Steven Pressfield's Blog, page 102

Avoiding the Black Knight

Was it one if by land, two if by sea, or two if by land and one if by sea?
The sexton of Boston’s North Church paces the 1775-era floor, trying to remember Paul Revere’s instructions, to alert the colonists of British movements.
Now which one was it?
A few days before, Paul Revere sent advance word, letting
More >>

The Foolscap Method

On the theme of progressing from unpublishable to publishable (and taking off from Shawn’s Friday post, The Itch), I offer herewith a few words on a technique I call “the Foolscap Method.”
The Foolscap Method is a way to get a big project started—a novel, a Ph.D. dissertation, a new business. It’s a trick, but a
More >>

The Itch

You’ve been thinking about writing a long form Story (novel, narrative nonfiction, essay) for as long as you can remember. You have this very specific and fascinating lead character in mind and you’ve been spinning ideas about his story driving in your car, riding the subway, even while having your teeth cleaned.  One day (for
More >>

How Hard is it to Turn Pro?

How hard is it to stop drinking? How hard is it to overcome an addiction? How hard is it to break free of a toxic relationship, a twisted family dynamic, a destructive marriage?
How hard is it to make those changes permanent?
When we talk about the switch from the mindset of the amateur to the mindset
More >>

Sounding It Out

Mickey listens to her father’s comments about the high school ball player, then goes to the fence for a closer look. She returns to tell Gus, her father, that he was right. The young player’s “hand’s drift.”
“How did you know that if you can’t see him?” she asks Gus, whose failing vision is as clear
More >>

Artistic Distance

I’ve been thinking a lot lately about what makes a book publishable. A friend once described me, during my years in the wilderness, as “the man who has written more words for less money” than anybody he knew. I know I’m not the only one about whom such an observation has been made.
Why was that
More >>

Narrative Drive

Above all else, writers want to be read.
Editors and publishers, and especially readers, require just one quality in a writer’s work to make this dream come true. When a work has Narrative Drive, clichés like “I couldn’t stop turning the pages” and “it reads like a bat out of Hell” come out of the mouths
More >>

Don’t Talk About It

Are you writing a novel?
Don’t talk about it.
Are you recording a new album, planning a new product launch, gestating a new philanthropic venture?
Keep your mouth shut.
Talking too soon is bad luck. It’s bad karma. I go even farther. Here’s a short quote from an upcoming book called The Authentic Swing:
I’m superstitious. I have habits.
I always
More >>

My Way

I love the Frank Sinatra standard My Way (written by Paul Anka). It gives me goosebumps every time I hear it . . .
And now, the end is here
And so I face the final curtain
My Friend, I’ll say it clear
I’ll state my case, of which I’m certain
I’ve lived a life that’s full
I traveled each and
More >>

Resistance Comes Second

A thought to remember when we wake up each morning and confront anew that dastardly dragon:
Resistance comes second.
The Dream comes first. The dream of whatever work or enterprise or endeavor you and I are called to.
Resistance is the shadow cast by that dream.
Resistance is the equal-and-opposite-reaction of nature to the New Thing that you and
More >>