‘Before We Get Started’ by Brett Lott is a book that is part personal essays and part ‘how to’ book. On a personal note he talks about his struggles to write when he had a young family and a teaching position. Lott starts the ’how to’ section by stating the importance of word choice. ‘Trench warfare words’ are words that are used day in and day out. He says,”…words matter so chose them carefully.”
His chapter titled ‘Why write, Anyway?’ he answers, “…for the joy of it.” He also writes because he cares about the characters in his head. He “…wants to follow them to their true ending. He deals with the writing and importance of time in the chapter ‘Handling Time.’
Lott has a chapter titled ‘Work’. He mentions the importance of giving your characters something to do. He likes the combination of love and work in story.
He talks about writers who have been influential to him. He also mentions his favorite writer and friend Charles Baxter.
Lott ends his book once again talking about how little we know and about the not knowing of writing, but the need to keep writing. “You have everything to learn,” he writes as he ends this book.