The Get-Away Car by Ann Patchett

From Good Reads:

“The journey from the head to the hand is perilous and lined with bodies. It is the road on which nearly everyone who wants to write—and many of the people who do write—get lost.”

So writes Ann Patchett in "The Getaway Car", a wry, wisdom-packed memoir of her life as a writer. Here, for the first time, one of America’s most celebrated authors ("State of Wonder", "Bel Canto", "Truth and Beauty"), talks at length about her literary career—the highs and the lows—and shares advice on the craft and art of writing. In this fascinating look at the development of a novelist, we meet Patchett’s mentors (Allan Gurganas, Grace Paley, Russell Banks), see where she made wrong turns (poetry), and learn how she gets the pages written (an unromantic process of pure hard work). Woven through engaging anecdotes from Patchett’s life are lessons about writing that offer an inside peek into the storytelling process and provide a blueprint for anyone wanting to give writing a serious try. The bestselling author gives pointers on everything from finding ideas to constructing a plot to combating writer’s block. More than that, she conveys the joys and rewards of a life spent reading and writing.

From Me:

I wasn't really looking to find out more about writing as a career, so I'm not sure why I picked this up.  But I did and I liked it well enough. It was interesting to see a little bit into Patchett's life.

One fascinating connection--which I thought spoke to me, was that in Elizabeth Gilbert's "Big Magic" and in Patchett's "Getaway Car", they both said  I a writer!  Even if this is all I ever do--write blog posts. Even is all I do is write old-fashioned snail mail letters.  

As long as I enjoy it and find satisfaction in it--I am a writer.  And I am creative--and I never again have to listen to a friend say to me "well, what DO you do then?"  (this said to me when I said I didn't like crafts, sewing, painting, making, anything.)

I do DO something.  I am creative!  I am a writer!

So there!

Thanks Ann Patchett and Elizabeth Gilbert.

Oh... I guess the correlation is that they are real-life friends, who basically said the same thing to me in different words.