what she is talking about isn't product but PROCESS. the teacher can only (hopefuly) help you open the door/awaken you to the possibilities. she/he shouldn't shove you thru or you haven't gotten there on your own/made it your own. what NG has done for many people (myself included) is energize that "what-the-hell-go-for-it" attitude that can make the difference between doing it or sitting on the sidelines taking the cowardly, easy "critic" dork "show me the money" stance of some here....
THat guy read her book when he was 13. And look: he still hasn't made it. He is still a nobody. So you go and figure !! No substitute for talent, regardless of how many of these second rate 'how to' books one reads !!
read her short short story Pen and Notebook on the smokelong site - she cannot write for toffee- what a tiresome bag of clichés the story is -if it representative of her writing -YEUCH ! how awful- like the tripe she is spouting here -Writing is NOT about being a good citizen- what a plonker !
this woman has done great things for beginning writers, but she is so rude and full of herself. She is extremely condescending, especially to people under thirty. Her ego is ironic especially when considering her zen background. I don't reccomend seeing her in person; and don't be surprised if she belittles you. Seriously, this woman needs to be taken down a peg.
What is so wrong with feeling affirmed? I'm sure Natalie Goldberg is well aware that the majority of the people she teaches will never be published. She teaches writing as a process, an end in and of itself, not necessarily as a means to get published. Writing can be a very enlivening, enriching, mind-expanding, meditative, and therapeutic activity. It enhances our ability to know ourselves and communicate with others. I'm grateful for people like Natalie who encourage this activity in everyone.
i agree to an extent writers like juilia cameron and natalie goldberg are self help artists however i would'nt go as far to say that their help is'nt useful. they have helped my writting a little in places so their advice should'nt be disgarded as consquently invaluble
Bogus, touchy-feely, navel-gazing self-introspection never made a good writer. This is all about making yourself feel like a precious and unique snowflake, not a writer. See how far this tripe gets you when you approach a publishing house or literary agency.
bob, you are SO RIGHT. SOOO RIGHT. exactly summarizes my thoughts as i listened to one of her workshop recordings today. i kept thinking, 'this is self esteem, not ideas, not story, not substance.
it almost seems to me like her goal really is to feel affirmed, not to enjoy the POWER in a good story.
some of her musings could be good in a meditations sort of way, i think. but she is clearly not a writing coach.
(you nailed it with the 'approach an editor' observation. right on!!)
Like Julia Cameron (The Artist's Way), Goldberg is a hack self-help guru in it purely for the buck. Any publisher, or Oprah, will tell you that if you want to make millions, appeal to an individual's vanity and self-image. Goldberg's scam is to make people feel artistic. She teaches nothing, no technique, no professionalism. She is no different than the hacks on Oprah who flog diet scams and get-rich-quick (Law of Attraction) bullshit to suckers who want to buy their success, not earn it.
"See how far this tripe gets you" Ah yes, publishers want gritty realism -- sex lives of celebrities, the lies of economists who don't know what they're talking about, the roar of the quantum cannon on starships in faraway galaxies, the samurai legend who knows the way to the golden castle in the forest, the poker god who can teach you to make millions. Self-introspection is for losers who like, think and feel, love, hurt, and heal, all that sissy stuff. No future in that, is there?
I have to agree with RestiveBob. Goldberg isn't an instructor of writing; she's a monument to the hippy generation.
Put any of her books up against, just for example, Sol Stein's "Stein on Writing." Read both books, then see if you can actually claim she talks about writing...with a straight face!
Goldberg's books are for lonely, middle-aged, depressed women who want to feel special and unique. But if you want to learn the craft of writing, she has nearly nothing to help you.
More please. Love this. Any time with Natalie is quality time. I loved her book, "Writing Down The Bones" so much I didn't want it to end. It was like visiting with a dear friend, so much so, I decided then when I read it the first time on recommendation from Patty Larkin, that when I got my first dachshund puppy I would name her Natalie. The most important recognition that we crave is from our inner selves. BE, WRITE, LIVE, LOVE ~ out loud. Natalie Goldberg is a treasure. Thank you Natalie.
her book is so condescending, like writers are a different breed of human. it's really irritating
Jexxmix 6 months ago
what she is talking about isn't product but PROCESS. the teacher can only (hopefuly) help you open the door/awaken you to the possibilities. she/he shouldn't shove you thru or you haven't gotten there on your own/made it your own. what NG has done for many people (myself included) is energize that "what-the-hell-go-for-it" attitude that can make the difference between doing it or sitting on the sidelines taking the cowardly, easy "critic" dork "show me the money" stance of some here....
djdollase 8 months ago
THat guy read her book when he was 13. And look: he still hasn't made it. He is still a nobody. So you go and figure !! No substitute for talent, regardless of how many of these second rate 'how to' books one reads !!
