---
title: "1 Tell Writing Quotes By Natalie Goldberg"
description: "1 Tell Writing quotes by Natalie Goldberg. Plus more from Natalie Goldberg and more Tell Writing sayings from other authors."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/acd/natalie-goldberg-1741_adages_there-s-an-old-adage-in-writing-don-t-te_1407743.jpg"
---

> [There's an old adage in writing: 'Don't tell, but show.' Writing is not psychology. We do not talk 'about' feelings. Instead the writer feels and through her words awakens those feelings in the reader. The writer takes the reader's hand…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/natalie-goldberg/there-s-an-old-adage-in-writing-don-t-tell-but-show-writing-is-not/)

[Natalie Goldberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/natalie-goldberg/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/acd/natalie-goldberg-1741_adages_there-s-an-old-adage-in-writing-don-t-te_1407743.jpg)

## More by Natalie Goldberg

> [“We heard about people who go back to their roots. That is good, but don't get stuck in the root. There is the branch,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/natalie-goldberg/we-heard-about-people-who-go-back-to-their-roots-that-is-good-but-don/)

[Natalie Goldberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/natalie-goldberg/)

> [Over and over, we have to go back to the beginning. We should not be ashamed of this. It is good. It's like drinking…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/natalie-goldberg/over-and-over-we-have-to-go-back-to-the-beginning-we-should-not-be/)

[Natalie Goldberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/natalie-goldberg/)

> [I feel very rich when I have time to write and very poor when I get a regular paycheck and no time at my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/natalie-goldberg/i-feel-very-rich-when-i-have-time-to-write-and-very-poor-when-i-get-a/)

[Natalie Goldberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/natalie-goldberg/)

> [Actually, when I look at my old notebooks, I think I have been a bit self-indulgent and have given myself too much time to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/natalie-goldberg/actually-when-i-look-at-my-old-notebooks-i-think-i-have-been-a-bit/)

[Natalie Goldberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/natalie-goldberg/)

> [Our bodies are garbage heaps: we collect experience, and from the decomposition of the thrown-out eggshells, spinach leaves, coffee grinds, and old steak bones…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/natalie-goldberg/our-bodies-are-garbage-heaps-we-collect-experience-and-from-the/)

[Natalie Goldberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/natalie-goldberg/)

> [Know that you will eventually have to leave everything behind; the writing will demand it of you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/natalie-goldberg/know-that-you-will-eventually-have-to-leave-everything-behind-the/)

[Natalie Goldberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/natalie-goldberg/)

> [To encounter a fine book and have time to read it is a wonderful thing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/natalie-goldberg/to-encounter-a-fine-book-and-have-time-to-read-it-is-a-wonderful-thing/)

[Natalie Goldberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/natalie-goldberg/)

> [In the past few years I've assigned books to be read before a student attends one of my weeklong seminars. I have been astonished…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/natalie-goldberg/in-the-past-few-years-i-ve-assigned-books-to-be-read-before-a-student/)

[Natalie Goldberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/natalie-goldberg/)

> [“When you draw and pay attention to what is, it's a form of being present. This inspires the mind, makes it happy, and the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/natalie-goldberg/when-you-draw-and-pay-attention-to-what-is-it-s-a-form-of-being/)

[Natalie Goldberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/natalie-goldberg/)

> [Poetry is a dumb Buddha who thinks a donkey is as important as a diamond.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/natalie-goldberg/poetry-is-a-dumb-buddha-who-thinks-a-donkey-is-as-important-as-a/)

[Natalie Goldberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/natalie-goldberg/)

> [I told all kinds of stories about going to Japan, about playing ball with my father... I wanted to record my life in case…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/natalie-goldberg/i-told-all-kinds-of-stories-about-going-to-japan-about-playing-ball/)

[Natalie Goldberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/natalie-goldberg/)

> [“No matter what a person does to cover up and conceal themselves, when we write and lose control, I can spot a person from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/natalie-goldberg/no-matter-what-a-person-does-to-cover-up-and-conceal-themselves-when/)

[Natalie Goldberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/natalie-goldberg/)

> [To stay close and intimate with experience is to stay close to the mind; the nitty gritty mind of the way things really are.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/natalie-goldberg/to-stay-close-and-intimate-with-experience-is-to-stay-close-to-the/)

[Natalie Goldberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/natalie-goldberg/)

> [I read Eve Ensler and thought it was fabulous. Not only that, but it was really the only thing I could relate to about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/natalie-goldberg/i-read-eve-ensler-and-thought-it-was-fabulous-not-only-that-but-it/)

[Natalie Goldberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/natalie-goldberg/)

> [If you feel bored or uncomfortable as you're writing, ask yourself what's bothering you and write about that. Sometimes your creative energy is like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/natalie-goldberg/if-you-feel-bored-or-uncomfortable-as-you-re-writing-ask-yourself/)

[Natalie Goldberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/natalie-goldberg/)

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