How To Become A Writer

by Lorrie Moore

'How To Become a Writer' is one of the stories in Lorrie Moore's debut collection Self-Help.

This single edition has been published to celebrate the launch of Faber Modern Classics.

Genres: Short Stories, Nonfiction, Writing, Essays, Humor, Read For School, American

10 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2015

About the author

LORRIE MOORE is the Gertrude Conaway Vanderbilt Professor of English at Vanderbilt University. She is the recipient of a Lannan Foundation fellowship, as well as the PEN/Malamud Award and the Rea Award for her achievement in the short story. She is a member of the American Academy of Arts and Letters. She lives in Nashville, Tennessee.

Reviews

[Thomas · Rating 3 out of 5]

If I did not essays to write and finals to study for, I would write a lot here about the joys and pains of writing. Lorrie Moore captures the writing process well in this witty and ironic short story. She titles her piece "How to Become a Writer" and provides no actual indication of how to write at all. Her discursive, witty movement from event to event portrays the writing life well, showing how there remains no one path to becoming a writer: you write, and you are a writer, and that is that. Just throw in some existential crises, judgment from family and friends, and endless self-evaluations of your self-worth (or lack thereof).

Writing and reading have always served as lifelines for me. I appreciate Moore approaching the art of writing in all of its unpredictability and idiosyncrasies.

[Archit · Rating 5 out of 5]

How to Become a Writer is a short, humorous and sarcastic advice to all who google how to become a writer.

Read it for a good time!

[Mela · Rating 5 out of 5]

Witty, enjoyable, and so true.

I want to read more by Lorrie Moore.

[Barb H · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lorrie Moore had written this lightly humorous short story, published in 1985 in a debut short story collection, Self-Help . The narrative, in the voice of a high school student, Francine, reveals her desire to become a writer. How this develops is described in a circuitous, whimsical, semi-revealing and somewhat informative route!

This was an early effort for Moore, but she has gone on to write some successful novels. This story was heartily enjoyed by members of my short story group.

[madii ੈ✩ ♡ · Rating 3 out of 5]

witty & clever & exactly my experience. being a writer is just writing- and usually hating it, and usually feeling vulnerable sharing it, and it often being torn to shreds, and often questioning why you even want to write at all. i feel so seen. i love this short story very much.

[Nahree · Rating 5 out of 5]

In this witty short story, Lorrie describes in second-person narrative how you must first have grandiose goals and then be disillusioned with life at the age of 14 so you can write about your thwarted desires. The punchline is that she is constantly scolded in writing class for losing the plot - so while it is fitting that this story has neither plot nor ending, she

[Joselito Honestly and Brilliantly · Rating 3 out of 5]

After finishing this and reflecting on what it said in a half-serious, half-mocking manner you'd realize that you know nothing more about writing than what you've known before, and you'd just go on reading what you're currently reading and when you encounter something which blows your mind away, perhaps a passage so scintillating that you'd want to hug the book, you'd imagine it was just a delightful accident, something borne out of a flash of lucky inspiration, and that the writer did not LEARN to write it but it just came to him/her like a dream.

Well, you'd be right about it. Lorrie Moore herself said something like it here:

"Later on in life you will learn that writers are merely open, helpless texts with no real understanding of what they have written and therefore must half-believe anything and everything that is said of them."

[Lucy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this. The writing style was so easy to slip into and it grabs your attention. I thought the scenes with the class feedback were hilarious. I could relate to so much of her struggle. All writers need to read this!

[alexandra ༊*·˚ · Rating 5 out of 5]

this writing style <3333

[Bradley · Rating 3 out of 5]

Stream of consciousness writing that blathers on about casting a fishing line that reels in all the junk it touches. Write about the junk. In excess, not in excess and every other which way you can. Live an interesting life and be eclectic about nothing. That’s what I got from this anyway. I did begin smiling at the “For Better of for Liverwurst” line. Haha! You got me there.

It’s possible Lorrie wrote about herself, completely made-up scenarios, or both. And that’s kinda the point. Get to it peeps!

[Kyra Richardson · Rating 4 out of 5]

If it ended at "This is a quote from Shakespeare", I would've liked it better.

[Maria Ivars · Rating 3 out of 5]

I wanted something that I could read all in one go and I ran into this. It was fun!

Although it seems that it’s a guide to help writers, it’s much funnier than that hahahaha. The author uses an ironic tone and a second-person storytelling to be closer to any advice and pressure recieved by those who write. It’s quite sarcastic, but it conveys the main message. Interesting! :)

[Simon Sweetman · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great story. I look forward to re-reading many times. She's so great.

[Michaela Claire Blom]

"Start dating someone who is funny... Write down all of his jokes, but don't tell him you are doing this. Make up anagram's of his old girlfriend's name and name all of your socially handicapped characters with them. Tell him his old girlfriend is in all your stories and then watch how funny he can be, see what a really great sense of humor he can have."

