Wednesday, July 30, 2008

Natalie Goldberg--the writing life

Every time I pick up one of Natalie Goldberg’s books and read a page or two, I’m inspired. Mexican Hat--Las Vegas NWR, Las Vegas, NM

I had the pleasure of experiencing four days of study with Natalie Goldberg and Sean Murphy, along with ten other participants. In the whole of that time we devoted ourselves to quieting our minds; and we wrote, and we read aloud, and then we wrote some more.

I had already read three of Goldberg's books prior to this experience but there are more—eleven altogether. If you are a writer or if you are interested in discovering more about who you are, her books are a dream to read, short chapters, gritty, inspiring.

I opened Wild Mind, Living the Writer’s Life this morning and read: “Writing is the act of discovery. If I knew everything ahead of time, why bother writing?”

And that's exactly it. Not knowing is so key to writing and to life. If we knew how to do everything, why bother? So go all out and make mistakes. Try something new and unfamiliar. Discover who you are and what matters. And write. There’s a whole wide world out there to be discovered --both inside and out.

4 comments:

  1. How inspiring....I would love to write one day...BTW when is your book being published?

    ReplyDelete
  2. Don't wait until one day. Write a little bit every day. You have much to write about.

    On the book, I don't know. Getting it out there is as big an endeavor as the writing it. Will keep you posted.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Best of luck to you. Sending your happy energy for the endeavor!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Thanks. And some your way for your pursuits for peace.

    ReplyDelete

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