The Getaway Car: A Practical Memoir About Writing and Life

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The Getaway Car: A Practical Memoir About Writing and Life

4.14 of 5 stars 4.14 · rating details · 503 ratings · 105 reviews

“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"...more

Kindle Edition, 45 pages

Published August 25th 2011 by Byliner, Inc. (first published January 1st 2011)

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Apr 07, 2013 Crystal rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: memoir-writing

This is a Kindle "Short" that I enjoyed very much. I have not read any of Patchett's other works but her discussion of how she approaches fiction intrigued me. I read this in two sittings so I'm not sure that I remember what the getaway car had to do with it, but this is a comfortable, entertaining read for those writerly types among us. Or I would imagine a fan of her work would enjoy reading this. She offers some advice for those "writerly" types who want to publish and she gives general writi...more

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Apr 06, 2013 Juan Ignacio Gelos added it

Shelves: literature

“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 ar

...more

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Feb 16, 2013 Mayra rated it 5 of 5 stars

I’ve never read a book or a short story by Ann Patchett before and I can’t tell you that I ever will—I passed Bel Canto more times than I could count when I worked at Borders without feeling any urge to pick it up. I also can’t tell you why I decided to pay $2.99 for an ebook by an author I’d never read before, when I haven’t read writing memoirs in almost a decade. But here we are. I bought it, I read it, I loved it and I learned from it.

This is super short, under a hundred pages (or a hundred...more I’ve never read a book or a short story by Ann Patchett before and I can’t tell you that I ever will—I passed Bel Canto more times than I could count when I worked at Borders without feeling any urge to pick it up. I also can’t tell you why I decided to pay $2.99 for an ebook by an author I’d never read before, when I haven’t read writing memoirs in almost a decade. But here we are. I bought it, I read it, I loved it and I learned from it.

This is super short, under a hundred pages (or a hundred “Kindle locations”, whatever the hell that is,) and Patchett tries to pack as much wisdom as she can into those locations. She is very careful at the beginning to specify that the methods and routines she describes in her book are very personal and that they don’t work for everyone. The tone she takes, then, isn’t one of total authority but one of suggestion. I’ve been interested in writing for a long time and I have an idea of what works and what doesn’t for me. Reading about Pratchett’s methods inspired me to rethink what I do and why I do it.

Some of her advice is pretty universal, though:

Art stands on the shoulders of craft, which means that to get to the art, you must master the craft. If you want to write, practice writing. Practice it for hours a day, not to come up with a story you can publish but because you long to learn how to write well, because there is something that you alone can say. Write the story, learn from it, put it away, write another story.

She also gives some pointers about MFA programs and their usefulness. I got the impression that her experience wasn’t as favorable as others’, but she says the three most important things she got from attending the Iowa Writers Workshop was the time to write without distraction, the opportunity to meet other writers who could give her useful criticism, and the skill to discern which criticism was useful in the first place. I found these passages especially poignant, because I would like to attend an MFA program and I’m always on the prowl for other people’s thoughts about them. She also learned how to teach others working as a teaching assistant as part of her financial aid package:

I was forced to think through every idea I had about a story, to support all of those ideas with examples from the text, and articulate my thoughts in a cogent manner. In short, I started to study how writers did what they did with a great deal more diligence, because I had to explain it to soemone else. I’ve often wished there had been a way for me to teach before being a student—Teaching made me so much better at studying.

There’s some more stuff, about how to find story ideas, about how to beat periods of stagnation (also known as “writer’s block”, which she insists isn’t real), about how to go about finding an agent and getting published in literary magazines. It’s all very short and to the point, but useful information nonetheless.

Most of all, what I got from this short memoir was a slap across the face. I desperately want to tell stories and to do that, I need to sit down at my desk and write. No censuring, no overthinking, no procrastinating. Just putting pen to paper or fingers to keys and producing a stream of words that will hopefully mean something. Once that’s done, I can worry about everything else.(less)

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Dec 09, 2012 astried rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2012, on-reading-and-writing

I think I found out about Patchett from reviews of her book Bel Canto on Goodreads. Funnily the reviews for that book actually makes me wary of it and strike it out from considered to read list. Then there's another review about her memoir which made me even more wary of her. But then this is her book about writing and I risked it.

