The War of Art

A while ago I wrote a blog post about the book, Art of War for Writers by James Scott Bell.

So it is ironic that now I’m writing a blog post about a book titled The War of Art by Steven Pressfield.

I stumbled upon this book a few weeks ago, and was grateful to have it since I’ve been dealing a lot with what Pressfield calls Resistance:

“In other words, any act that rejects immediate gratification in favor of long-term growth, health, or integrity. Or, expressed another way, any act that derives from our higher nature instead of our lower. Any of these will elicit Resistance.”

I think most writers hit this wall of Resistance at one point or another. Pressfield defines many characteristics, which are bound to hit a nerve or two. This one characteristic struck something in me:

“The most pernicious aspect of procrastination is that it can become a habit. We don’t just put off our lives today; we put them off til our deathbed.

Never forget: This very moment, we can change our lives. There never was a moment, and never will be, when are without the power to alter our destiny. This second, we can turn the tables on Resistance.

This second, we can sit down and do our work.”

Pressfield also discusses in his book ways to combat Resistance, differences between professionals and amateurs as well as invoking the muse. I highly recommend this book—definitely something to have in a writer’s library.

So if you haven’t done work on your novel—and the hours have turned into to days to months to maybe even years—and you hear that devil whispering in your ear saying, “See, I told you. I knew you couldn’t do it.”

Do not give up.

The best thing to do you realize you are in the midst of Resistance—face it, conquer it, and sit down to do the work. That is the only way you can finish a novel—by doing the work. One word at a time.