I was nearing completion of my own book, when I found Writing Down the Bones. I really regretted that I had not found it sooner because I think it could have helped my process quite a bit.

In my writing I sometimes focus too much on the destination, so I have to guard against hurrying to get there. Writing Down the Bones inspires you to appreciate and be present in the process of writing. I have studied Zen and eastern philosophy, but had failed to apply what I learned to writing. Thanks to this book, I think I'll be able to do that with future projects. I suspect that people who have studied Zen(or related ideas) will connect with Goldberg's approach more than those who have not, which might account for some of the less enthusiastic reviews.

I also liked that every chapter is a complete concept. If you are currently working hard on your own writing project, taking the occasional break to get some inspiration from a single chapter seems more appealling than reading a book where chapters must be read sequentially to get a complete concept.