jenleecat's review against another edition
5.0
It's helping me learn how to write more. better. honestly.
kirstena's review against another edition
4.0
While not much different from all the other writing books out there, it is filled with beautiful prose. I've always enjoyed Natalie's works. And this one even got me to write!
katrinadreamer's review against another edition
4.0
I have loved everything Natalie Goldberg has written and this is no exception. I used this to help motivate and inspire me while writing the first draft of my memoir and she got me exploring subjects I might not have otherwise. A great tool.
bloodravenlib's review against another edition
4.0
I liked this book, but as I was reading it through, it was not easy to handle. The reason is that this is a book meant to be read, and for people to do the writing exercises. I constantly wanted to stop and do some writing, but since I was borrowing the book (from my library), I could not stop. I would definitely buy a copy of this book for myself at some point. I remarked in one of the updates that I still liked Writing Down the Bones better, and I can say that statement is still accurate. That other book seemed more primal; this one is good, but it seems a bit more refined, which is not necessarily a bad thing. For aspiring writers, and I think even for veteran writers, there are a lot of good writing exercises and ideas. The book's focus is on writing memoir, but it is still applicable to other forms of writing. I think the only reason I did not give it five stars is that some of the illustrative passages (like an excerpt from this or that) seemed either a bit long or not as engaging (to me at least), but that is a minor thing. Overall, if you want to get writing, and you want to do so with minimal nonsense or fluff, then this is a good book for that. If you have read the author before, you know what you are getting. If not, this is a good place to start. Now, go read it, and then go grab pen and paper (or your keyboard), and write.
amoon33's review against another edition
5.0
I usually don’t like books like this but found this one full of inspiration and great writerly tools & advice. 10/10 would recommend for writers!