inside job and once wrote, “Almost nothing outside of you will help you in a lasting way unless you’re waiting for an organ.”

Anne also told the audience, “Almost everything will work again if you unplug it for a few minutes, including you.” Amen to that. Take that nap!

In her new book, she writes about faith, forgiveness and family, and the importance of laughter, which she calls, “carbonated holiness.”

We shared a lot of that as we laughed through the evening.

Anne is the author of 19 books, including seven novels. She wrote the classic, “Bird By Bird: Some Instructions on Writing and Life.” I consult it often.

Her best writing advice? Make a commitment to write daily and just write a “shitty rough draft.” Don’t set out to write perfectly.

I ended the event by reading a short passage from her new book. I just love her words: “Trust me on this: We are loved out of all sense of proportion. Yikes and hallelujah.”