I’ve been reading a lot of books on the craft of writing lately, perhaps as a way to inspire myself to become a better writer. Throughout this journey, I have discovered a few authors who amaze me. Natalie Goldberg is one of them. Her book, Writing Down the Bones has such good advice and encouragement for all writers, not just beginners. Here is a snippet about original detail. It was too good to summarize, so I thought I’d share it with you:
Life is so rich, if you can write down the real details of the way things were and are, you hardly need anything else. Even if you transplant the beveled windows, slow-rotating Rheingold sign, Wise potato chip rack, and tall red stools from the Aero Tavern that you drank in in New York into a bar in a story in another state and time, the story will have authenticity and groundedness. “Oh, no, that bar was on Long Island, I can’t put it in New Jersey” – yes, you can. You don’t have to be rigid about original detail. The imagination is capable of detail transplants, but using the details you actually know and have seen will give your writing believability and truthfulness. It creates a good solid foundation from which you can build… Be awake to the details around you, but don’t be self-conscious. “Okay, I’m at a wedding. The bride has on blue. The groom is wearing a red carnation. They are serving chopped liver on doilies.” Relax, enjoy the wedding, be present with an open heart. You will naturally take in your environment, and later, sitting at your desk, you will be able to recall just how it was dancing with the bride’s redhead mother, seeing the bit of red lipstick smeared on her front tooth when she smiled, and smelling her perfume mixed with perspiration.
Three Hundred Pages 