10 Writing Lessons Learned From Writing Down The Bones: Freeing the Writer Within By Natalie Goldberg
I recently shared the ten lessons I learned from reading Anne Lamott’s Bird by Bird. Having recently finished Natalie Goldberg’s Writing Down the Bones, I thought I’d do the same! Both authors draw on their teachings from various spiritual practitioners, their writing success and journeys, and life experience to provide short snappy chapters of insight.
Goldberg is an American author and has published fifteen books, most notably this one, but a large proportion of her writing work dedicated to writing about zen teachings. Her artistic endeavours also include poetry and she is a prolific painter - she’s also written about both of these creative outputs.
At a little under 200 pages, Writing Down the Bones is broken into concise chapters - some no more than a page or two, with Goldberg getting straight to the heart of the matter she wants to write. This creates an enjoyable and progressive pace throughout the book. Some of the chapters merge and entwine with one another, and there isn’t a great deal to differentiate the ‘lesson’ she is imparting, but it never feels repetitive.
Here are my ten favourite take-aways from the book:
Encourage Your First Thoughts
“First thoughts have tremendous energy. It is the way the mind flashes on something. The internal censor usually squelches them, so we live in the realm of second and third thoughts, thought on thought, twice and three times removed from the direct connection of the first fresh flash.”
This beautiful sentiment is about listening to your gut and ignoring the ego. Goldberg advises us to use timed writing exercises to help us tune into the very first thoughts that might arise about our writing and force ourselves to commit to them. So often, we let doubt run amok with an idea before we can even get it down onto paper. Goldberg’s lesson here is to pay attention to our first thoughts and use their energy to direct our writing.
Allow Your Experiences to ‘Compost’ Before Writing About Them
“Our senses by themselves are dumb. They take in experience, but they need the richness of sifting for a while through our consciousness and through our whole bodies.”
I loved this idea of ‘composting’ that Goldberg introduces. There have been a few time I’ve tried to write about an experience, and I just wasn’t ready. Even working with a seasoned editor on a piece couldn’t help me get it to the place I wanted it - and the editor knew it needed more from me. I had to put it away, and maybe I’ll come back to it, perhaps I won’t. I feel confident I’ll know when it’s ready. Goldberg’s lesson to allow this time as part of our writing process is crucial for cutting into the heart of the things we want to write.
Don’t Fight the Tofu
“Tofu is cheese made out of soybeans. It is dense, bland, white. It is fruitless to wrestle with it; you get nowhere.”
Goldberg shares this humorous expression learned from her spiritual teacher, Katagiri Roshi, called ‘fighting the tofu’. She connects it with her internal fight of wanting or needing to write, and yet also battling the voice telling her she can’t write. Her advice is to lean into it, there’s no point fighting a battle you can’t win. Instead, she provides a great list of her tricks for putting the tofu fight to one side and getting stuck into writing instead.
Forget About Capability, Just Write
“Don’t worry about your talent or capability: that will grow as you practice. So just practice writing, and when you learn to trust your voice, direct it.”
I hear this advice from so many writers, and it’s always reassuring. No one is born an innately skilful writer. It just takes writing to get good at writing. If it calls to you, take the time to write and over time you’ll reap the rewards.
Writing is Not a McDonald’s Hamburger
“Writing is not a McDonald’s hamburger. The cooking is slow, and in the beginning, you are not sure whether a roast or a banquet or a lamb chop will be the result.”
Goldberg’s lesson here is to lean into the process, without expectation, judgement or vanity. Writing can and often will lead somewhere we never initially anticipate. I can’t tell you the number of times I’ve sat down to write one story and halfway through it’s evolved into something entirely new. Writing is not cheap, quick and easy fast-food, fitting neatly into the pre-determined boundaries set by the global commercial company we work for. Writing is time, and commitment, and crafting, and building a wholesome meal that nourishes (and often looks just as messy as my attempts at roast dinners).
Don’t Leave Out the Details
“Life is so rich, and if you can write down the real details of the ways things were and are, you hardly need anything else.”
Authentic, engaging writing leaves in the details. I think this all boils down to the age-old adage we’re often fed as writers to ‘show don’t tell’. It’s about building the picture and setting the scene and inviting the reader onto the page with you.
Learn to Listen
“Listening is receptivity. The deeper you can listen, the better you can write. You take in the way things are without judgement, and the next day you can write the truth about the way things are.”
Goldberg isn’t just referencing listening with our ears - although she does use a nice analogy about singing and being told she was tone-deaf for most her life. It wasn’t until later she realised she could sing, she just needed to listen properly to the music and those she wanted to sing with. In terms of writing, Goldberg says our strongest point of listening to bring richness to our writing is through reading. If we read good books, it will drip through to our writing as we ‘listen’ to the kind of writing we aspire to.
Talk it Out
“It is good to talk. Do not be ashamed of it. Talk is the exercise ground for writing.”
Talking with others, about anything, and with anyone is the basis from which we can begin to build our writing. It’s a way to find stories, uncover points of engagement, and learn what interests, excites and motivates those around us. In other words, potential readers. Goldberg ascertains talking is the perfect exercise for persuasive writing.
Go Further
“Push yourself beyond when you think you are done with what you have to say. Go a little further. Sometimes when you think you are done, it is the edge of the beginning.”
I think this point goes back to the idea of ‘compositing’ and allow time for our experiences to become developed, ready for us to uncover and excavate them. When you feel ready to ‘go further’ - with an idea, experience, theme, or thought process - you know your composting has served its purpose.
Writing is Not Love Nor Life
“Writers get confused. We think writing gives us an excuse for being alive. We forget that being alive is unconditional and that life and writing are two separate entities. Often we use writing as a way to receive notice, attention, love. “See what I wrote. I must be a good person.” We are good people before we ever write a word.”
It’s so easy as writers to get wrapped up in our convictions that writing - writing well, writing for bigger platforms, getting published, landing the book deal - are the only things that will lead us to have ‘lived the life we want’. It’s so worth remembering that we are more than our creative outputs. Good writing is wonderful, being received as a writer is wonderful - but neither of these things makes you a good person, and neither will do anything for your self-acceptance in the long term.
A crucial and vital lesson.
