Fan flash: Writing Down the Bones by Natalie Goldberg is one of my favorite books on the storyteller’s craft. My copy is well-thumbed and marked up and I often turn to it for inspiration when penning my posts.Natalie has a new book out called, The True Secret of Writing. I’m sure it will be a winner as well, but the true secret seems to be pretty simple: Just write! For those of us who find this simple, but not easy, a few of Natalie’s tips might prove helpful:
Don’t get fancy: Natalie recommends not being a computer slave. Buy a pen and a cheap notebook so you can really write anywhere and then get going. Why a “cheap” notebook? So it won’t intimidate you and keep you from writing even lousy stuff in it on the way to writing something great.
Get out: Natalie advocates getting out of your personal space and finding someplace that will let you sit peacefully for a long time and let the muse find you. Like JK Rowling, she seeks out cafes.
Find buddies: Writing can be lonely. It can help to find one or more writing partners who share your desire to write and who may provide some form of inspiration if you get stuck.
Seek silence: Behind words, there is silence. Silence allows us to listen, which is one of the touchstones of writing. And silence gives us a sense of perspective and spaciousness.
Read on: Writers are the true and best teachers. When you read, you’re not just entertaining yourself, you’re analyzing the mind of the author. Reading nourishes the mind, which nourishes our writing.
Write on: Forget about the rules. Forget about a fancy studio. Forget about talking about writing. Just write! And then, write some more. And write on.
I need to write more. I used to write long letters but emails are not the same . I enjoy thinking and pausing but the email seems to invite speed and brevity, not longevity.
So this morning I am pausing to write a blog . This is a new activity for me. I hope to get inspired to so it weekly.
Lately family memories are often in my mind. As we await the birth of our 5th grandchild, due in under 2 weeks, I wonder about the life of this little one. He/she will grow up in Queensland and will have early memories of a house still to be built but due to start the day before his/her due date to enter this world. Memories of this house will be his only memories of his first home while his older brothers will remember their previous house. He will make his first memories there and have to rely on others to tell him about several months of his first year in the old house or photos. Then I think about how his/ her birth family will be the first since my mum’ s generation
to have 6 members. My mum was 2nd of 4 and he/she will be 4th of 4. Mum had 2 offspring, her younger sister 2 and her only brother 2. None of these offspring have had 4 but in this current generation now my daughter will have 4. What a different life her 4 will lead.
Then I remember that when our son has a second daughter in early January that will make me Nana to 6 grandchildren, just like Mum’s mum was , my Nana Lowrie. First and only one of her grandchildren to have 6 grandchildren, at least till now. Her youngest triplet (IVF) granddaughters are still unmarried and her twin grandson and granddaughter are unmarried too.
Family lines and patterns are fascinating , at least to me. Then family nationalities and migrations provide another element to our story
but I will leave that for another day.
Hi Rhonda,
Thank you so much for sharing your beautiful musings about family
and memory! How fortunate you are to be able to recall and capture
memories of your own grandmother from the past and to think so
deeply about life aborning in your family. I feel sure that your
grandchildren will treasure the memories you can pass on to them
about life when you were growing up and about your relationship
with your own grandmother. I have a lovely friend Janis who started
keeping a simple journal for her grandchildren. She told stories
about herself growing up in its pages and also reflected on her
thought about seeing her grandchildren grow and change. Perhaps
this might be an idea for you to consider. You could write one journal
and all your grandchildren could share it. What a precious keepsake
that would make.
I so agree with you that email tends to encourage brevity and
that’s why I love to write by hand in notebooks. I can wander and
muse wherever my mind takes me.
I hope you’ll let me know how you’re doing and continue reading
my posts.
Write on,
Karin