As I read Writing Down the Bones,
the writing
guide by Natalie
Goldberg that was first published in 1984,
I found myself being more courageous and honest in my writing. At least I’m
more that way in the writing I do for myself.
That is where it starts. Better writing comes from the practice of
writing. Goldberg recommends timed writing as a practice. Set the amount of
time you plan to write, even if it is as short as 10 minutes, and write as fast
and freely as you can.
I’ve been doing something similar for a while. What helped me break
through to more scary and fruitful territory is Goldberg’s advice to write a
little more. If you feel you’ve written all you can about something, write a
little more. I found it pushed me to write down thoughts and feelings I didn’t
want to admit I had. I don’t know that these confessions to myself had made me
a better writer, but when I break through I feel like I may be able to deal
with something I’ve been avoiding.
In both of these practices, writing is a kind of meditation,
which Goldberg discusses in several of the book’s short chapters. She draws on Buddhist
practices such as meditation throughout the book.
Her Buddhist practices also involve being present, which she suggests
is helpful for writers. Be present in your everyday life and in your writing.
Be attentive,
listen, and you will fill your mind with the wonderful things. These become
specific details that ground your writing in real life. Instead of writing
about something, you can write what is; your readers will conjure up on their
own the emotions associated with the experience you capture in your words.
“Whatever is in front of you is your life, so please take care of it,” Natalie Goldberg, Afterward to Writing Down the Bones
Goldberg believes writing should be tied to the rest of your life.
Whatever you’re doing, you’re a writer, and even though you can and should give
your full attention to the person or task in front of you, the writing mind is
still being primed for its work. And writing is work; it requires effort. Like
any worthwhile thing, you get out of it what you put into it. Writing is a
process and it needs to be approached with joy, honesty and patience if it is
to bear fruit.
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