Having read it, I'm not sure I'll read her other books. I've read some other book about writing from other author and although this one is not necessarily bad, it's no...more

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May 15, 2012 Joe Flood rated it 5 of 5 stars

The questions I get most about writing are the practical ones. What do you write with? Where do you write? How do you find time to write?

Answers to these questions are supplied by novelist Ann Patchett in The Getaway Car: A Practical Memoir About Writing and Life. It's like a FAQ for aspiring writers.

Do you need to get an MFA in Creative Writing? Not if it means going into debt, according the prudent Patchett.

Should you turn your desk away from the window, to avoid distractions? "Desk positionin...more The questions I get most about writing are the practical ones. What do you write with? Where do you write? How do you find time to write?

Answers to these questions are supplied by novelist Ann Patchett in The Getaway Car: A Practical Memoir About Writing and Life. It's like a FAQ for aspiring writers.

Do you need to get an MFA in Creative Writing? Not if it means going into debt, according the prudent Patchett.

Should you turn your desk away from the window, to avoid distractions? "Desk positioning does not a real writer make," according to the author.

Are you really a writer? Spend one hour a day for thirty days writing to find out. Sit down and do the work. You'll be amazed at how much you can accomplish.

She also believes that writer's block is a myth. If you were stumped by a complicated math problem, do you have math block? No, you're still working on the problem, even if you have no evident progress.

Patchett also punctures the idea that "everyone has a great novel in them." Would you say that everyone has a five-minute mile in them? Writing is a craft that must be learned.

Her description of plot is the best I've ever read:

"The plot of a novel should be like walking down a busy city street: First there are all the other people around you, the dog walkers and the skateboarders, the couples fighting, the construction guys swearing and shouting, the pretty girl on teetering heels who causes those construction guys to turn around for a split second of silence. There are drivers hitting the brakes, diving birds slicing between buildings, and the suddenly ominous clouds banking to the west. All manner of action and movement is rushing towards you and away. But that isn’t enough. You should also have the storefronts at street level and the twenty stories of apartments full of people and their babies and their dreams. Below the street, there should be infrastructure: water, sewer, electricity. Maybe there’s a subway down there as well, and it’s full of people."

This rang true with me. A novel can't be just about one thing. All your characters, even the most minor ones, are heading somewhere, pursuing their own destinies. They exist in a dynamic world and, if it's a good novel, are worthy of stories of their own.

The Getaway Car: A Practical Memoir About Writing and Life is a Kindle Single. It's a slim volume but at $2.99 is a bargain for anyone seeking answers on the craft of writing and the realities of the writing life.(less)

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Dec 31, 2011 Marieke rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: brand-spankin-new, essays, 2011, e-book, kindle, memoir, united-states, non-fiction

I'm wavering between three and four stars. Patchett is not my favorite writer but she's a writer and I enjoy reading what authors have to say about how they do their work. I write, too, just in a totally different capacity, but it's still writing. I often find helpful things in essays like this, whether it's comfort (yes, it's normal to have demoralizing moments in the process of writing), or tips that might work for me when I have trouble focusing enough to get all that blasted information and...more

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Oct 26, 2011 Happyreader rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: writing

Apparently one of the downsides of being a best-selling author is that you’re constantly inundated by offers from insistent strangers to take advantage of the fabulous opportunity to write their enthralling life stories. For a 50/50 split of the profits, of course, since they’d write it themselves if they had the time.

This short piece essentially says feel free to dig out that inner great novel yourself because she’s not going to write it for you. Just realize that you’ll need talent, drive, dis...more

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Sep 05, 2011 Booksaremyboyfriends rated it 5 of 5 stars

THE GETAWAY CAR is Patchett’s mini-writing memoir and it’s my favorite work of hers to date. Girl had some making up to do. I’m a BEL CANTO fan, but I had very mixed feelings about this summer’s STATE OF WONDER. But all is forgiven because girl takes a hammer and NAILS it with this short and sweet memoir that tracks the ups and downs of her career through the sale of her first novel. Highlights include her tales of being one of Grace Paley’s student (Paley is so obviously Dr. Swenson in STATE OF...more

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Sep 05, 2011 Tricia rated it 4 of 5 stars

Ann Patchett offers a glimpse into her writer's life with "The Getaway Car." Part-memoir, part friendly "since you asked" advice, the essay addresses the reality and myths of the writing life. To her credit, Patchett does admit that what she outlines as her process is just that: her process. She illustrates this by comparing how she approaches a novel versus how her best friend and fellow writer approaches her novel writing. Some people compose in their head for months or maybe even years (Patch...more

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Dec 27, 2011 Georgiana rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: kindle-free

Won a copy of this Kindle single when joining byliner.com. I've heard parts of it before, in various talks given by Ann Patchett (and posted online). I enjoyed listening to the talks more than reading this single. I'm not interested in writing fiction, but many of the suggestions made by AP have to do with good work habits, not exclusively with writing.

