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| Writing as a Practice; by Natalie Goldberg | |
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| Tweet Topic Started: Aug 27 2012, 05:33 PM (273 Views) | |
| Oop | Aug 27 2012, 05:33 PM Post #1 |
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so they scream
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I'm in a creative writing class this semester, and this is one of the excerpts we've read so far. I thought it was inspiring and motivating, especially for some of us on here who aren't as active as they used to be because they're always in and out of funks. So here's an excerpt of an excerpt. (Any mistakes in it are mine, because I had to retype the entire thing.) Click the title for more from Natalie Goldberg. Writing as a Practice by Natalie Goldberg This is the practice school of writing. Like running, the more you do it, the better you get at it. Some days you don't want to run and you resist every step of the three miles, but you do it anyway. You practice whether you want to or not. You don't wait around for inspiration or a deep desire to run. It'll never happen, especially if you are out of shape and have been avoiding it. But if you run regularly, you train your mind to cut through or ignore your resistance. You just do it. And in the middle of the run, you love it. When you come to the end, you never want to stop. And you stop, hungry for the next time. That's how writing is, too. Once you're deep into it, you wonder what took you so long to finally settle down at the desk. Through practice, you actually do get better. You learn to trust your deep self more and not give in to your voice that wants to avoid writing. It is odd that we never question the feasibility of a football team practicing long hours for one game, yet in writing we rarely give ourselves the space for practice. When you write, don't say, "I'm going to write a poem." That attitude will freeze you right away. Sit down with the least expectation of yourself, say, "I am free to write the worst junk in the world." You have to give yourself the space to write a lot without destination. Edited by Oop, May 19 2016, 12:50 PM.
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7:47 PM Jul 10