Steven Pressfield's Blog, page 138

Ambition

Thirty-something years ago, I read a book that changed my life. The book was by Norman Podhoretz and it was called Making It. I can't really recommend it as a read for today (I tried a month ago and couldn't get through it) and I certainly find little to admire about Mr. Podhoretz's current politics.
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Icons and Iconization, Part Two

Last week's post was great fun for me because of the generous, insightful and tremendously articulate Comments that came in. Thanks to everybody who took the time to write; I appreciate it and I'm sure everyone else does too.

When I first started Writing Wednesdays about a year ago, friends told me I would be surprised
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General Hal Moore

I met General Hal Moore a few years ago, at a dinner in his honor in Los Angeles, around the time the movie We Were Soldiers was released. Both Joe Galloway and General Moore signed a copy of their book We Were Soldiers Once . . . And Young for me. General Moore added a
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Icons and Iconization

This is a subject I've been thinking about a lot lately. Iconization as an issue in real life–and as a form of Resistance. Here's what I've come up with so far.
First, what is an icon? The dictionary says it's "an object of worship." An icon originally was an actual physical artifact—a splinter of the original
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General Sam V. Wilson

I'm in awe of everything General Sam Wilson has done. His is a name that everyone should know. He's accomplished more in his lifetime than many of us dare to dream about. He served as a reconnaissance officer with Merrill's Marauders in Burma, during WWII; as a CIA spy-ring operator in Berlin, uncovering Soviet secrets;
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Start Before You're Ready

In the past few weeks we've put up a couple of posts—"Cover the Canvas" and "Start at the End"—that seem like advice on the subject of writing. They aren't. They're about beating Resistance.
A number of the principles that work against Resistance are counter-intuitive. They seem to make no sense, but in fact their logic is
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Joe Galloway

Joe Galloway set the standard for today's journalists. Whether he was reporting from Vietnam with General Hal Moore or the Persian Gulf with General Norman Schwarzkopf, or writing about the battles of today,  his work has been steeped in honesty and integrity. He remains the only civilian to be awarded the Bronze Star Medal with
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Loving A Writer

Are you in love with a writer? Are you sure about this? Sure you don't want to try someone easier on your heart, like a bull rider, a Black Ops commando or a motorcycle stuntman?
Herewith, from painful experience, a few guidelines for those who have given their hearts to servants of the literary Muse. (The
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General Hal Moore

I met General Hal Moore a few years ago, at a dinner in his honor in Los Angeles, around the time the movie We Were Soldiers was released. Both Joe Galloway and General Moore signed a copy of their book We Were Soldiers Once . . . And Young for me. General Moore added a
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Start At The End

Last week we were talking about first drafts (Cover the Canvas, 6/9/10). The idea was to get Draft #1 done from beginning to end, no matter what, even if it wasn't perfect. The reason? Because once we've got a first draft, we're re-writing, not writing. Writing is too freakin' hard.
The obvious next question (or maybe
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