Favorite quotes:

“It's a wonderful thing to find a great teacher, but you also have to find him or her at a time in life when you're able to liste...more Won a copy of this Kindle single when joining byliner.com. I've heard parts of it before, in various talks given by Ann Patchett (and posted online). I enjoyed listening to the talks more than reading this single. I'm not interested in writing fiction, but many of the suggestions made by AP have to do with good work habits, not exclusively with writing.

Favorite quotes:

“It's a wonderful thing to find a great teacher, but you also have to find him or her at a time in life when you're able to listen to, trust, and implement the lessons you receive.”

“An essential element of being a writer is learning whom to listen to and whom to ignore where your work is concerned.”

“I could see the genius in not having given 100 percent of myself over to writing before. It had kept me from ever having to come to terms with how good I was -- or wasn't.”

“Writer's block is something out of control, like a blocked kidney -- we are not responsible. We are, however, entirely responsible for procrastination, and in the best of all possible worlds, we should also be responsible for being honest with ourselves about what is really going on.”

“The lesson is this: The more we are willing to separate from distraction and step into the open arms of boredom, the more writing will get on the page.”

“Do you really want to write? Sit for two hours a day. During that time, you don't have to write, but you must stay at your desk without distraction: no phone, no Internet, no books. Sit. Still. Quietly. Do this for a week, for two weeks. Do not nap or check your e-mail. Keep on sitting for as long as you remain interested in writing. Sooner or later you will write because you will no longer be able to stand not writing -- or you'll get up and turn the television on because you will no longer be able to stand all the sitting. Either way, you'll have your answer.”

“Now when people tell me they're desperate to write a book [...] I tell them to give this great dream that is burning them down like a house on fire one lousy hour a day for one measly month, and when they've done that -- one month, every single day -- to call me back and we'll talk. They almost never call back.”(less)

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Oct 03, 2011 Amy rated it 4 of 5 stars

I LOVE to read books about writing, especially the memoirs. I've read a few of Patchett's books and I prefer the nonfiction, this especially included. I like her practical stance on MFA programs (don't go in debt for one) and her honest sharing of how difficult writing can be and how completely stubborn the writer can be (about writing). Patchett had the benefit of studying under some of America's premier authors and argues you can teach a person to write, albeit only in sentence structure, plot...more

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Apr 19, 2012 Julie rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: memoir, own

This little memoir is more than just Patchett’s reflections on her own writing experiences. It offers advice to would-be writers in a way that engages the reader and empathizes with their struggles. She offers up her own practices and then admits that everyone has their own writing process. By defining what works for her, she is in no way setting guidelines, yet she illustrates how discipline is the key factor to getting words and ideas on paper. There were so many aspects I could relate to, hav...more

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Jan 18, 2012 Catelyn rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: ebooks

Sometimes I read a book at exactly the right moment. And every time it happens, I am struck by that peculiar feeling that I've received something valuable that I didn't even know I needed. I needed to read this and I read it at exactly the right moment, and that might color my feelings about it, but isn't that how it is with everything?

When I was younger, mostly middle school and high school, I read books on writing. I never wrote much myself, as I knew that most of what I would attempt would be...more Sometimes I read a book at exactly the right moment. And every time it happens, I am struck by that peculiar feeling that I've received something valuable that I didn't even know I needed. I needed to read this and I read it at exactly the right moment, and that might color my feelings about it, but isn't that how it is with everything?

When I was younger, mostly middle school and high school, I read books on writing. I never wrote much myself, as I knew that most of what I would attempt would be garbage and besides, I hate the sight of my own words. However, I absorbed a lot of information about the intricacies of plot, setting, character development and the like. Those books didn't teach me to write, and I didn't expect them to. They taught me to read. I read like a writer even though I'm not one. And that's one of the things I appreciate most about my younger self, my willingness to just lie there and really think about what I was reading, and judge it, and hold a miniature writers' workshop in my mind.

