Table of Contents
Foreword Julia Cameron xi
Foreword Bill Addison xiii
Preface to the Thirtieth Anniversary Edition xvii
Preface to the Second Edition xxi
Introduction 1
Beginner's Mind, Pen and Paper 5
First Thoughts 8
Writing as a Practice 11
Composting 15
Artistic Stability 18
A List of Topics for Writing Practice 21
Fighting Tofu 25
Trouble with the Editor 28
Elkton, Minnesota: Whatever's in Front of You 29
Tap the Water Table 32
We Are Not the Poem 34
Man Eats Car 36
Writing Is Not a McDonald's Hamburger 39
Obsessions 42
Original Detail 45
The Power of Detail 47
Baking a Cake 50
Living Twice 53
Writers Have Good Figures 55
Listening 57
Don't Marry the Fly 60
Don't Use Writing to Get Love 62
What Are Your Deep Dreams? 65
Syntax 67
Nervously Sipping Wine 72
Don't Tell, but Show 75
Be Specific 77
Big Concentration 79
The Ordinary and Extraordinary 81
Talk Is the Exercise Ground 84
Writing Is a Communal Act 86
One Plus One Equals a Mercedes-Benz 89
Be an Animal 90
Make Statements and Answer Questions 93
The Action of a Sentence 95
Writing in Restaurants 98
The Writing Studio 103
A Big Topic: Eroticism 105
A Tourist in Your Own Town 108
Write Anyplace 110
Go Further 112
Engendering Compassion 114
Doubt Is Torture 117
A Little Sweet 119
A New Moment 120
Why Do I Write? 122
Every Monday 126
More About Mondays 128
Spontaneous Writing Booths 130
A Sensation of Space 133
A Large Field to Wander In 136
The Goody Two-Shoes Nature 140
No Hindrances 144
A Meal You Love 147
Use Loneliness 149
Blue Lipstick and a Cigarette Hanging Out Your Mouth 151
Going Home 152
A Story Circle 156
Writing Marathons 160
Claim Your Writing 164
Trust Yourself 167
The Samurai 169
Rereading and Rewriting 172
I Don't Want to Die 177
Epilogue 179
Afterword: An Interview with the Author 181
Natalie Goldberg in Her Own Voice 196
Notes 198
