Natalie Goldberg, in her classic book, Writing Down the Bones, helped me return to writing after a ten-year hiatus.
She encourages us to treat writing as a practice, not a product.
Goldberg also recommends that we write fast, by hand, for a set time, usually ten minutes or so, letting thoughts flow and exploring the topic on the page before trying to fashion it into a story.
I recently found Goldberg’s Writing Down the Bones Deck: 60 Cards to Free the Writer Within. It has sixty prompt cards, each with guidance on the back, and can be used in any order. Tonight, I chose card #22: “Tell me how you learned to drive.”
Let’s take ten minutes to freewrite about learning to drive. Write your story, and when you’re ready, share it with us in the comments section below.
But always remember: The only way to do this wrong is to not do it at all!
Until next month, happy writing, everybody.
A special memory
Here is my story from yesterday. I hope you enjoy reading it.