Wild Mind: Living the Writer's Life

From Library Journal
This book is well intended but flawed by its somewhat incoherent style, lack of good writing, and an inability or unwillingness to target an audience. The brief autobiographical chapters offer counsel and moral support to the aspiring author, with a little Zen thrown in for good measure. There are several exercises for writing practice that are useful but can be invented or found elsewhere. The cosmic angle may appeal to those with New Age inclinations, although it may annoy others. While this book is inexpensive and accessible, a work on writing ought to contain some fine examples (e.g., Strunk and White's Elements of Style, or anything by William Zinsser).- Janice Braun, Medical Historical Lib., Yale Univ.Copyright 1990 Reed Business Information, Inc.


From AudioFile
"I could stand on the Rue de Rivoli: BEING," says Goldberg. By the time I reached side four, I wished that she would. Her French accent is abysmal, and her Latin is off, too ("ik cetera" for "et cetera"). Happily, most of this audiobook is in English, or some version of it made up of psycho-babble and cosmic abstractions. At best, Goldberg's voice is incantatory, and she has a habit of beginning new sections without pausing so that different topics are oddly juxtaposed. However, this book treats writing as a spiritual practice. This is a smart idea that works. Goldberg projects warmth and genuine kindness to the listener and passion for the act of writing. E.K.D. (c)AudioFile, Portland, Maine


Book Description
Natalie Goldberg, author of the bestselling Writing Down The Bones, teaches a method of writing that can take you beyond craft to the true source of creative power: The mind that is "raw, full of energy, alive and hungry."Here is compassionate, practical, and often humorous advice about how to find time to write, how to discover your personal style, how to make sentences come alive, and how to overcome procrastination and writer's block -- including more than thirty provocative "Try this" exercises to get your pen moving.And here also is a larger vision of the writer's task: balancing daily responsibilities with a commitment to writing; knowing when to take risks as a writer and a human being; coming to terms with success and failure and loss; and learning self-acceptance -- both in life and art.Wild Mind will change your way of writing. It may also change your life.


The publisher, Bantam Doubleday Dell Publishing Group, Inc.
"Natalie Goldberg, author of the bestselling Writing Down The Bones, teaches a method of writing that can take you beyond craft to the true source of creative power: The mind that is "raw, full of energy, alive and hungry."Here is compassionate, practical, and often humorous advice about how to find time to write, how to discover your personal style, how to make sentences come alive, and how to overcome procrastination and writer's block -- including more than thirty provocative "Try this" exercises to get your pen moving.And here also is a larger vision of the writer's task: balancing daily responsibilities with a commitment to writing; knowing when to take risks as a writer and a human being; coming to terms with success and failure and loss; and learning self-acceptance -- both in life and art.Wild Mind will change your way of writing. It may also change your life.


From the Inside Flap
Natalie Goldberg, author of the bestselling  Writing Down The Bones, teaches a method  of writing that can take you beyond craft to the  true source of creative power: The mind that is  "raw, full of energy, alive and  hungry."



Here is compassionate, practical, and often  humorous advice about how to find time to write,  how to discover your personal style, how to make  sentences come alive, and how to overcome  procrastination and writer's block -- including more than  thirty provocative "Try this" exercises to  get your pen moving.



And here also  is a larger vision of the writer's task:  balancing daily responsibilities with a commitment to  writing; knowing when to take risks as a writer and a  human being; coming to terms with success and  failure and loss; and learning self-acceptance -- both  in life and art.



Wild  Mind will change your way of writing. It  may also change your life.


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This book is well intended but flawed by its somewhat incoherent style, lack of good writing, and an inability or unwillingness to target an audience. The brief autobiographical chapters offer counsel and moral support to the aspiring author, with a little Zen thrown in for good measure. There are several exercises for writing practice that are useful but can be invented or found elsewhere. The cosmic angle may appeal to those with New Age inclinations, although it may annoy others. While this book is inexpensive and accessible, a work on writing ought to contain some fine examples (e.g., Strunk and White's Elements of Style, or anything by William Zinsser).-- Janice Braun, Medical Historical Lib., Yale Univ.


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