The Writing Life Annie Dillard Summary

In her book, The Writing Life, Annie Dillard depicts her personal writing process, and she explains it using comparisons such as similes, metaphors, personifications, and other types of figurative language. Sometimes she specifically states her writing process while at other times she uses an example of something else as a description of her writing. The goal of her writing is to help others understand why she writes, and at the same time, she encourages and teaches them how to write. Throughout her book, Dillard explains her writing process, and uses multiple styles of writing to create a vivid picture of her writing. In her book, Annie Dillard discusses what she needs in order to accomplish her work and be a successful writer. For example, Dillard describes what her ideal writing workplace looks like. "The study—sold as a prefabricated toolshed—is eight feet by ten feet...There is a computer, a printer and a photocopying machine. My backless chair, a prie-dieu on which I kneel, slides under the desk; I give it a little kick when I leave. There is a low-tech bookshelf, a shelf of gull and whale bones, and a bed." (25-26). Dillard gives specific …show more content…
One impression that has stuck with me is her attention to specifics and details. Her writing uses specific descriptions and details to create vivid images in readers' minds, and after reading her work, I understood the importance of ever detail included in a piece of writing. Another impression that her writing has placed on me is the recreation of my writing space. Previously when I was assigned essays, I would struggle to complete them. After reading Dillard's text about her writing workplace, I realized that my writing workplaces had too many distractions, and I decided change the location of where I write. Annie Dillard's book has taught me some important skills that I need as a