Natalie Goldberg is a writer, painter, and workshop leader who is perhaps most famous for penning the 1986 classic Writing Down the Bones. In honor of the book’s release in ebook format, Natalie shared her insights on writing then and now.
Natalie: Nothing has changed about good writing, except that most people now choose to punch in their good words on the keyboard instead of writing them out in longhand. It is a different physical activity, so a slightly different bent of mind comes out, but I don’t think that it makes it better or worse. It may be a good idea for a writer to be good at both methods, though; sometimes the brain wants to work something out more slowly with the whole arm and shoulder involved, the fingers clutching a pen.
Urban Muse: A lot of writers who had tortured childhoods, alcoholic parents, or emotional issues themselves have channeled that pain into writing. Is there hope for people who didn’t deal with these horrible demons but still want to write books or essays that move readers on an emotional level?
Natalie: There is absolutely hope. People who didn’t have tortured childhoods can absolutely write well and tell good stories. As a matter of fact, they may have an advantage because their pain doesn’t get in the way of a clean story. Good or bad childhood, what really matters is getting to work. Start writing. Keep it moving. Let writing be the writing, and you get out of the way.
Oh yay, I love this last question Susan, about tortured childhoods. As someone who grew up very happy it's always good encouragement to hear that it's how you write, not what you write about, so thanks Natalie
I have read it and Wild Mind and both books were totally influential in encouraging me to write. I still turn to them occasionally when I need a jolt. Goldberg has always seemed like a friend to me in her writing that way. Love that she released the book as an e-book.
This is a great interview!
Thanks to Natalie and The Urban Muse for sharing and hosting.
A lot of writers do tend to be people who have had to go through particularly haunting, traumatic, or emotionally/physically painful experiences, but everyone has memories they can write about, and not all of them need be sad.
~TRA
http://xtheredangelx.blogspot.com
This was a great interview, Susan! I really appreciated Natalie's comment that nothing has changed about good writing since the widespread use of e-readers. It's encouraging to know that other writers feel the same way as I do about the future for literature.
This is a great interview, thanks for posting it. I like what she said about how writing hasn't changed in the digital age. How writers — and readers — operate today may be different, but the craft of any art dates back to the first creatives, scribbling on cave walls.
Wow what an honor to get to interview Natalie Goldberg! I also take heart in what she said about not having to have had a tortured childhood to write about your life and still make it compelling. I toy around with the idea of writing a memoir someday, and it's good to have it reiterated that it's all about the writing. Of course, that means the writing had better be good
Oh, Writing Down the Bones absolutely revolutionized the experience of the aspiring writer when it came out. I remember the excitement of getting permission to write about everything, how intensely freeing that was. My friends and I talked about nothing else that whole year. We wrote constantly.
Writing Down the Bones. Wild Mind. Long, Quiet Highway—they are all classic books on writing. How fun to get to chat with Natalie, Susan!
My absolute favorite of her books is THUNDER AND LIGHTENING. When I get tired or discouraged or feel like I'm going off-course, I pull it out and re-read it – at least once a year, sometimes more often.
Writing Down the Bones and the free writing method are absolutely seminal to my work. I've taught so many people free writing and it totally changes their relationship to writing.
For me, free writing is the way to get any kind of writing done. I always give thanks to Natalie for popularizing this method of loosening the mind's grip on our expression.
Wow! What a blast from the past. Read this guide years ago. Great to hear Goldberg is still inspiring writers.
Writing Down the Bones absolutely changed the way I think about writing. I read it when it first came out, and I continue to draw inspiration from it, especially when I feel stuck. I love Natalie's advice to let the writing be what it is and just get out of the way. I have to get out of my own way every day!
Nice one Susan! Fun to see that video too, as I'm in it. It was shot at Mabel Dodge Luhan House in Taos NM, which is where Nat often teaches, and it's a wonderful place to take a workshop with her.
Susan, I've saved this one until I could get to it — couldn't a miss a chance to hear what Natalie had to say. I quote her often when talking to writers. Even though I discovered her much later than some, I can be grateful I stumbled upon "Writing Down the Bones" at point in my writing career when it benefited me greatly. Thanks so much for having her on your blog — nicely done!
@Tania: No way! That's very cool. How fortunate that you've studied with her.
@Roxane: Thanks for weighing in!
Writing Down the Bones was the first writing book I ever owned. It was a gift from a close friend who clearly understood the push I needed to take my writing more seriously. What a great interview with one of my writing idols. Thanks, Susan!