You'll lose your reader if you are vague, not clear, and not present. We love details, personal connections, stories.
Natalie GoldbergUse loneliness. Its ache creates urgency to reconnect with the world. Take that aching and use it to propel you deeper into your need for expression - to speak, to say who you are.
Natalie GoldbergSometimes when you think you are done, it is just the edge of beginning. Probably that's why we decide we're done. It's getting too scary. We are touching down onto something real. It is beyond the point when you think you are done that often something strong comes out.
Natalie GoldbergChoose your tools carefully, but not so carefully that you get uptight or spend more time at the stationery store than at your writing table.
Natalie GoldbergThat daydreaming seemed important at the time, but when I asked my teacher Katagiri Roshi about it, he said, "Oh, it's just laziness. Get to work." But as for discipline, I don't even use that word. I think more about passion or love. What I've really learned is the way the mind moves, and how the mind works. Rather than discipline, I know how to seduce my mind.
Natalie Goldberg