When it comes to actual advice on writing, I've never expected to actually receive any that would apply to me, to the way I think, or to the way I write. I remember discussing Stephen King's On Writing (which was a fine book, don't get me wrong) with a group of reader/writer friends and feeling like I was the only one for whom the book was totally irrelevant, completely disconnected from my reality. Ditto for Ray Bradbury's Zen in the Art of Writing.

To make a long story short, this book was exactly what I thought I would never get. It's not a real how-to, and that's not what anyone needs, least of all me. I know how to write. I just can't for reasons that lie somewhere between my brain and my pen (or keyboard). Reading her description of her writing process, how she comes up with an idea, lets it grow into this huge, flowering, fully formed beautiful object in her mind, like a butterfly, was like reading my own thoughts. And then this:

When putting it off has actually become more painful than doing it, I reach into the air and pluck the butterfly up. I take it from the region of my head and I press it down against my desk, and there, with my own hand, I kill it. It's not that I want to kill it, but it's the only way I can get something that is so three-dimensional onto the flat page. [...] Everything that was beautiful about this living thing...is gone. What I'm left with is the dry husk of my friend, the broken body chipped, dismantled, and poorly reassembled. Dead. That's the book.

And that act of killing is the one thing I can't do. Of the short fiction I've written, afterwards, trying to explain that feeling that I've murdered a friend, I've never met anyone who felt similarly. It seems like for most people there's an urgency to writing--stories come alive on the page instead of dying there.

There's so much more in this book that was relevant to me, but this really should be a book review and not a dissection of my personal problems. Sorry for the digression. Read this if you like Ann Patchett (curiously, I'm not much of a fan). Read this if you want to write. (less)

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Feb 27, 2013 Bookreaderljh rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: books-read-in-2013

This is an author's book on the practice of writing - at least for her. It delves into the work behind a great novel and the writing process in general. Definitely a read in one sitting type of book but for an aspiring novelist - that may be enough. I love Ann Patchett's novels and know a little of her back story, so this book added to that knowledge. I liked reading about how she constructs a novel or story and her main point being that writing - though the skill is sometimes a gift - the actua...more

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Aug 30, 2011 Weasel rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: writing, non-fiction, biography

I'd never read Ann Patchett, and frankly 2.99 seems like a lot for a long essay to me, but I figured I'd check out the sample, and it made me laugh. I bought the full thing before even finishing the sample. Books with writing advice are a dime a dozen, and while you may not find advice here that you couldn't find someplace else, Ann Patchett's advice, along with the story of how she came to be a writer is engagingly told, entertaining and encouraging, and frankly if you've read more than a handf...more

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Jan 31, 2012 Jacquelin rated it 5 of 5 stars

I found Patchett's essay to be filled with useful suggestions and words of encouragement for writers. I will definitely be referring to it again and again.

On making writing a priority:

I could see the genius in not having given 100 percent of myself over to writing before. It had kept me from ever having to come to terms with how good I was—or wasn’t. As long as something got in the way of writing, I could always look at a finished story and think it could have been a little better if only I hadn...more

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Oct 12, 2012 Gordon rated it 2 of 5 stars

So far, kind of witty, but disappointing. It is a practical guide in that it deals with the practice of writing. That is established in the first twenty pages. Some of her arguments about the craft of writing and the grinding hard work and quiet endurance the craft needs to grow into art, particularly her analogy to learning to play the cello should be read by every writer to be. A great deal of this is hammering this point home. Oh well. Not much at the end. I was surprised that she didn't talk...more

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Jan 18, 2012 Diane rated it 5 of 5 stars

This book changed my thinking about my future as a writer! It spelled out some of the truths about the writing life and the importance of the MFA vs. simple work. I learned from a professional writer that going into debt for my MFA was a silly and expensive idea and that if I really want to make this happen, I have to put in my time as much as anything. I applaud all those who complete their MFA and still wish that was my life story, but I'm not going to use that loss a crutch for not getting st...more

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Mar 13, 2013 Emily rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: non-food-non-lit

I've read all of Ann Patchett's fiction and have always thought part of why I love her as a writer is because she's written a few very personal nonfiction/memoir works that allow you as a reader to feel like you know her - her life story - and her way of writing.

