Book Recommendation - Writing Down the Bones - freeing the writer within: by Natalie Goldberg

OK, this book title may be familiar to some of you. If you have read it and if it’s been some time, I suggest you pull out your copy and give it another read. The book is imminently readable. Ms. Goldberg believes that students of creative writing need “uneducation”, rather than education. This is a process reducing down rules for writing rather than adding them.

She stresses the importance of developing and maintaining a schedule of daily writing practice and not worrying about the quality of the work. Quality comes only with time and practice. She notes that it is important to separate the creator and the censor when you practice writing. The censor kills creativity.

For writing students who don’t know what to say, the author suggests a list of 15 everyday subjects to help the student get words on a page—subjects like “what is your first memory?”, “write about “leaving” (leaving your house this morning/divorce/or a friend dying).

She says:

• “Let go of everything when you write and begin with a simple beginning, with simple words to express what you have inside you.”

• “Write about what haunts you, your obsessions, your compulsions, etc. Harness that power.”

• “The deeper you listen, the better you write. When you take things in without judgment, later, you can write truth about how things are.”

• “Listen deeply and without judgment.”

• “Don’t tell the reader what to feel, show them the moment, and that feeling will awaken in them.”

• “When describing something, don’t just write its name. Include specifics in detail.”