My friend Paul is writing a cop novel. He’s never written anything so ambitious before; he’s in unknown territory, over his head. Even scarier for him, his story is coming out very dark. “I mean twisted, weird-dark,” he says. “So dark it’s scaring me.”
Paul wants to know if he should throttle back. He’s worried that the book will come out so evil, not even Darth Vader will want to touch it.
Answer: no way.
The darker the better, if that’s how it’s coming to him.
Why? Because for artists and entrepreneurs—particularly those at the beginning of their careers—Job #1 is testing their limits, finding out who they are. The sane and the ordinary are the enemies of all artists, but especially of those just stretching their wings.
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.
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.
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?"
Patronu aradığında sürekli hasta olduğunu söyleyerek iş yerine yalan söylüyor
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porno Muayene için eve gelen doktor olgun kadını muayene ediyor ve hiç bir sıkıntı olmadığını söylüyor
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Porno İzle Karılarını takas etmek isteyen elemanlar hep birlikte evde buluşuyor
türkçe porno Güzel vakit geçirdikten sonra kızlara isteklerini iletiyorlar ve hatunlarda kocalarının bu isteklerini kabul ediyorlar
seks hikayeleri Hemen ellerine telefonları alan elemanlar karılarına video eşliğinde sakso çektiriyorlar
porno izle Hiç beklemeden sikişe geçen elemanlar hatunları değiştire değiştire sikmeye başlıyorlar.
Patronu aradığında sürekli hasta olduğunu söyleyerek iş yerine yalan söylüyor
porno hikaye Patronu artık bu kadarının gerçek olamayacağını ve rapor görmek istediğini dile getirip telefonu kapatıyor
türbanlı Olgun kadın hemen bilgisayarının başına geçip özel bir doktor buluyor ve onu arayarak evine davet ediyor
porno Muayene için eve gelen doktor olgun kadını muayene ediyor ve hiç bir sıkıntı olmadığını söylüyor
brazzers porno Sarışın ablamız ise iş yerine rapor götürmesi gerektiğini bu yüzden rapor yazmasını istiyor
brazzers porno fakat doktor bunun pek mümkün olmadığını dile getiriyor
sex hikayeleri Daha sonra evli olan bu kahpe doktora iş atarak ona yavşıyor ve istediğini alana kadar durmuyor
Porno İzle Karılarını takas etmek isteyen elemanlar hep birlikte evde buluşuyor
türkçe porno Güzel vakit geçirdikten sonra kızlara isteklerini iletiyorlar ve hatunlarda kocalarının bu isteklerini kabul ediyorlar
seks hikayeleri Hemen ellerine telefonları alan elemanlar karılarına video eşliğinde sakso çektiriyorlar
porno izle Hiç beklemeden sikişe geçen elemanlar hatunları değiştire değiştire sikmeye başlıyorlar.
I’m writing my memoir about my 37 years as an insider to Florida’s drug lords from the early 70’s through the 90’s. It is a true story drenched in blood; some deaths include my close family members. I’m not going to pull any punches to be politically correct. The crazier, the better!
I would read that!
Eu também leria. ‘Quanto mais solto melhor!’
Put me on your mailing list!
I would read this!
The best work comes from the depths of our souls. From the darkness comes light. Dig deep.
Why do something if you’re not going to give it your all? Your comfort zone is a creator’s death trap. Go down the rabbit hole! Who knows what treasure awaits? Thanks, Steve for giving the crazies validation.
It’s surprising what comes out when you give yourself the freedom to just write what comes to you.
I love this! Growth really does come from pushing the envelope and getting to the edges in life. Out of the darkness in creativity comes light!
Wonderful insights, Steve. Thank you.
Speaking as an entrepreneur, do what scares you. Especially at the beginning of the journey. You may never again have this kind of creative freedom. Test the limits. Have fun. And build, build, build. Beautiful reminder this morning Steve.
Why would they never have that kind of creative freedom again? You get what you expect and what you settle for. You can have creative freedom your whole career, if it is important enough to you to maintain it. Not all creative endeavours have to become commodities. The art should be more important than the pay day.
Honor the talent.
I know, I know, easier said than done. But who said this was going to be easy?
This is good advice.
If it was easy, everyone would be doing it.
Honour the muse, not the crowd.
I needed to hear this…These moments are what I call “When my soul approaches me…” Thank you for the reassurance!
I hope you’re right about that since I’m a first time author with a book (manuscript) that I believe (and I’m told) is a bit off center. Thanks for your Wednesday encouragement.
