Natalie Goldberg The Art Of Writing Practice:
“By my early twenties, I knew I wanted to write and I knew I couldn’t learn to do it through traditional writing classes. I had to begin with what I knew, something no one could tell me I was wrong about. And so, I studied my mind. As I wrote, I would discover things about my mind, how it would move, wander, settle.
I began teaching writing from the inside out. Usually, writing teachers tell us what good writing is, but not how to get to it . . . in 1986 [when “Writing Down The Bones” was published] people were starving to write, but they didn’t know how, because the way writing was taught didn’t work for them. I think the idea of writing as a practice freed them up. It meant that they could trust their minds, that they were allowed to fail, and this helped them develop confidence in their own abilities. But that wasn’t all, I also told readers, ‘Pick up the pen, take out a watch, and keep your hand moving.’”
— Excerpt from The Sun November 2003, “Keep The Hand Moving,” by Genie Zeiger
More about writing practice from Natalie Goldberg.
Join Writers Forum on Saturday afternoons in October, 2021, to practice. Free on the Zoom platform. October 2, 9, 16, 23, 1-3 pm (PST).
#amwriting #justwrite #nataliegoldberg #practicewriting @freewriting
