All writers read but if you read only one more book, read this one!
What you need to know - must know - to succeed at writing.
Steven Pressfield’s book the War of Art is a MUST read for anyone serious about living the life of a true – and successful – writer. He demonstrates, in emphatic story telling style, that writing is a war against an everyday enemy he calls “Resistance.”
He says: “Most of us live two lives. The life we live, and the unlived life within us. Between the two stands Resistance.” He adds, “It’s not the writing part that’s hard. What’s hard is sitting down to write.”
Here’s a sampling of what Pressfield lists as factors in “Resistance.”
- Resistance is invisible – can’t be seen, heard or touched but it can be felt.
- Resistance is internal – it arises from within, not externally.
- Resistance is insidious – it will tell you anything to keep you from your work.
- Resistance is implacable – it can’t be reasoned with (like Jaws in the book).
- Resistance is universal – everyone struggles with it
- Resistance is fueled by fear – master fear and you can conquer Resistance.
- Resistance never sleeps – the battle must be renewed every day.
There are many more elements and each is elaborated on in wonderful detail in the book. Go to Amazon. Buy it. Read it. And watch your writing grow.
Either write something worth reading or do something worth writing. – Ben Franklin
This is a comforting and iipsnring post thanks, Milo. Often it does feel like I’m alone in procrastinating. Possibly because I spend a lot of time reading the results of the successful people who have clearly got past their stuckness. But that’s not the whole picture and they must have procrastinated at some point. Even at length. Maybe for longer than they didn’t!I relate to this part of your post very much: As long as he can get his creative work done each day, Pressfield describes how he can then relax and enjoy life and spending time with his family. Beating the resistance within himself feels literally like a weight off his shoulders .I can feel almost sickened when I don’t write. But I’ve always been way too hard on myself. Can you achieve a balance between overcoming resistance to create, and attacking yourself? I hope so Nicola recently posted..