"You spend too much time slouched and demoralized. Your boyfriend suggests bicycling. Your roommate suggests a new boyfriend... The only happiness you have is writing something new, in the middle of the night, armpits damp, heart pounding, something no one has yet seen. You have only those brief, fragile, untested moments of exhilaration when you know: you are a genius. Understand what you must do. Switch majors. The kids in your nursery project will be disappointed, but you have a calling, an urge, a delusion, an unfortunate habit."

"Begin to wonder what you do write about. Or if you have anything to say. Or if there even is such a thing as a thing to say. Limit these thoughts to no more than ten minutes a day; like sit-ups, they can make you thin."

"Perhaps you are working on a novel and writing down all the clever remarks and intimate personal confessions you hear during the day. Perhaps you are losing your pals, your acquaintances, your balance."

[Fiza Khalid · Rating 4 out of 5]

This short story is a guide by a protagonist who finds herself an ironic association with writing. Following a very modern take on writing and perspective, this short is written in first person view. Francie struggles with many disappointing events, faulty plots, and fateful connections with wanting to become a writer. From changing majors and jobs to settling on writing, she has very interestingly addressed the audience with her sarcastic, hopeful, and informal tone. There is repetition and emphasis and a list of ‘’w’’ questions throughout the text, which reflect on her coveted irritation as to why she can’t become a writer. There is imagination and hope in the way she has written and encouraged her readers who bear similar dreams. For example,’’ I will bet that…. A writer… a dream of yours’’ this same line is taken from a paragraph where she imagines conversations with strangers and their acknowledgment of her work. This is undoubtedly a fun short story by Lorrie Moore, a perfect guide, indeed, to become a writer.

[Peppina · Rating 4 out of 5]

I came across this story by accident. It was listed on Discovery as one of the stories everyone should read.
So I read it and wasn't disappointed. It was the perfect antidote for a COVID lockdown. And I laughed out loud.
The story is written in the second person and describes the event as 'you' go through a life-long struggle in attempting to become a writer, with recurrent rejections from parents, friends and teachers.
The humour comes from all the pitfalls the character goes through in the attempt, from accidentally attending creative writing classes, to consuming alcohol, to trying to imitate other writers' book titles.
A great story.

[Sharmila Madhvani · Rating 5 out of 5]

In this short story Lorrie Moore surprised me in almost every paragraph, describing the shaping moments in the life of a writer with great sharpness and originality, from childhood to adult life.
She chooses the details she depicts with such skill that she only needs a few pages to tell a very rich tale. Her outlook on the writing life seems quite harsh, but at the same time it impresses and inspires. This is because the ultimate message is all about passion for the craft.
I loved it.

[Kiki✨ · Rating 3 out of 5]

Picked this up to meet my reading target but found it a humorous read

✨Funny summary of collage life
✨Explores everything but how to write which was funny
✨Good insight into the life of aspiring authors who struggle with their craft

🪄The ending felt like it just stopped. It would have been nice for something more conclusive to have happened to wrap it up. Maybe a reflection of the authors life up until that point.

[Tripti S · Rating 3 out of 5]

A witty story. The title is funnily misleading as she doesn't really give out real handy tips to becoming a writer. It feels as though she is narrating her own journey in this beautiful short story. The story has its moments where the humour hits hard. Budding authors and poets will be able relate to this.

[Jean Carlton · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a great story. Humor, tongue-in-cheek truth. Probably only appreciated by other writers and writer Wanna-Be's. Very clever!

I actually read this in a library copy of her collected stories having had a recommendation to find this one. I read a few more that were not in the collection I have of her work...and then had to return it to the library.

[Tom O'Brien · Rating 4 out of 5]

A droll short story with knowing ‘advice’ to prospective writers.

The humour doesn’t hit on every note but the tone is sharp and time periods expertly evoked.

A couple of darker family notes underpin the irony giving a little more weight to a light piece.

[Carla · Rating 4 out of 5]

Absolutely amazing. What an accurate way to describe how a writer finds his/her calling. That one line that speaks about losing your virginity, “It created a new space, which hurt and cried in a voice that wasn’t mine,” oh wow. That is incredible.

[Helen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing little book, with the device of the stream of the consciousness, it's pleasant to read it on the train.

[Angel McGregor · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interesting read if nothing else!

[Angela · Rating 3 out of 5]

quality advice, this is.

[Caleb M. Powers · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting style and a fascinating read.

[Cassie Linhart · Rating 5 out of 5]

This story was hilarious! I had to read it for a creative writing class and it was one of the most fun homework assignments I’ve ever had.

[clarino910 · Rating 5 out of 5]

raw, honest, and rather discouraging

[Jacob · Rating 5 out of 5]

Truly brilliant. So much emotion and vulnerability.

[Rose · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was interesting in places, pretentious in others.