Steven Pressfield's Blog, page 93

What Paul Learned from his First Novel

My friend Paul just finished his first novel. He has no publisher yet. He’s still got a long way to go. But he finished that sucker. He’s done. He did it.
It’s been really interesting for me to watch Paul walk through the fire. Because it is true that, for a grizzled old vet like me,
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Tzuk Beach

The Tzuk Beach Cafe is probably the hippest beach joint in Israel. I’m guessing of course; I’ve only been in the country for three days. But it’s hard to believe there could be any place cooler.
The cafe is outdoors, under umbrellas, just a few feet above the strand, with sand on the deck, great salads,
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Pre-’67 Borders

I’m here.
Israel.
Starting research for The Lion’s Gate.
Danny Grossman—Lou’s friend, a retired Israel Air Force lieutenant-colonel—has picked me up at Ben-Gurion Airport, gotten me checked in to my hotel. Danny’s going to be my guide and mentor. I’ve got my rental Toyota, had time to catch up on a little sleep, as well as wolf down
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Can Writing Be Taught?

There was an article on this subject in the New York Times a few weeks back. The question posed was, as I understand it:
If your son or daughter came to you and declared, “I want to be a writer,” what advice would you give him or her on how to pursue this dream?
Would you suggest
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The Zen Rabbi of San Francisco

How does the idea for a book come to us? Is there a seed? A trigger event? Do we recognize the inspiration in the moment or does it need to gestate for a period before finally surfacing into consciousness?
I had a classmate in high school named Alan Lew. Alan was a star. Co-captain of the
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Saving Tel Aviv

[This is the second post in a new series about the writing of The Lion's Gate. The series will continue Fridays and Mondays. "Writing Wednesdays" returns in its normal slot next week.]
Okay, here I am with the idea to do a book about the Six Day War of 1967. But that’s all I’ve got.
What comes
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A Bad Jew

[This is the first post in a new series about the writing of The Lion's Gate. After today the series will run Mondays and Fridays. Writing Wednesdays" returns in this space next week.]
I found out I was a Jew when I was thirteen. My Dad told me. I never knew until then. It was kind of
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The Victim, the Perpetrator and the Rescuer

As we all know, there is no story without conflict. There is no beat to a scene, no scene, no sequence, no act and no global story without a dump truck full of conflict.
But diving into our vast personal experiences of conflict is not exactly the first pool of creative energy any of us wants
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The Book I’ve Been Avoiding My Whole Life

I never talk about a book while I’m working on it. It’s bad luck. The Muse doesn’t like it.
That’s why, although I’ve been working for the past three years on a project that’s been all-consuming for me, I haven’t offered a peep on this blog.
But now the book is done. It’s in production; the first
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Did You Like It Or So Many Other Things’d It?

I didn’t like Uwem Akpan’s Say You’re One of Them when I first read it, yet some five years later, his short stories still drift into my head.
They arrive with Sadness and Inspiration and, in their wake, leave me struggling with the reality of the fiction.
I didn’t like Uwem Akpan’s Say You’re One of
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