In War of Art you call it “the Quantum Soup” and it gave me the courage to publish my (what I thought was a way too violent) book trilogy. Turns out it’s not “too” anything and man am I glad I wrote (and am writing) the books I want to write.
The photo at the top of this commentary looks like Seattle’s “ underground city” I grew up in Seattle and heard how it happened. The streets near the waterfront needed to be raised, so this small area was just left as it was while the streets were raised . Great photo! As for dark and crazy writing, I’ve had my share in the last two years. Just let it run, I always come out the other end with a solution.I write songs, so the run is never more than 3 verses or so.Write on!
I used to be apart of this art group. They put on exhibits and hung around together. I wanted that. And I wanted to fit in.
At the time I had my work in a couple galleries and it sold very well. My work was expressive and uncomfortably passionate, for some, but it sold. And I liked that, at the time, watching people feel unsure and a bit uncomfortable with all that passion on the walls. Bottom line, it sold and I felt my direction verified. Interesting.
So, the art group. Each new art exhibit the art group would put on, came with carefully selected jurors. They seemed to fit the expressions of many of the artists in the group. Interesting.
In the 3 years I was involved with this art group, not once was my art recognized. One day I asked the President of this group why she thought that was. I truly wanted to know cause maybe, even though the public seemed to like my art, if my fellow artists didn’t and if jurors didn’t, why was that?
“It’s too dark”, was her response. “It’s too dark in color and mood.”
“It’s too dark.”
That, right there, stifled me. I began to chase what I thought they wanted. And, I did that for a very long time.
Until…
I moved away.
My new environment brought me new freedom. The freedom I’d felt before. I’m back to dark colors and the mood I’d missed.
Interesting.
🍃🌸🍃
Very interesting! Thank you Kathy
Bing… 🍃🌸🍃
What are those emojis meant to mean??
Kathy,
I’ve been painting with a group of women for over thirty years. As an exercise, we’d all paint the same scene or still-life. Over time, we could pick out each other’s work without looking at the signatures. Diane’s colors were bolder. Dottie’s brush strokes were tentative. Jean’s style matched her attitude, like it or leave it. Lila’s paintings are soft. Lois’s contain chunkier, stronger lines.
As the “baby” of the group, I was labeled the free spirit. Though I can reach into my organized paint box and pull out a color without looking, my palette is a brush mixed mess. My paintings are loose and natural.
Though there are only the three of us left, we still gather every Monday and celebrate our unique visions.
It’s unfortunate you experienced that negativity within your group, but you came back to your vision stronger and wiser. That is something to cherish.
Jackie!
I always look forward to things you write.
I planted a rather gloomy story. It wasn’t all gloomy. That just progressed my story to say so. -Smile.
One of the things I loved about that particular art group was that they often had themes. Once it was, chairs. So I made one out of a tofu container.
Another fond memory was a weekend trip. In my whole life I have never laughed that hard. More fun than I’d ever known.
I guess those were the reasons I longed to please them all. I loved them. I’ll always love them.
🍃🌸🍃
So, I didn’t lie. I omitted.
For interests sake.
🍃🌸🍃
Understood.:)
Weirdest for me was during book no. 1. Suddenly realized while writing that the story line and the main character would need to experience death of a loved one. Hardly able to write it. Became sad..still think of why I wrote it.
Rick., damn, that alone is remarkably intriguing. I can feel that space by what you shared. I have to think, your book must be a very, good read.
🍃🌸🍃
Fake positivity isn’t helpful.
You cannot tell anything from that short paragraph.
Death of a loved one isn’t exactly an original plot point.
There isn’t enough information or writing sample to judge whether it would be a ‘very good read’ or not.
Your comment is rude.
I’m not sure why I’d bother telling you why the dilemma felt personal to me. The hesitancy of bringing loss into a story. Since the loss of my husband, my intimate partner, I consider mentioning him each week in these blogs. Each week I feel that dilemma. 🍃🌸🍃
Yeah, I probably would not feel compelled to read your book at this point.
I see I was mistaken, it was not Rick who left such a rude comment. It was M, an anonymous troll. You think you’re clever. Humm? I see where you left another rude comment to someone else. Nasty.
Is there any question At 90 let me say I still like to push the boundaries You only get one chance
Chuck
Mr. Pressfield,
I understand your friend’s experience. While I was writing a scene between the protagonist and antagonist, the antagonist came out with dialogue that was so black and vicious that it actually made me jump in my chair.
