The Bottom Line
- Natalie Goldberg's approach to writing emphasizes both discipline and rule-breaking.
- Encourages a less critical and more forgiving approach to craft.
- Goldberg is devoted to teaching writers to trust themselves.
- Inspired and often lovely thoughts on writing.
- Best for those with an openness to Eastern philosophies.
- Some may find it "new-agey."
- Some writers may prefer a more structured, rule-oriented approach to writing.
Description
- Written from the dual perspectives of a writing instructor and a Zen practitioner.
- Encourages a gentle approach to writing.
- Provides a philosophy for both writing and life.
Guide Review - Natalie Goldberg's Writing Down the Bones
The title comes from advice she commonly used with writing students, which was to "'write down the bones' -- the essential, awake speech of their minds." Though some may find Goldberg's take New-Agey, and it definitely helps to come to the book open to Eastern philosophy, her advice is very much geared toward the Western mind, with its highly critical bent and its tendency to be too hard on itself. If writer's block is said to be a distinctly American invention, "Writing Down the Bones" is a healthy antidote.
Since publishing this first book on writing, Goldberg has written several other books on the topic, including "Wild Mind: Living the Writer's Life" and "Thunder and Lightening: Cracking Open the Writer's Craft." All work from a Zen perspective, but none are as well-known or as inspired as this seminal work.
