The very first writing book I ever owned was a Christmas gift from my brother-in-law and his wife way back in 1993. It was a copy of Natalie Goldberg’s Writing Down the Bones. Dog-eared now and covered in notes and highlights, it is still one of my favorite books and I’d always dreamed of joining one of her workshops even though going to Santa Fe wasn’t something I could afford. The dream lingered.
Fast forward to 2007. Since receiving
that book, I have moved across Canada from Alberta to Ontario and, in order to
meet some like-minded people, joined a writing group that uses Ms. Goldberg’s
teachings as a template to run their meetings. It’s the closest opportunity I
have to actually attending one of her workshops, so it’ll do.
Then along came Covid and things
changed. Some of them for the better! One of those things was making mentorships
even more accessible than ever.
A few weeks ago I found a link from Prajna Studios, a division of Shambhala Publications, about a virtual Writing Down the
Bones webinar featuring my dream mentor—you guessed it!—Natalie Goldberg.
“Yeah. Right. It’s going to cost a
fortune,” I told the link, but clicked on it anyway.
Up came a video with Natalie sharing
three key points that came
to guide and anchor her writing life over the past decades. The video was a
little hard to hear but in a nutshell, they are:
- Continue under all circumstances.
- Don’t be tossed away.
- Make positive effort for the good.
Trust me, everyone who clicks on the
link gets to hear them. I’m not giving away deep dark secrets!
The deeper into the rabbit hole I dug,
the more I realized I could actually learn from the woman who was a huge
inspiration to me so many years ago without having to pay a small fortune!
Do I dive in? The price was
reasonable. How could I refuse?
Or do I pretend I never saw the link?
Never went down that rabbit hole as inviting as it is?
Writing for me is like breathing. Ink
runs in my blood. If I didn’t dive in and do this, would I regret it later?
I
didn’t hesitate long. I dove right in and made sure I had all the reading
materials. I’ve finished my first section and halfway through the second while
reading many chapters from Natalie’s various books.
The
best part is I've already been meeting other classmates. Some we chat on a
forum and three others I’ve joined for a regular Sunday Writing session. We
write to prompts and share what we have written. We also encourage each other
to write and have fun with our projects.
Hopefully,
you have also discovered a mentor. Someone who will encourage you along your
path no matter what that may be.
Next month, I’ll share more about what I’ve
learned and will even get to do live, online sessions with Natalie!
Sounds great. As for a mentor Jane Toombs who wrote for BWL was mine for many years.
ReplyDeleteWriting Down the Bones was a must-read as well, when I started writing for publication. I was lucky to live in an area with many writers (Phoenix Arizona), with several Romance Writers and Mystery chapters. I attended many conferences, workshops, and seminars led by big name authors. My first experience was with Diana Gabaldon, who was the first to buy my first book (Ashes for the Elephant God) and read and praised it. I was stoked! Thanks for sharing.
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