Molly Sloan

14 July 1997

Goldberg, Natalie. Wild Mind: LIving the Writer's Life. New York: Bantam1990.

Major Points of Interest

Goldberg starts off with her rules for writing practice:

1. Keep your hand moving

2. Lose Control

3. Be specific

4. Don't think

5. Don't worry about punctuation, spelling, grammar

6. You are free to write the worst junk in America

7. Go for the jugular

Throughout the rest of the book , she shares personal anecdotes about her writing and offers "try this" exercises for writers. (not "writers-to-be"; she insists that we should just call ourselves "writers" and leave it at that) Many of the anecdotes she shares relate to the above rules--never quit (#1), just write, don't worry about editing (#s 2, 4, 5), be kind to yourself (#6), "dive deep", write about sadness & sorrow & color & light & all the things you don't want to write about & all that you do (#7). She also discusses verbs, adjectives, & specificity (#3).

2 Specific "try it" exercises that interested me:

1. timed writings (10 minutes)

I remember--I don't remember (10 minutes each; break in between, don't talk)

I'm thinking of--I'm not thinking of; I know--I don't know; I am--I am not

I want--I don't want; I feel--I don't feel

2. List 5 abstract statements (even as simple as "Thank you" "I'm sorry"). "Back up each one with at least a paragraph of solid, concrete details." Next, "describe a situation in detail and then take a leap into a cosmic statement."

Implications for my teaching

Although this is definitely not a book I would use as a "textbook" for a writing class, there were some valuable insights into writing that I hope to carry with me. I especially appreciate the "rules for writing practice," and though I may condense them into 4 rules, I plan to use that with my students. The whole idea of just writing & not worrying about what will show up is one that can be valuable with my students, I think. Convincing them to "keep their hand moving" for more than 30 seconds may be a real trial, but with practice they will, I believe, catch on. I also plan on using some of her "try it" exercises. More than anything else, though, I think this book will affect my teaching because it influenced me in my writing; it gave me freedom to have fun, to enjoy writing, to write.

How this book might interest others

This book would be of interest to anyone who wants to write--or who does write. I can also see it being a valuable tool for a creative writing teacher; there are man y insights into writing that could be shared with creative writing students & used in class. For more "expository" writing, the crossover may not be quite as obvious, although there are areas where connections could be drawn.

Return to "It's Summer Time"