Goldberg

SO happy to have been introduced to this book. Ms. Goldberg has some really great insights on how to get over your insecurities and apprehensions about writing. I feel, personally, as a writer I find myself being too concerned about what other people think. Will anybody else agree with me? Do I sound intelligent collected? Is my idea/story important? When we were studying last week about ethnography, I couldn’t help but wonder if people were truly able to be themselves when they knew someone else was observing them. I think this paradigm can carry over to the writing world as well - when writers are writing for an audience, sometimes they can’t always be themselves and say what they want or need to say. 

What I like about Goldberg is her attitude about truth in writing. I really enjoyed her chapter on The Power of Detail when she notes, “Our details are important. Otherwise, if they are not, we can drop a bomb and it doesn’t matter…We have lived; our moments are important. This is what it is to be a writer: to be the to be the carrier of details that make up history” (Pp. 47-48). I can’t even count how many times I’ve started writing something and quit because I didn’t think my story was worth the time. But it is worth it. Writing down my history, my thoughts, my feelings is vital because it’s been my life. No matter how silly, strange, awful, or sad the information, it’s all been part of what made me. Years down the road, maybe I will have forgotten who I used to be, and how I used to think and live. These pieces of writing will be what I have to remember myself, and to keep in touch with my young spirit. Even if no one else ever reads my work, or thinks it’s interesting or important, it will be a great privilege for me to look back on. 

Blue Lipstick and a Cigarette Hanging Out Your Mouth made me laugh a little. I was just picturing myself in overalls with curlers in my hair, walking across the street to French Press. I sort of understand where Goldberg is coming from - trying to force yourself to write from different perspectives. But I think some of these shenanigans are a tad extreme and would make me feel more self-conscious than open-minded. What I can agree with though is when she writes “Sometimes there is just no way around it - we are boring and we are sick of ourselves, our voice, and the usual material we write about” (p. 151). I can totally dig the idea of playing dress-up though, as I enjoy (on occasion) wearing big hats and dresses that look like they’ve been jacked from June Cleaver’s closet. Doing dumb things like that can really put you in a different frame of mind sometimes, just like being in different places. I like writing when I venture off to new places alone. On my way driving home to The Bay or visiting friends in LA I often stop and sit somewhere quiet to think, sometimes write, and mostly be peaceful. 

Loneliness is for sure a huge part of writing. Goldberg tells us “Art is communication. Taste the bitterness of isolation, and from that place feel a kinship and compassion for all people who have been alone” (p. 150). Being isolated and having time to reflect on your life alone is always beneficial to writing. In life we constantly have to be surrounded by others, get things approved, follow directions, and listen to what other people say. Being alone can give you the chance to say f*uck those people and their opinions and policies. Writing about your feelings can make them more concrete, and ultimately make you more steadfast in those feelings. We all have something important to say through our writing, and we are all alone in it together.