Steven Pressfield's Blog, page 136

Two Days Only: "War of Art" eBook for $1.99!

Once upon a time, I worked in advertising. I used to write those TWO DAYS ONLY (exclamation point!) headlines all the time, for toothpaste or dog food or checking accounts. It's a giggle to be doing it now for The War of Art.
Here's a link to the store. Today and tomorrow only—10/20 and 10/21—get the
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"The War of Art" eBook for $1.99!

One of the mantras of Writing Wednesdays is the ongoing effort to think like a professional, work like a professional, be a professional. But sometimes it's not so bad to be a lucky amateur either. To wit, here's a serendipitous tale from a couple of weeks ago.
I had just received the umpteenth note–this time via Facebook–from
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The All Is Lost Moment, Part Two

Let's plunge right in, picking up our interview with Hollywood story consultant Jen Grisanti:
SP: Jen, what are your own favorite "All Is Lost" moments from movies?  Can you give us one from something recent and then break it down for us?
JG:  I love the "All Is Lost" moment from the George Clooney movie, Up In
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Jeff Lipsky

Jeff Lipsky is the writer and director of the films Childhood's End (co-starring Tony Award nominee Sam Trammell), Flannel Pajamas (about which Roger Ebert wrote: "One of the wisest films I can remember about love and human intimacy. I will not forget it."), and Twelve Thirty (Jan. 2011 theatrical release, starring Jonathan Groff, Mamie Gummer,
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Getting to the Flow

The lady plans to seduce her lover. Her object is to create a night of magic. How does she do it?
First the setting, the lighting, the music. The mood, the wine … the lady orchestrates every detail. Her skin, her hair, her scent. She alters her voice, her walk, she paints on those witchy-woman eyes.
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The "All Is Lost" Moment

I've never posted an interview in this Writing Wednesdays slot (see "The Creative Process" series below on this page), but the following confab with story expert Jen Grisanti seemed to fit so perfectly that I thought I'd feature it up here "above the fold." Today is Part One of a two-part interview.
Jen Grisanti is a
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Michael Bungay Stanier

Michael Bungay Stanier does Great—Important—Work. His bio says that he's the Senior Partner of Box of Crayons, a company that helps organizations and the people in them do less Good Work and more Great Work. It should also say that he's one of those wonderful people with a gift for telling it how it is,
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The Crazier The Better

My friend Paul is writing a cop novel. The characters have seized him; he's into it totally. "But it's coming to me very dark," he says. "I mean twisted, weird-dark. So dark it's scaring me."
Paul wants to know if he should throttle back. He's worried that the book will come out so evil, no one
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Writing Characters Who Are Smarter Than We Are

There's a great moment in the movie Tootsie, when Dustin Hoffman—in costume as "Dorothy Michaels" but speaking as himself, "Michael Dorsey"—says, out of respect for Dorothy, "I wish I was prettier." In other words, the character he was portraying was better than he was. That's an amazing thing if you think about it.
Working above our
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Chris Guillebeau

Chris Guillebeau travels and writes for a small army of remarkable people at chrisguillebeau.com and twitter.com/chrisguillebeau. When you visit his blog, check out his 279 Days to Overnight Success and his Brief Guide to World Domination. Good stuff! His book, The Art of Non-Conformity, will be available online and in bookstores starting Sept. 7, 2010.
In
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