Steven Pressfield's Blog, page 114

A Ride on the Wild Side

Shoulder harness down. Seat belt locked. Loose items secured in cubbies next to the ride.
Anticipation.
Waiting for those magic words to blare through the speakers: Heeeere weee goooo!
Nervous laugh.
Gut tumble.
Biting bottom lip.
You know what comes next.
We’re off, climbing higher, anticipating the rush to come, and then . . .
Stall.
We’re at the top of the rollercoaster, paused,
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More From “Turning Pro”

Last Wednesday I posted in this space the first two chapters from Turning Pro. This week I want to include the following four. Mainly because I think they work nicely as a unit—and because together they give a real flavor for what the book is and what it’s about.
Next week: back to our regular Writing Wednesdays. Now,
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The Lunch Pail Manifesto

The retro lunch pail and towering thermos on the cover of Steven Pressfield’s Turning Pro are in honor of some legendary Pros.
Back in the analog days when the economy relied on blue collar muscle to build the modern world, Steelworkers gave everything they had to get that work done. In three shifts, twenty four hours a
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Announcing “Turning Pro”

Finally, after more than a month of technical tweaking and re-jiggering, it is my great pleasure to announce that my follow-up to The War of Art—titled Turning Pro—is now available. Major thanks to our webmaster, Jeff Simon, for flying back from a movie set in London to pull all the loose ends together. And thanks to the
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The 500 Dark Pools

Like everyone else, I love a great “origin story.” Especially since I’m in the middle of one myself (Black Irish Books).
These kinds of stories focus on the creation of something . . . be it a company (The Social Network), a pop star (The Idolmaker), an investigation that leads to a President’s resignation (All the
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The Hero’s Journey as Boot Camp

With apologies to readers who are getting tired of these “hero’s journey” posts (this is the fourth in as many weeks), I can say only, “Hang in there, baby!” The last one is coming next week. Today’s is about using the hero’s journey intentionally, as a way to achieve a species of self-transformation.
Navy SEAL training
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Big Night

Once a year, I uncinch the family money belt, take a deep breath, and plan a trip to Yankee Stadium.
Our big night out is our annual splurge. My son marks off the days.  Our weekend hours of playing catch, me hitting him grounders and pitching him batting practice revolve around the state of Derek Jeter’s
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The Hero’s Journey as Screenplay

Last week we were talking about the “hero’s journey” in myth. This week let’s talk about movies.
The neophyte writer, when he arrives in Tinseltown, very soon gets wised up to the lingo—“inciting incident,” “Act Two curtain,” “All Is Lost moment” and so forth. It’s not so much that there’s a “formula.” But there’s definitely a
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Adios Zero Sum

My five-year-old daughter felt bad.
One day at school, a frienemy teased her about having had a play date with another girl in their class. My daughter had not been included. Nah…Nah…Nah Nah Nah.
I discovered this while helping her put on her tights. It was the day she’d planned her revenge.
I’m pleased that my children were
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The Hero’s Journey in Myth

“The hero’s journey” sounds a bit melodramatic, I admit. But hey, it’s real. If the phrase rings mythic, it’s because its origins (at least in expression) lie in myth.
What are myths? They’re the ancient, collective legends of the human race. The Odyssey, the epic of Gilgamesh, Beowulf; the sagas of the Buddha or Prometheus or
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