The Essential Writer's Notebook: A Step-by-Step Guide to Better Writing

by Natalie Goldberg

Written and illustrated by Natalie Goldberg, who teaches writing in workshops nationwide. She is the best-selling author of several books on ''Writing Down the Bones,'' ''Wild Mind,'' and ''Thunder and Lightning.'' This beautiful notebook, illustrated by the author's own paintings, provides the perfect opportunity for would-be writers, as well as those seeking a fresh approach to their work, to learn simple techniques that will help them master the basics of the craft. Inspired by the philosophy of Zen Buddhism, the book provides a complete step-by-step mini-course on how to write clearly and powerfully. Abundant lined pages can be used for writing practice. Concealed wire-o binding lies flat. 160 lined pages; hardcover; 6-1/4'' wide x 8-1/4'' high.

Genres: Writing, Nonfiction, Reference

160 pages, Spiral-bound

First published January 1, 2001

About the author

Natalie Goldberg lived in Brooklyn until she was six, when her family moved out to Farmingdale, Long Island, where her father owned the bar the Aero Tavern. From a young age, Goldberg was mad for books and reading, and especially loved Carson McCullers's The Ballad of the Sad Cafe , which she read in ninth grade. She thinks that single book led her eventually to put pen to paper when she was twenty-four years old. She received a BA in English literature from George Washington University and an MA in humanities from St. John's University.

Goldberg has painted for as long as she has written, and her paintings can be seen in Living Color: A Writer Paints Her World and Top of My Lungs: Poems and Paintings. They can also be viewed at the Ernesto Mayans Gallery on Canyon Road in Sante Fe.

A dedicated teacher, Goldberg has taught writing and literature for the last thirty-five years. She also leads national workshops and retreats, and her schedule can be accessed via her website: nataliegoldberg.com

In 2006, she completed with the filmmaker Mary Feidt a one-hour documentary, Tangled Up in Bob, about Bob Dylan's childhood on the Iron Range in Northern Minnesota. The film can be obtained on Amazon or the website tangledupinbob.com.

Goldberg has been a serious Zen practitioner since 1974 and studied with Katagiri Roshi from 1978 to 1984.

Reviews

[Jean Bowen]

A spiral bound notebook with prompts. The prompts have similar content to her book, "Writing Down The Bones." I found it at a local goodwill and couldn't resist but I don't know that I will actually write in it.

[Michelle · Rating 3 out of 5]

For what it is, a notebook with writing prompts, it's fine. I'm just not a conscripted type journaler. I'll probably give it to someone who is.