ZachClooney 10 months ago
wow you guys are harsh, have any of you taken a workshop with her?
sgagos 11 months ago 2
...So what does she write other than self help books for writers? Has she published anything else? CAN she publish anything else??????
Starcasegurl 1 year ago
read her short short story Pen and Notebook on the smokelong site - she cannot write for toffee- what a tiresome bag of clichés the story is -if it representative of her writing -YEUCH ! how awful- like the tripe she is spouting here -Writing is NOT about being a good citizen- what a plonker !
tumadoireacht 1 year ago
this woman has done great things for beginning writers, but she is so rude and full of herself. She is extremely condescending, especially to people under thirty. Her ego is ironic especially when considering her zen background. I don't reccomend seeing her in person; and don't be surprised if she belittles you. Seriously, this woman needs to be taken down a peg.
StellaJervis 2 years ago
What is so wrong with feeling affirmed? I'm sure Natalie Goldberg is well aware that the majority of the people she teaches will never be published. She teaches writing as a process, an end in and of itself, not necessarily as a means to get published. Writing can be a very enlivening, enriching, mind-expanding, meditative, and therapeutic activity. It enhances our ability to know ourselves and communicate with others. I'm grateful for people like Natalie who encourage this activity in everyone.
paulhorn27 2 years ago 3
i agree to an extent writers like juilia cameron and natalie goldberg are self help artists however i would'nt go as far to say that their help is'nt useful. they have helped my writting a little in places so their advice should'nt be disgarded as consquently invaluble
andgadoline 2 years ago
Bogus, touchy-feely, navel-gazing self-introspection never made a good writer. This is all about making yourself feel like a precious and unique snowflake, not a writer. See how far this tripe gets you when you approach a publishing house or literary agency.
RestiveBob 3 years ago
bob, you are SO RIGHT. SOOO RIGHT. exactly summarizes my thoughts as i listened to one of her workshop recordings today. i kept thinking, 'this is self esteem, not ideas, not story, not substance.
it almost seems to me like her goal really is to feel affirmed, not to enjoy the POWER in a good story.
some of her musings could be good in a meditations sort of way, i think. but she is clearly not a writing coach.
(you nailed it with the 'approach an editor' observation. right on!!)
ltum2 2 years ago
Like Julia Cameron (The Artist's Way), Goldberg is a hack self-help guru in it purely for the buck. Any publisher, or Oprah, will tell you that if you want to make millions, appeal to an individual's vanity and self-image. Goldberg's scam is to make people feel artistic. She teaches nothing, no technique, no professionalism. She is no different than the hacks on Oprah who flog diet scams and get-rich-quick (Law of Attraction) bullshit to suckers who want to buy their success, not earn it.
RestiveBob 2 years ago
@ltum2 I believe the POWER in a good story stems from the experience, esteem and knowledge that she encourages
brdy 1 year ago
@ltum2 And if you want to write prescriptive commercialized garbage, then Natalie is not the person you want to have as a writing coach
brdy 1 year ago 4
"See how far this tripe gets you" Ah yes, publishers want gritty realism -- sex lives of celebrities, the lies of economists who don't know what they're talking about, the roar of the quantum cannon on starships in faraway galaxies, the samurai legend who knows the way to the golden castle in the forest, the poker god who can teach you to make millions. Self-introspection is for losers who like, think and feel, love, hurt, and heal, all that sissy stuff. No future in that, is there?
maz4w5 2 years ago
I have to agree with RestiveBob. Goldberg isn't an instructor of writing; she's a monument to the hippy generation.
Put any of her books up against, just for example, Sol Stein's "Stein on Writing." Read both books, then see if you can actually claim she talks about writing...with a straight face!
Goldberg's books are for lonely, middle-aged, depressed women who want to feel special and unique. But if you want to learn the craft of writing, she has nearly nothing to help you.
DeathToAllReligions 2 years ago
@DeathToAllReligions
Squareplanets 3 months ago
She is my favorite teacher, from afar. Love her.
leahhaswings 3 years ago 8
More please. Love this. Any time with Natalie is quality time. I loved her book, "Writing Down The Bones" so much I didn't want it to end. It was like visiting with a dear friend, so much so, I decided then when I read it the first time on recommendation from Patty Larkin, that when I got my first dachshund puppy I would name her Natalie. The most important recognition that we crave is from our inner selves. BE, WRITE, LIVE, LOVE ~ out loud. Natalie Goldberg is a treasure. Thank you Natalie.
laurenpass 3 years ago 2