Push yourself beyond when you think you are done with what you have to say. […] It is beyond the point when… — Natalie Goldberg

What is important is not just what you do - "I am writing a book" - but how you do it, how you approach it, and what you come to value.

[…] There are many realities. We should remember this when we get too caught in being concerned about the way the rest of the world lives or how we think they live.

We give a lot of names to our excuses, to the reasons we don't want to write or we're afraid to. Finally, if you want to write, you have to just shut up, pick up a pen, and do it. I'm sorry there are no true excuses. Shut up and write.

[…] It's pretty nice to be talented. If you are, enjoy, but it won't take you that far. Work takes you a lot further.

[…] In writing I have confidence. Because I say I'm going to do it and I do it. That's all. Writing is the one thing in my life I continually show up for. I have given 100 percent to writing practice. That's what builds confidence.

[…] Don't be tossed away by your monkey mind. … These little voices are constantly going to be nagging at us. If you make a decision to do something, you do it. Don't be tossed away. … Don't be thrown off by yourself or anyone else. Let your big mind move forward.

It is a good idea to have a page in your notebook where you jot down, as they come to you, ideas of topics to write about. […] Add to the list any time you think of something. Then when you sit down to write, you can just grab a topic from that list and begin.

Making a list is good. It makes you start noticing material for writing in your daily life, and your writing comes out of a relationship with your life and its texture.

[...] Naturally, once you begin writing you might be surprised where your mind takes the topic. That's good. You are not trying to control your writing. You are stepping out of the way. Keep your hand moving.