When it comes to the tyranny of facing that blank page (or screen) Natalie Goldberg’s got you covered. Not only does she have plenty of writing advice for writers at every level, she delivers that advice with the calm poise of someone who knows — someone who also overcomes that fear, that self-doubt, every time she sits down to write.

Writing Down the Bones: Freeing the Writer Within by Natalie Goldberg

Goldberg recommends “writing practice” to beat writer’s block and to thwart the inner editor who defiles your brain with crippling thoughts such as: You’ll never write anything worth reading. You should just give up. Besides, don’t you need a snack, just now?

The root of writing practice is the timed exercise. If you participated in our recent Writing 101 course, you’ll recall that we like — and use — this advice ourselves:

The basic unit of writing practice…