by Eva Dameron
Daily Lobo
Twenty years ago, Natalie Goldberg broke the paradigm on the way people approach writing with her best-selling book Writing Down the Bones.
"I told people to use it as a practice, make it a practice you do all the time - good or bad, just keep the pen moving," she said. "Before that, people were afraid - they edited - they wrote the word 'the' and crossed it out, and after an hour, they only had 10 crossed-out words. It's an athletic activity; you get better as you practice."
When her book came out, there were no writing sections in bookstores, Goldberg said. Since then, it has sold millions of copies and has been translated into 14 languages. The book is used to teach writing in high schools and universities.
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She will read excerpts from her book to celebrate its 20th anniversary at 4 p.m. today in Acoma rooms A and B, on the third floor of the SUB. She will also read from her upcoming book Old Friend From Far Away.
She said she hopes she will inspire people to write, because many students talk about writing but barely get around to it.
"The most important thing is shut up and write," Goldberg said. "People talk about it all the time, and what you have to do is pick up a pen and a piece of paper and do it. It's just like going on a diet - you just have to do it."
While people have a deep desire to write, they have a hard time following through with the writing process, she said.
"People are afraid to write," she said. "It's natural for people to want to write. Horses don't do it; ants don't do it; clouds don't do it. It's a natural human phenomenon. It should be in the Declaration of Independence - pursuit of happiness and writing."
She said she's received fan mail from a wide spectrum of people.
"I've gotten fan letters across the line," she said. "From vice presidents of insurance agencies, factory workers, blue collar workers - across the line, people have a need to write."
As a Zen practitioner of 30 years, she's learned that writing is a study of human intellect, she said.
"Writing practice is not rooted in an individual's creative idea," Goldberg said. "It's rooted in 2,000 years of watching the mind, studying the mind. The more you understand the human mind, the better you can use your tool."
She said good ways to study the brain are meditating, running and soaking up the wisdom of Bob Dylan, who she made a documentary about and will be showing it after her reading as an extra treat.
"I've studied his mind by studying his songs," she said. "He continues to create. It's not like going to see the Rolling Stones where they play old stuff. He's vital and changing. He's a great example for anyone who wants to create."
Along with friend and filmmaker Mary Feidt, she filmed 100 hours of footage on the Iron Range in Hibbing, Minn., where Dylan lived from 6 to 18, and again when he was 20.
"I wanted to see what influence the Iron Range had on his
childhood and his songwriting and how he became an artist," she said. "We found his English teacher, who's 80 years old; we found his best friend; we went to the high school auditorium where he was singing Little Richie, and the principal pulled the plug. So, it's a documentary about where we come from and how it influences creativity."
The documentary, "Tangled Up in Bob: Searching for Bob Dylan," plays at 7 p.m. today in Rodey Theatre.
