false http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1172551482m/190238.jpg 190238 5 More musings from Natalie Goldberg on writing as a spiritual path, as "an authentic Zen way." Goldberg has some nice things to say about the importance of the process of writing. She recommends her students spend two years at writing "practice" before undertaking a specific project, so that they can "get in touch with their wild minds." The most inspired writing, she says, comes when one's conscious mind gets out of the way. Still, we are puzzled by <I>Thunder and Lightning</I>: is it really meant to show us how to turn "our flashes of inspiration ... into a polished piece of work," as the book jacket touts? It comes off more as a collection of Goldberg's ruminations on writing and reading. Goldberg tells us about her friend Julie's writing process. Another pal, Kate, talks about plot. We study Styron with Goldberg's workshop students and take a road trip through the South to try to figure out just how some of the poorest states in the union managed to produce so many great writers. There are some good stories here, and it's vaguely interesting to know what Nat likes to order when she does her café writing or lunches with her editors, but we end up desiring a little less wandering and a little more focus. <I>--Jane Steinberg</I> 2572629 2000 Thunder and Lightning: Cracking Open the Writer's Craft total:175|5:50|4:66|3:44|2:15|1:0| 175 676 259 11 3 0 false false Mon Dec 15 10:51:57 -0800 2008 Mon Dec 15 10:56:54 -0800 2008 more...]]> 4 0 false false Sun Mar 01 00:00:00 -0800 2009 Wed Mar 11 09:19:51 -0700 2009 Thu Mar 12 12:12:57 -0700 2009
"I rarely think about a book I'm working on. To think too much about it while I'm not physically working on it usually lmeans to worry, to toss around discursive ideas. The real writing comes from the abdomen, from my whole body in the act of writing it."...more...]]> 0 0 false false Thu Sep 25 11:44:09 -0700 2008 Thu Sep 25 12:07:12 -0700 2008
Structure
Reading
Reining in your wild horses

What can I say, I love reading about writing.

I also like reading lists. Natalie includes a long, long list.

Two of the titles:

The Stupids Die
The Stupids Have a Ball...more...]]> 3 0 false false Sat Aug 01 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Thu Sep 10 08:56:55 -0700 2009 Thu Sep 10 08:57:47 -0700 2009 3, at least 0 0 false false Mon Nov 10 10:43:05 -0800 2008 Mon Nov 10 10:43:05 -0800 2008 more...]]> 5 0 false false Thu Dec 18 18:51:51 -0800 2008 Thu Dec 18 18:52:45 -0800 2008 3 0 false false Thu May 01 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Mon May 26 10:31:57 -0700 2008 Tue May 27 12:42:02 -0700 2008
I like Natalie Goldberg's books about writing a lot. I like the way she goes ahead and rips herself open and shows the reader what is inside of her, even when what...more...]]> 5 0 false false Mon Jun 01 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Wed Jun 10 10:55:09 -0700 2009 Sun Jun 28 23:31:01 -0700 2009 3 0 false false Wed Sep 10 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Fri Sep 05 16:55:38 -0700 2008 Wed Sep 10 19:53:33 -0700 2008 3 0 false false Sat Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 2000 Sun Aug 05 23:15:24 -0700 2007 Sun Aug 05 23:15:24 -0700 2007 5 0 false false Mon Mar 10 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Sun May 04 09:22:54 -0700 2008 Sun May 04 09:23:17 -0700 2008 0 0 false false Mon Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 2001 Tue Dec 01 06:22:25 -0800 2009 Tue Dec 01 06:22:54 -0800 2009 0 0 false false Sun Nov 29 12:18:20 -0800 2009 Sun Nov 29 12:18:20 -0800 2009 0 0 false false Sat Nov 28 10:19:06 -0800 2009 Sat Nov 28 10:19:15 -0800 2009 3 0 false false Wed Nov 25 21:02:17 -0800 2009 Wed Nov 25 21:02:17 -0800 2009 4 0 false false Mon Nov 23 12:32:11 -0800 2009 Mon Nov 23 12:32:11 -0800 2009 0 0 false false Sun Nov 22 15:01:46 -0800 2009 Sun Nov 22 15:01:46 -0800 2009 4 0 false false Tue Sep 01 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Thu Nov 19 09:38:01 -0800 2009 Thu Nov 19 09:38:39 -0800 2009 3 0 false false Tue Nov 17 12:25:52 -0800 2009 Tue Nov 17 12:25:52 -0800 2009 5 0 false false Tue Nov 17 10:42:15 -0800 2009 Tue Nov 17 10:42:15 -0800 2009 http://www.goodreads.com/book_link/follow/8?book_id=190238