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Writing Down the Bones: Freeing the Writer Within
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Product Description
Natalie Goldberg's word-of-mouth hit has sold well over half a million copies. Goldberg, who has conducted writing workshops for both beginners and professionals all over the United States, sees writing as a practice that helps us comprehend the value of our lives. With insight, humor, and practicality, she inspires writers and would-be writers alike to take the leap into writing creatively and well.
Product Details
- Amazon Sales Rank: #29727 in Books
- Published on: 1986-10-12
- Released on: 1986-10-12
- Original language: English
- Number of items: 1
- Binding: Paperback
- 171 pages
Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com Review
Wherein we discover that many of the "rules" for good writing and good sex are the same: Keep your hand moving, lose control, and don't think. Goldberg brings a touch of both Zen and well... *eroticism* to her writing practice, the latter in exercises and anecdotes designed to ease you into your body, your whole spirit, while you create, the former in being where you are, working with what you have, and writing from the moment.
From School Library Journal
YA 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. ''Carolyn Praytor Boyd, Episcopal High School, Bellaire, Tex.
Copyright 1987 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From AudioFile
From the first moments of Natalie Goldberg's recording of WRITING DOWN THE BONES, her classic work on writing and life, listeners know they are hearing something wonderful. For this special recording, Goldberg reads and then comments on each of her chapters--in essence, offering listeners two books in one package. Everything is read in what Goldberg calls her "New York Jewish voice"--softened after many years in the West--and is suffused with her quirky, delightful sense of humor. In addition, this production offers Goldberg's new introduction to the book (recorded spontaneously at the end of the recording sessions) and an insightful interview with Goldberg by Sounds True's Tami Simon. This is a keeper. A.C.S.Winner of AUDIOFILE'S Earphones Award. (c) AudioFile, Portland, Maine
Customer Reviews
This is a wonderfully helpful book! I've recently read a wonderful example of fascinating memoir writing:
That's How the Light Gets In: Memoir of a Psychiatrist by Susan Rako, M.D. The title comes from a song by Leonard Cohen: "There is a crack, a crack in everything. That's how the light gets in." Rako's book is remarkably candid, insightful, and wonderfully well-written. It's a great read. The writing just flows.
Easy reading & helpful instructions
This book has striaght forward instructions for the would be writer. I purchased it to give me incentive on how to journal, write in general and write an autobiography. Natalie Goldberg suggests everything from what type of pen to use to the kind of environment you may choose to surround yourself in while attempting to write. It is simple straight forward suggestions. Don't buy it, however, if you need technical information like how to footnote or set up your pages. It isn't that type of book. It writes as if someone is speaking to you.
Book Was Okay But Don't Fork Out For A Class With Her! 
This book really inspired me to try my hand at writing and I was very impressed with the candidness and accessibility of the author's style. I'm sure like many others, it made me want to take a class with her in New Mexico. I spent a small fortune to do so, over a thousand dollars for a week long seminar. Save your money and stay home and just write. She is NOTHING like her books in person. She was a narscissitic, self-absorbed whiner, who spent exactly two hours a day in front of the class reading to us from her own notebooks. The rest of the time she told us to do writing practice. When she wasn't swaning around the classroom like a diva, she was slobbering over one of the young students in class, obviously in the midst of some torrid affair. It was embarassing for all of us. I left feeling completely ripped off, so much so that I almost stopped writing! The book should come with a warning label: Do as I say, not as I do.