This petite memoir - that's part of the Byliner Originals series of short works that can be read in one sitting - is Patchett's practical advice on writing fiction, told in narrative form, starting with her childhood authoress aspiratio...more

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Jan 31, 2013 Susan Lundy rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: non-fiction

Funny that Carla just finished reviewing Ann Pachett's latest novel today...since I'm sitting on vacation in Kona reading the "how to write" book Ann Patchett said she wrote because people kept asking her for help in "writer's block". She has a great sense of humor and totally practical advice (spoiler alert: work hard and just sit and write.) This is a short read...but worth it for anyone who ever wondered how someone such as Ann Patchett keeps getting better and better. She reveals all her sec...more

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Dec 14, 2012 Deirdre Keating rated it 4 of 5 stars

Recommended to Deirdre by: I saw it on Lara's goodreads:)

Shelves: nonfiction

I don't have an e-reader so I struggled to find a way to read this---and bought it via google finally and read in one sitting. I loved Patchett's Truth and Beauty and this book fleshed out some of the same time period in different ways. I'm surprised to hear her method of having most of it written/decided before she begins, but I loved every minute of reading it.

I adore Grace Paley and laughed out loud at her description. I was shocked to find that she applied to other writing programs and Iowa...more I don't have an e-reader so I struggled to find a way to read this---and bought it via google finally and read in one sitting. I loved Patchett's Truth and Beauty and this book fleshed out some of the same time period in different ways. I'm surprised to hear her method of having most of it written/decided before she begins, but I loved every minute of reading it.

I adore Grace Paley and laughed out loud at her description. I was shocked to find that she applied to other writing programs and Iowa (supposedly the most prestigious) was the only one she got in---and in many ways wasn't an ideal experience. I wish she had written more about the transition from short story to novel.

"I never learned how to take the beautiful thing in my imagination and put it on paper without feeling I killed it along the way. I did however learn to weather the death, and I learned how to forgive myself for it."

"I can't write the book I want to write, but I can and will write the book that I am capable of writing."

My grad school experience is captured in her description of "editing myself off the page."

Another favorite bit (that my boys will regret my reading since I'm already vigilant):
"Based on my own experience, I believe the brain is as soft and malleable as bread dough when we're young. I'm grateful for every class trip to the symphony I went on and curse any night I was allowed to watch "The Brady Bunch" because all of it stuck. Conversely, I am now capable of forgetting entire novels that I read, and I've been influenced not at all by books that I passionately loved and would kill to be influenced by. Think about this before you let your child have a Game Boy."

Ala brain-picking-eque: "I am a compost heap, and everything I interact with, every experience I've had, gets shoveled onto the heap where it eventually mulches down, is digested and excreted by worms, and rots. It's from that rich, dark humus, the combination of what you encountered, what you know, and what you've forgotten, that ideas start to grow."

and a word to the unwise (namely, me): "I have had this same crisis in every novel I have written since: I am sure my idea is horrible and that a new idea is my only hope. But what I've realized over the years is that every new idea eventually becomes the old idea."

Given that the dream scenes of State of Wonder were some of my favorite, I'm a bit upset with Elizabeth McCracken getting her to cut some 90% of them. Do I get to read those cuts?

She talks about Raymond Chandler's advice, which made me remember a line of his---that the best way to get the reader to miss who-dunit is to have them trying to solve the wrong mystery. And then, just like that, I realized that was exactly what she had done in State of Wonder!(less)

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Apr 23, 2013 Kelly Massry rated it 5 of 5 stars

Ann Patchett has received much attention for her championing of independent bookstores; she is the owner of one in Nashville, Tennessee. She is someone I don’t always love as a writer (I read and disdained State of Wonder this summer) but who I respect very much as a literary figure. I actually think she is at her best as a memoir writer; my favorite book of hers is Truth and Beauty, which details her friendship with writer Lucy Grealy. (First read Grealy’s Autobiography of a Face then read Trut...more

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Feb 03, 2013 Kris Munson rated it 5 of 5 stars

Ann Patchett has done an excellent job relating exactly what the title says -- this is a practical memoir of Ms. Patchett's writing experiences. She gives some advice, but fully comes clean with the fact that all writers have different methods of writing.

It's a short little book, so you could read it in an afternoon -- but I liked it, because the ultimate advice was this: if you want to write, sit down and slog through it. There's no magic bullet -- you just need to sit down and put in the time.

