Of all the books I have, I think the two that are good for starting out are:
Writing down the bones by Natalie Goldberg
The sound of paper by Julia Cameron
Why? To get ideas to write something. Anything. Get the flow going.
Natalie Goldberg recommends in the chapter ‘First Thoughts’ in Writing down the bones, ways to free write.
1. Keep your hand moving.
2. Don’t cross out.
3. Don’t worry about spelling, punctuation, grammar.
4. Lose control.
5. Don’t think. Don’t get logical.
6. Go for the jugular.
These are not the only books out there and they can only give you prompts to get you started.
So keep going. Do 5 minutes of free writing now.
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“Go for the jugular.” – very graphic suggestion!
It is. I probably should have written what was next to that in the book. This is what Natalie Goldberg wrote next to point 6.
“If something comes up in your writing that is scary or naked, dive right into it. It probably has lots of energy.”
Thanks – yes – I gathered she must have meant something like that. Good one, though! Likely to remember it 🙂