I went home with the resolve to write what I knew and to trust my own thoughts and feelings and to not look outside myself. I was not in school anymo… - Natalie Goldberg

Push yourself beyond when you think you are done with what you have to say. […] It is beyond the point when you think you are done that often something strong comes out.

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.

Use original detail in your writing. Life is so rich, if you can write down the real details of the way things were and are, you hardly need anything else.