Nobody Wants to Read Your Sh*t: Why That Is And What You Can Do About It

by Steven Pressfield

Define the problem and you’re halfway to the solution.

“What formulaic bullshit! I’m not gonna be a slave to that!” Wrong.

Our characters must, with life-and-death desperation, want or need some Thing or Outcome (stakes).

If we know we’re going to do fifteen drafts before we’re done, we don’t panic when Draft #6 is still a mess.

The #1 question that writers ask themselves: “I’ve got a million ideas. How do I know which one to work on?” Answer: Write your White Whale. Which idea, of all those swimming inside your brain, are you compelled to pursue the way Ahab was driven to hunt Moby Dick? Here’s how you know—you’re scared to death of it. It’s good to be scared. You should be scared. Mediocre ideas never elevate the heart rate. Great ones make you break out in a sweat.