‘The War of Art’ – A Must-Have Creative Bible for Writers & Everyone Else
The War of Art:
Break Through the Blocks and Win Your Inner Creative Battles
by Steven Pressfield
Resistance has me. Chances are Resistance has you, too.
Resistance is that indefinable force that keeps us from accomplishing what we have inside. If your goal is to train for a marathon, Resistance keeps us on the couch. If your goal is to lose weight, Resistance says, “that dessert looks delicious.” If my goal is to write this post about a book I hold dear, Resistance tells me it is impossible to live up to the power of The War of Art. Resistance has declared war on my success.
There is one book in my house that doesn’t have a home on the shelf. No, it’s not my bible, per se. Steven Pressfield’s The War of Art lives on my desk. That is its home. That is my battleground. That is where I need it most. It is my creative bible; that source of daily inspiration; that push to get (and keep) me going.
Steven Pressfield has written this guide to help you identify Resistance in your life and beat it! Yes, this is a writing guide, it is written for writers and is about a writer, but it is so much more! The wisdom in The War of Art can be used to help you accomplish any goal you set for yourself. The key is beating Resistance, that force that keeps you from living up to your potential.
Do you have a budding writer/artist/designer/developer/photographer/dancer/anything inside you, fighting to get out?
Then this book is for you!
Aims
Esquire magazine said of The War of Art, “A vital gem… a kick in the ass.” And it is just that. Steven Pressfield draws from his own life as a writer and gives you the road map to get yourself moving. This isn’t a practical, “here’s how to write as I do” guide. This is inspiration and motivation with a hint of practicality… not at writing, but at life!
On the foggy morning, the weary troops have gathered. The enemy, Resistance, is a daunting one. It will not fall without a fight. Pressfield takes the stage and give you that inspiring pep talk to head into battle. Resistance can be beaten. The battle can be won. The War of Art is your motivation to head into the skirmish with your eye on the prize.
Pros vs Cons
With each “chapter” being only a few paragraphs (most less than a page), the information in The War of Art is easily referenced for a quick burst of inspiration and advice. Its logical organization and thorough explanation of its subjects through personal and relatable examples makes it so mesmerizing you’ll think Pressfield wrote the book just for you! Honestly, for me, the only downside to this book was that the skills it teaches didn’t come sooner in my life.
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PI Scale
* Since most writer’s guides vary in a range from practical advice to inspirational wisdom, I have developed the Practical/Inspirational (PI) scale. I feel these qualities rank on a continuum rather than exist exclusively. While a book may certainly have both qualities, the included graphic is meant to illustrate where I personally rate this book on the Practical/Inspirational continuum.
The War of Art is pure inspiration! There is definitely a practical side, but that is only minimally about writing. The skills herein are about life; about overcoming your obstacles, and, as the subtitle reads, winning “your inner creative battles.”
Conclusion
I reference The War of Art on a daily basis. Our frequent readers have no doubt seen a few of my comments that talk about it. When giving advice or offering suggestions, no matter what the subject, I will frequently turn to Steven Pressfield’s words. And to those in your life you wish to encourage, this makes a wonderful gift.
Steven Pressfield took his pen and gave us a mighty weapon in the war against Resistance. Whatever that daunting force is you are facing, whatever is keeping you from being the best you that you can be, it can be defeated. The War of Art is your guide to victory!
On a Personal Note
I wish this post could do justice to this book. I don’t know that anything could. This book changed my life. My wish for you is that it will do the same. Unfortunately, no one can be told how The War of Art is. You have to read it for yourself.
Stay tuned, as next time I will be reviewing another personal favorite: Stephen King’s On Writing.
Between his job as a video editor and his hobby as a digital creative, Eric Kuentz thrives on the continuous quest for self-improvement.
Picked this one up during boxing day. I heard great things about it.
A must-read for any creative. Though it has a tilt toward writers, as a designer I found the discussion and advice quite applicable. Thumbs up!
I agree with Mr. Vogler, it inspired me to illustrate and create in a more elaborate manner. If your a fan of creating art not only should you buy the book but also check out http://www.distimage.blogspot.com for intellectual creative art.
I’d appreciate a discussion on this book. I have many questions, but one it keeps bothering me the most. Would you still write or make films if you were the last person in the world? Would you steel take photographs? Especially portraits (a – potraits of who; b – seriously, do you take photos for your own sake or you want others to see it, inspire them, show them something -> same with writing or films). So, if anyone could explain me this bit, I’d be really grateful. The thing is that I have been thinking the same even before reading this book in order to see what I really want to do. But seriously, I have a wide variety of keen interests, as most of the people do, but some of them are doable even as the only person left in the world, but others are simply not. And it’s just practically impossible.
I think many answers for this should be. Just imagine that you have some of those dummies that can serve as models for your photos or stuff like that. But you can’t make films, you can write them as you can write novels, but would you write a novel that no one will ever read?
Oh, well. I don’t know anything. It’s even hard to imagine with our thinking, at least with my thinking at this point. You would probably go crazy and start talking to yourself after a long time alone anyway. We need people around even if it is at least for an hour or two per week/ 2 weeks etc.
But you can’t make films alone! Well, you can … very limited films. Well .. yeah you have quite a lot of choices when I think about that actually. But still, you cold do it not for your own sake, but just to have some company. You create a world, where you actually have someone to talk to …
I hope it’s not just gibberish.
My apologies.
Z