This is very well written and extremely pleasant to the ear, as the narrator absolutely kills it. Sometimes (infrequently) the advice is of a practical nature, sometimes she talks about the qualities lasting fiction has, and the normal speed at which fiction is typically generated; not comparing your work to prolific, quick writers, as they are the outliers, by far. There is rumination on past writing experiences and contrasts, quite a bit of how her life is organized around writing and, more-or-less, why she does it. In the forefront of this short work is just the craft of the book as a pleasant experience to consume, embodying her own art (exemplified in this text, itself). The last chapter, which I think feels poignant but when thought about after-the-fact, is rather facile.

Always this is so hyper specific to Dillard that any other writer has only the options of simply agreeing or disagreeing when encountering her thoughts, and that’s about all you’ll get from any advice that is divulged. There’s very little of the practical so do not approach it from a self-help or hyper informative standpoint—it’s mostly just the hyper-specific. So, it’s interesting but not useful, is how I’d characterize it, overall.

3.5 rounded up for hot hot sentences