WRITING PRACTICE

The late Ed Wildman attended a workshop by Natalie Goldberg in Taos, New Mexico and the Headwaters Writers’ Guild sessions/meetings are based on this workshop.

At my first workshop with Ed (October 25, 2001) he claimed that if you followed her principal of writing practice that you’d never have writer’s block again. I’ve cut and pasted the principals below. They are listed on our website http://owg.netfirms.com/

WRITING PRACTICE –The Late Ed Wildman
(From a workshop Ed took from Natalie Goldberg, Writing Down the Bones)

1 Keep Your Hand MovingFollow your strongest thought. The faster you can go the better -- Sprint from start to finish.
2. Abandon NeatnessThis is the messy school of writing. I write on every second line because when my writing practice really takes off I sometimes have a terrible time trying to decipher what I have written.
3. Lose ControlThis is not the time for forethought, planning or making demands on yourself. Just follow your mind and see where it leads you.
4. Never Cross OutSometimes as Gord L. once remarked, the pen has a mind of its own, a mind which comes up with totally unexpected things.
5. Don’t Worry About Grammar, Punctuation or SpellingWe want first thoughts, original mind, and none of the old school requirements have a place here.
6. Write What Hurts, What MattersNatalie Goldberg speaks of going for the jugular. You’ll find the originality and the energy that makes for exciting writing.
7. Feel Free To Write the Worst Junk in the WorldWriting practice is a time to suspend your judgement, to take risks, to write nonsense if it comes up, to laugh out loud or cry if you want to but forget about worry, about the significance. This is a form of play and your only job is to have fun doing it.
8. Be SpecificAs you settle into your writing practice try to give things their proper names: I.E. Oak rather than tree, rose rather than flower, but don’t sweat this, particularly at the beginning. If your first thoughts are general, let them flow. You can get specific when you decide to write.
9. Relax Have Fun
10. Find Someone Or a Group And Read What You’ve Written AloudSomething special happens when you read your writing aloud to another person.

Positive Feedback We encourage and inspire our members and everything that happens in the group stays in the group. (This was added as we live in a small community.)


At the first session and whenever new people attended Ed's writing workshops, we started with the prompt— What I remember is . . .

Why not try it and see where the pen takes you?

Keep writing.