Perfectionism = Resistance
Have you ever blown an entire morning noodling with a single paragraph or, worse, a solitary sentence?
Resistance has outfoxed you.
You have hung up an entire battalion trying to capture an outhouse.
DO THE WORK
Steve shows you the predictable Resistance points that every writer hits in a work-in-progress and then shows you how to deal with each one of these sticking points. This book shows you how to keep going with your work.
THE AUTHENTIC SWING
A short book about the writing of a first novel: for Steve, The Legend of Bagger Vance. Having failed with three earlier attempts at novels, here's how Steve finally succeeded.
NOBODY WANTS TO READ YOUR SH*T
Steve shares his "lessons learned" from the trenches of the five different writing careers—advertising, screenwriting, fiction, nonfiction, and self-help. This is tradecraft. An MFA in Writing in 197 pages.
TURNING PRO
Amateurs have amateur habits. Pros have pro habits. When we turn pro, we give up the comfortable life but we find our power. Steve answers the question, "How do we overcome Resistance?"
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But… the intel told us it was a high-value target.
Intel = Resistance
In the middle of a Commander’s Update Brief (CUB), in Afghanistan, our S6 (communications officer) was trying to explain how sunspots or something outside of his control was interfering with comms…
The Commander said, “Everything that has ever gone wrong in my life can be traced to the S6.”
It is funnier when understanding Army culture–but the S2 (intel) and S6 (commo) are generally the least popular officers in an organization. So, according to my former commander, it is both the 2 & the 6 that are Resistance.
bsn
As a retired MI officer, I can neither confirm nor deny that said outhouse is of strategic importance.
bsn
Brian… maybe not strategic, but definitely high tactical value.
As much as I hate to admit it, yes, I have, and yes, it did.
My writing feels like trying to break out of prison with a plastic spoon. Are you suggesting I use a 90-pound jackhammer and a acetylene torch?
I think what Mr. Pressfield is getting at is in the writing/drafting stage, when we are trying to get a scene down or wide swath of the story. This is during the initial writing. I think the jackhammer and torch is the way to go for getting down the words, the ideas, the scene. Save the spoon for the 2nd or 3rd draft, when you can more focus on getting a perspective right. That’s my interpretation of it, anyway.
Busted. Thanks.
Yes. Outfoxed by resistance (aka perfectionism) many a time.
I think what Mr. Pressfield is getting at is in the writing/drafting stage, when we are trying to get a scene down or wide swath of the story. This is during the initial writing. I think the jackhammer and torch is the way to go for getting down the words, the ideas, the scene. Save the spoon for the 2nd or 3rd draft, when you can more focus on getting a perspective right. That’s my interpretation of it, anyway.
I’m thinking back to “Cover the Canvas.” (Dang, has it been almost 10 years since this one?) DaVinci and General Mattis in the same essay.
https://stevenpressfield.com/2010/06/cover-the-canvas/
My painting teacher in art school would say something similar: “Start your painting with a broom, finish it with a toothpick.” Cover that canvas as quickly as possible with huge, broad strokes. Fine details later.
Me: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CAmiNMGIFWA
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