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Jan 26, 2012 Molly rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: kindle-fire, on-writing-and-creativity

(3.5) A nice little evening read, a one-sitting one-sided conversation that reminded me a bit of the grad student lounge or TA offices on campus. I wasn't wholly interested in practical tips on writing (particularly as fiction--novels!--is not my genre), so I appreciated the memoir aspect, especially since it is familiar (on a different scale).

And it's true, a good reader is the best thing one can hope for in an MFA program or summer workshop. I have a beloved collaborative and I am so blessed.

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Oct 14, 2011 Natalie Wright rated it 3 of 5 stars

If you are a writer and enjoy reading about the writing journey of other writers, then you will probably enjoy this. Ann's writing is crisp and to the point. You can read this is one sitting. Her description for the process and the story going from thought to written words was not one I'd ever heard before but I could really relate.

I give this three stars only because there isn't a significant amount of usable information here. There are a few tips here and there but it is mainly a memoir about...more

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Nov 29, 2012 Melissa Crytzer Fry rated it 5 of 5 stars

Truly inspirational little memoir for writers. Filled with so many quote-worthy snippets ... though this one resonated with me greatly (and obviously with many others, given the number of Kindle "highlighters" on it):

"I believe that, more than anything else, this grief of constantly having to face our own inadequacies is what keeps people from being writers. Forgiveness, therefore, is key. I can’t write the book I want to write, but I can and will write the book I am capable of writing."

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Sep 24, 2011 Julie (Klickitat) rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: grown-up, writing, essays, ebook

I keep reading craft books and interviews by Patchett because her process is very similar to mine and that soothes me. Wish she'd mention that her mother is a novelist too. That was critical in her development and it never gets a mention. Not even when Patchett talks about struggling to find her medium (poetry versus short stories versus novels).

Her advice to write a novel chronologically, even if it contains multiple flashbacks or flashforwards, is interesting. I'll try to keep it in mind.

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Apr 18, 2012 Stephanie rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: nonfiction, memoirs

Warm, smart, and funny. Great reading for any writer no matter what stage of a career they might be at. I found it incredibly reassuring and kind, and I marked several sections with (electronic) highlights so that I can go back and re-read them again next time I'm battling self-doubt and insecurity.

Also, I read several anecdotes out loud to my husband because they were so funny!

But my favorite section was the one on her friendships with other writers, which was so true and so powerful. I loved...more

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Sep 19, 2012 Marjorie Towers rated it 4 of 5 stars

I always thought I would like to write a novel. Now I'm thinking, "Are you kidding me?" I don't think I have even one good plot in me and that's supposed to be the "easy part." This book was thought provoking and a great insight into the world of authoring. Whether or not you like Patchett's writing, if you're interested in writing, you should read this book. And even if you don't want to write, but appreciate good books, I think this may help you understand a lot of what's involved in writing a...more

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Oct 22, 2012 Emily rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: on-writing

I can't decide if I like it when authors write honestly enough about themselves that I can tell I don't like their personality. I think I like it, even if I don't like them. Patchett is super arrogant, and it's not hard to fathom why, given she had a piece in the Paris Review at age 19 or something. This was insight into her background and writing philosophy (do it everyday), but not all that useful.

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About Ann Patchett

Ann Patchett is an American author. She received the Orange Prize for Fiction and the PEN/Faulkner Award in 2002 for her novel Bel Canto. Patchett's other novels include The Patron Saint of Liars, Taft, and The Magician's Assistant, which was shortlisted for the Orange Prize. She is the recipient of a Guggenheim Fellowship and received the Nashville Banner Tennessee Writer of the Year Award in 199...more

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Quotes from The Getaway Car: A Pra...

“The more we are willing to separate from distraction and step into the open arms of boredom, the more writing will get on the page.” — 2 people liked it

“We all have ideas, sometimes good ones, not to mention the gift of emotional turmoil that every childhood provides.” — 1 person liked it

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BBCode	[url=http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/12471186-the-getaway-car?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_book][img]http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1327959429l/12471186.jpg[/img][/url] [url=http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/12471186-the-getaway-car?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_book]The Getaway Car: A Practical Memoir About Writing and Life by Ann Patchett[/url]

The Getaway Car: A Practical Memoir About Writing and Life

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