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A review by kael_lockwood
Writing Down the Bones: Freeing the Writer Within by Natalie Goldberg
hopeful
informative
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
fast-paced
5.0
I've come back to this book a few times over the years and it never fails to disappoint. Goldberg writes about the craft of writing from the perspective of a zen practitioner and existentialist. She treats writing as a practice, not a way of producing a product, a way to see what's inside of you on the outside.
I particularly needed this book when I was first starting a writing practice (though I appreciated it the least back then). Goldberg asks you to get your hand on a pen and start exploring, which isn't what you want to hear when you're new and filled with dreams of publishing, but it's the anchor I return to again and again.
Chapters are very short, I love the pocket edition because I can keep it in my bag and usually get through a chapter in the times I would usually pick up my phone. It also means that I can read a tight thesis and take some time to chew on it before I move on to the next topic. Despite its brevity (or maybe because of it) her thought is grounded in image and experience that keeps me interested even if the topic doesn't apply to me.
Now this book was published in '87, and there's plenty I found corny or not exactly in alignment with my values. She's a very experiential writer, and that means her biases (fatphobia, some white savior stuff) leaks out. But her heart is there, and most of the time I think my dissonance was a result of how language has changed over the years. I leave this book curious how her voice has changed between Writing Down the Bones and her newer books.
I particularly needed this book when I was first starting a writing practice (though I appreciated it the least back then). Goldberg asks you to get your hand on a pen and start exploring, which isn't what you want to hear when you're new and filled with dreams of publishing, but it's the anchor I return to again and again.
Chapters are very short, I love the pocket edition because I can keep it in my bag and usually get through a chapter in the times I would usually pick up my phone. It also means that I can read a tight thesis and take some time to chew on it before I move on to the next topic. Despite its brevity (or maybe because of it) her thought is grounded in image and experience that keeps me interested even if the topic doesn't apply to me.
Now this book was published in '87, and there's plenty I found corny or not exactly in alignment with my values. She's a very experiential writer, and that means her biases (fatphobia, some white savior stuff) leaks out. But her heart is there, and most of the time I think my dissonance was a result of how language has changed over the years. I leave this book curious how her voice has changed between Writing Down the Bones and her newer books.
Content Warnings
Minor: Addiction and Fatphobia