Writing Down the Bones : Freeing the Writer Within (2nd edition 2005)

The secret of creativity, Natalie Goldberg makes clear, is to subtract rules for writing, not add them. Proof that she knows what she is talking about is abundant in the speed, grace, accuracy, and simplicity of her own sentences. Natalie Goldberg will catch readers interested in writing with her opening confession that she was a "goody-two-shoes all through school" and should hold them until she pulls the last page from her typewriter, one "Sunday night at eleven." Part writing guide, part Zen philosophy, and part personal diary, this book has the smooth, fast flow of a conversation with a good friend who, while struggling with her own writing, has picked up more than a few tips that she eagerly shares. Definitely not another "how to write better themes" or a rehash of the writing process, Goldberg's short, quirky chapters give the finer points of how to write in a restaurant and why bother to write at all. The earnest, slightly Bohemian, occasionally vulnerable voice will endear her to young writers who are looking not so much for a teacher or text as for validation that they can write and for some simple but intriguing tips to get them started. While there are the required chapters on using detail and keeping a journal, the most important thing Goldberg has to say to young people is that "we have lived. Our moments are important. This is what it is to be a writer: to be the carrier of details that make up history." First published 1986. This expanded 2nd edition 2005.