--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I am free to write the worst junk in the…" description: "\"I am free to write the worst junk in the world.\" — Natalie Goldberg" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3d6/natalie-goldberg-1741_junk_i-am-free-to-write-the-worst-junk-in-the_3117537.png" --- # I am free to write the worst junk in the world. ![“I am free to write the worst junk in the world.” quote by Natalie Goldberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3d6/natalie-goldberg-1741_junk_i-am-free-to-write-the-worst-junk-in-the_3117537.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3d6/natalie-goldberg-1741_junk_i-am-free-to-write-the-worst-junk-in-the_3117537.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3d6/natalie-goldberg-1741_junk_i-am-free-to-write-the-worst-junk-in-the_3117537.png) > “I am free to write the worst junk in the world.” [Natalie Goldberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/natalie-goldberg/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Creative freedom allows writing anything, even low‑quality work, which can be a stepping stone to improvement. **In simple terms:** Write freely, even bad stuff. Key Takeaway Write without fear to improve skill. Themes creativity freedom growth mindset Mood playful thoughtful Type inspirational philosophical When to use this quote - journaling - drafting stories - blogging Key Concepts writing practice self‑expression Questions to Reflect On - What low‑quality piece taught you later? - How do you balance freedom with quality? A Different Perspective Writing poor material may waste time if not refined. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [World](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/world/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) ## Related quotes > [When you write, don't say, "I'm going to write a poem." That attitude will freeze you right away. Sit down with the least expectation…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/natalie-goldberg/when-you-write-don-t-say-i-m-going-to-write-a-poem-that-attitude-will/) [Natalie Goldberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/natalie-goldberg/) > [I think people are sick of trends changing every six months - not because we're tired of them, but just for the sake of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-ford/i-think-people-are-sick-of-trends-changing-every-six-months-not/) [Tom Ford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-ford/) > [“By turning back on verbal littering, you are suggesting that it's okay to junk the world.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-e-nelson/by-turning-back-on-verbal-littering-you-are-suggesting-that-it-s-okay/) [Alan E. Nelson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-e-nelson/) > [I worked as hard to write the worst film of the year as I did to write the best film of the year.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-helgeland/i-worked-as-hard-to-write-the-worst-film-of-the-year-as-i-did-to/) [Brian Helgeland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-helgeland/) > [I can't stress enough how important it is to write bad songs. There's a lot of people who don't want to finish songs because…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-mayer/i-can-t-stress-enough-how-important-it-is-to-write-bad-songs-there-s/) [John Mayer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-mayer/) > [Novelists should be free to write whatever they want, to let their imaginations roam as close to or as removed from reality as they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-weinman/novelists-should-be-free-to-write-whatever-they-want-to-let-their/) [Sarah Weinman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-weinman/) > [I believe that, in an ideal world, writers would feel free to write what matters to them without having to consider success, failure, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claire-messud/i-believe-that-in-an-ideal-world-writers-would-feel-free-to-write/) [Claire Messud](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claire-messud/) > [In the past, I was free to write in quiet and in the space wherever my desk was at. I could leave my instruments…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amanda-shires/in-the-past-i-was-free-to-write-in-quiet-and-in-the-space-wherever-my/) [Amanda Shires](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amanda-shires/) > [“I am free to write what I want and my readers are free to think what they can”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marlowe-sr/i-am-free-to-write-what-i-want-and-my-readers-are-free-to-think-what/) Marlowe Sr > [I wanted to be free to write the way I wanted to write, and my impression of Christian publishing, at least in fiction, was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sara-zarr/i-wanted-to-be-free-to-write-the-way-i-wanted-to-write-and-my/) [Sara Zarr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sara-zarr/) > [As far as I'm concerned, freedom is the most important thing to creativity. You should feel free to write in whatever way, whatever language,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-hirsch/as-far-as-i-m-concerned-freedom-is-the-most-important-thing-to/) [Edward Hirsch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-hirsch/) > [Everyone is free to write and say whatever he likes, without any restrictions.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vladimir-lenin/everyone-is-free-to-write-and-say-whatever-he-likes-without-any/) [Vladimir Lenin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vladimir-lenin/) > [“I write because I'm free, because I can, because I will. I write because I must, because I'm breathing, because I'd go crazy otherwise,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nad-ge-richards/i-write-because-i-m-free-because-i-can-because-i-will-i-write-because/) [Nadège Richards](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nad-ge-richards/) > [Except for the usual house chores, doing income tax, etc., I am free to write whenever I want.