“That came out of me?” I said to myself. “Holy smoke! Is that my shadow speaking?”
I’m currently finishing up my first screenplay. The catalyst for the main character that allows him to finally experience compassion is a hallucination induced by a forest creature trying to protect itself – he relives the death of his wife and only child. I have to write this scene by next week, and it’s breaking my brain because I don’t know if I’m up to it or if I can write something as horrific as it’s going to have to be to have the impact I want. This post, as always, is so timely. Thanks, Steven.
Aaron,
You can do it. The scene sounds intriguing. Scary as it sounds, I want to see it. Wish you what it takes to bring it forth.
I wish I would have had this kind of advice before I wrote my first screenplay.
Initial feedback from several people indicated that they didn’t like the amount of swearing in the screenplay.
It being my first screenplay I just let the characters be what they were when they came to my mind. I even had the sense that I didn’t know what a particular character was going to do or say next. That was exciting even for me.
The people pleaser in me got the better of it and I changed the language and I think over time what was colorful, beautiful, and raw became vanilla.
Maybe I’ll revisit that damn screenplay. I did get some useful feedback from a producer in Hollywood that I knew from a conference and he mentioned nothing about the language.
Funny thing is is I don’t swear that much in my everyday walking around life
Eu também leria. ‘Quanto mais solto melhor!’
Totally agree. Dark is reality. If this is still in draft form then finish it, dump everything you have into it and put it aside for a few weeks. Then go back and read it…Friction and dark are cousins… good in a novel…especially if it comes from someone who had their hands in the reality of dark.
The phrase the crazier, the better perfectly captures the exhilarating spirit of adventure, especially in contexts like extreme sports or unique gaming experiences. In the world of moto x3m, this mantra rings true as players navigate through wild and outrageous obstacles, pushing the limits of their skills and creativity.
This is a joke post right?
You are comparing extreme sports to playing video games??
Oh, you’re selling a product.
Pathetic.
Thank you so much dear Steve. Ah, I answer last of all this week.
You are absolutely right I think. Get off limits.
And I will add one thing. I think that it isn’t more important to the new writers than to the experienced ones. I could argue that in fact the experienced writer is dead meat: they have given their best and they have achieved what they achieved, but guess what: then they don’t have something new to give, but rather many variations and developments of what they already have given. It can be an always better copy, but always a copy, of things that have already been given by their very soul’s search. So “daring forward”, being crazy, can lead them to new lands, if they can control it. And that will be such a life to live, not being anchored anywhere, not even in what’s working, an Odysseus wandering in strange lands although he could just stay home. Oh yes he did wander almost voluntarily, do you feel that in the epic? P.s. I was told that Dostoyevski lived a crazy life. Ah, now I get it! Now I got him.
Those last years stole my craziness. It happens to all. I claim it back the last weeks. The prize is high and dangerous to pay. It is your killer instict awakening, and it wants to devour everything on its path. It takes you completely off that chair that you ‘ve burned up trying to write words so now you have one more potential enemy. Who wants to sit down and just write boring words, when a beast is out of the window waiting for him to take a ride? I mean, come on! But if you control that beast, letting it loose at the same time to devour, then I can’t say it better than Dozer at 0:06 sec at this scene: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GVUTiuPuxMc
We have things to do <3
A thought just came to my mind while walking at the super market: could listwning to instict mean listening to beauty? With all cautions ofcourse
A blank page stares, waiting for a writer’s quest to create outrageous blarney.
Just terrible.
The post was very enjoyable to read, however, it took me some time to read all of the comments. For me, as well as for all of the people who commented on this post, it was of great assistance. It is always comforting to be able to not only be informed but also entertained at the same time!
“The Crazier the Better” is a compelling read that encourages artists to embrace the darkness and push their creative boundaries. Steven Pressfield’s advice to not hold back is a refreshing take on the artistic process, reminding us that true innovation often lies in the depths of our discomfort. A must-read for writers and creatives daring to explore the unknown. #ArtAndMadness #EmbraceTheDark
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I find Paul’s story interesting and full of potential, because venturing into the dark corners of creativity not only helps him discover himself Monkey Mart Game but also opens up opportunities to create a unique and impressive work of art.
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Great advice! Embracing the dark side of creativity is key, just like with using a ‘calculadora de derivadas‘—sometimes the most unexpected results lead to the most interesting breakthroughs. Keep pushing those limits!
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