Writing Down the Bones: Freeing the Writer Within by Natalie Goldberg

Goldberg, Natalie. Writing Down the Bones: Freeing the Writer Within. Shambhala, 1986. 172 pages. Trade Book $10.00. ISBN: 0877733759.

I selected Natalie Goldberg’s book because she has a great reputation for teaching writing workshops AND she lives in New Mexico. When I lived in New Mexico, her photo, books and name were everywhere. I was pleasantly surprised when reading this book that she had lived in Minneapolis too. When describing areas in Minnesota, I recognized where she was referring. Her descriptions of the New Mexico landscape are spot on to what I see when I am there.

The writing advice comes from the place of a poet. My experience with poetry is very limited - I think we had to write some in elementary and middle school. One of the reviews on the back cover comments on the simplicity and accuracy of her sentences. I agree with that and attribute that to her writing of poetry. Poets work with less space than novelists so their choice of words must be right on - not wanting to waste space on too many words - in my opinion.

I learned some practical tips from Natalie Goldberg.

• Write in cheap notebooks and try to fill one a month. This seems like a reasonable goal. She says that buying fancy journals can inhibit what is being written - this journal is too nice to write garbage in thinking. I see that with myself.

• Find a pen that feels good in your hand - not too slow because your thoughts are fast.

• When unable to write, write about the best meal you have ever eaten.

• Verbs are important and I tend to use the same ones over and over again. On the left side of a paper list 10 nouns and on the right choose a profession and list 15 verbs that go with that profession. Now try out these new noun and verb combinations.

• Writing is 90% listening. Learn to listen deeply with your whole body. To become a good writer: Read a lot, Listen well and deeply, Write a lot.

• Know your internal censor/critic/editor well so you can ignore it. If you can’t ignore it, write what is being said to get the thoughts out of your head.

• Use timed periods of writing and just write. Don’t use punctuation, cross out, edit. Keep your hand moving at all times.

• When you want to write in a certain style, read everything you can in that style (for example, a short story writer would read short stories). Try and figure out why they opened with that line. Learn what makes a sentence remarkable.

• Learn to write anyplace.

• Become a tourist in your own town.