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yuriy-tarnawsky/except-for-the-usual-house-chores-doing-income-tax-etc-i-am-free-to/) [Yuriy Tarnawsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yuriy-tarnawsky/) > [By eating many fruits and vegetables in place of fast food and junk food, people could avoid obesity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-h-murdock/by-eating-many-fruits-and-vegetables-in-place-of-fast-food-and-junk/) [David H. Murdock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-h-murdock/) ## 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/) [Explore all 212 Natalie Goldberg quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/natalie-goldberg/) ## More Junk quotes > [By eating many fruits and vegetables in place of fast food and junk food, people could avoid obesity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-h-murdock/by-eating-many-fruits-and-vegetables-in-place-of-fast-food-and-junk/) [David H. Murdock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-h-murdock/) > [Just because the Americans are so good at rattling out accessible and cheap junk food, nobody looks twice when it comes to their food.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jamie-oliver/just-because-the-americans-are-so-good-at-rattling-out-accessible-and/) [Jamie Oliver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jamie-oliver/) > [When I die throw my body in the back and drive me to the junk yard in my Cadillac.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-springsteen/when-i-die-throw-my-body-in-the-back-and-drive-me-to-the-junk-yard-in/) [Bruce Springsteen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-springsteen/) > [The attitude of gratitude is yoga. Ingratitude is "unyoga," like "uncola." Where gratitude is, there is yoga. Where there is ingratitude, yoga is gone.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harbhajan-singh-yogi/the-attitude-of-gratitude-is-yoga-ingratitude-is-unyoga-like-uncola/) [Harbhajan Singh Yogi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harbhajan-singh-yogi/) > [If it suddenly became impossible for us to cover up all the junk we normally hide from the rest of humanity, I have a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andy-stanley/if-it-suddenly-became-impossible-for-us-to-cover-up-all-the-junk-we/) [Andy Stanley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andy-stanley/) > [For all the concern about bodies and weight, 'Baywatch' has three huge catering trucks on the set at all times. One for entrees, one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicole-eggert/for-all-the-concern-about-bodies-and-weight-baywatch-has-three-huge/) [Nicole Eggert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicole-eggert/) > [Junk runs in the family. My granddad was a junk man in St. Louis and so was my uncle.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/redd-foxx/junk-runs-in-the-family-my-granddad-was-a-junk-man-in-st-louis-and-so/) [Redd Foxx](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/redd-foxx/) > [Corporations are totalitarian institutions. Board of directors at the top of managers give orders, everyone follows orders… At the very bottom of command, if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/corporations-are-totalitarian-institutions-board-of-directors-at-the/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [We sat there, not talking, for a few minutes. He ate the Moon Pie; only skinny people can scarf down junk food like that.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-dessen/we-sat-there-not-talking-for-a-few-minutes-he-ate-the-moon-pie-only/) [Sarah Dessen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-dessen/) > [I grew up hearing everyone tell me 'God loves you'. I would say big deal, God loves everybody. That don't make me special! That…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rich-mullins/i-grew-up-hearing-everyone-tell-me-god-loves-you-i-would-say-big-deal/) [Rich Mullins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rich-mullins/) > [We are not being true to the artist as a man if we consider his art work junk simply because we differ with his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/we-are-not-being-true-to-the-artist-as-a-man-if-we-consider-his-art/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The smart way to improve broadband is not to junk the existing network but to make the most of it. It’s to let a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-abbott/the-smart-way-to-improve-broadband-is-not-to-junk-the-existing/) [Tony Abbott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-abbott/) > [When things seem to be slowing down, there's this little trick I like to play. I'd plow this virgin who's on her period, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zach-braff/when-things-seem-to-be-slowing-down-there-s-this-little-trick-i-like/) [Zach Braff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zach-braff/) > [Buy, buy, says the sign in the shop window; Why, why, says the junk in the yard.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-mccartney/buy-buy-says-the-sign-in-the-shop-window-why-why-says-the-junk-in-the/) [Paul McCartney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-mccartney/) > [Every love has a poetic relevance of its own; each love brings to light only what to it is relevant. Outside lies the junk-yard…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-bowen/every-love-has-a-poetic-relevance-of-its-own-each-love-brings-to/) [Elizabeth Bowen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-bowen/) Browse all 451 Junk quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I am free to write the worst junk in the world.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Natalie Goldberg" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/natalie-goldberg/i-am-free-to-write-the-worst-junk-in-the-world/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Junk" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/natalie-goldberg/i-am-free-to-write-the-worst-junk-in-the-world/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3d6/natalie-goldberg-1741_junk_i-am-free-to-write-the-worst-junk-in-the_3117537.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3d6/natalie-goldberg-1741_junk_i-am-free-to-write-the-worst-junk-in-the_3117537.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3d6/natalie-goldberg-1741_junk_i-am-free-to-write-the-worst-junk-in-the_3117537.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I am free to write the worst junk in the world.” — Natalie Goldberg", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Natalie Goldberg", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/natalie-goldberg/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "I am free to write the...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/natalie-goldberg/i-am-free-to-write-the-worst-junk-in-the-world/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/natalie-goldberg/i-am-free-to-write-the-worst-junk-in-the-world/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```