A New Home
My apologies, friends, for falling behind on these updates … a lot has been happening.
Diana and I have found a long-term (one-year) rental—a nice little house on a nice little street, close enough to the burn area for us to be able to stay on top of developments. We got lucky. The owners showed the house only to us; they have been redo-ing it with great care for a couple of years. It’s spotless, sunny, and the neighbors are great.
Meanwhile the massive rebuild process for L.A. continues. For our side of town, the first order of business is clearing the debris—i.e., the remains of houses that burned down—along Pacific Coast Highway. This is a world-class disaster area that goes on and on and on. But the crews and trucks and excavators are in there now, behind barricades that have turned PCH (which was a major commuter thoroughfare) into a one-lane road open only to emergency crews, contractors, and residents with passes. The National Guard is still there, operating checkpoints.
Our specific neighborhood, which is a mile up a steep hill off PCH, has had only the odd Debris Removal operation—a couple here, another one there. Our neighbors two doors down had their property “scraped” and another neighbor a few doors farther had a giant excavator digging yesterday. But that’s all we’ve seen. 170 houses on our hill remain piles of junk.
Supposedly the Army Corps of Engineers will phone us a few days before they come out and give homeowners a chance to plead with them not to be too brutal with their clearance swings. We haven’t heard anything yet.
The big emotional takeaway from developments seems to be this:
Don’t get too fixated on news you hear today. Keep breathing, hang onto hope … stuff may change. I don’t want to complain in these updates, so I won’t vent here. Suffice it to say that the idea that local government was going to help victims of this catastrophe and make a rebuild of their lives easier … we have seen pretty much the opposite . I will say no more for now, remembering the mantra above. It may all work out in the end.
Keeping a positive attitude has been very hard for me. I try to keep in mind how lucky we are in so many ways—and we are!—but sometimes three in the morning looks pretty grim.
What’s keeping me together is Diana (who is a champ in bad-news situations), my friends and family (who have without exception been great) … and the work.
I refuse to let this shit knock me off my writing rhythm. I just won’t let it happen. And surprisingly (or maybe not so surprisingly) I’m stumbling and bumbling and grinding and the juice is still there.
“Don’t got ahead of yourself!” “Don’t be shy about calling friends.” “Keep your head down and keep working!” That’s what I tell myself.
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?"
I am gratified to hear that you passed your own test: Do not be dissuaded from the mission, as long as your fingers work well enough to write.
I guess the one question I have for Angelenos [along with many others that Adam Carolla has well summarized] is this: Why was the party of wildfires-are-the-new-normal so catastrophically unprepared for what they have been warning us all about so melodramatically for years? Why did they allow the Palisades reservoir to sit empty for a year because the cover something something? Why were so many fire trucks idled due to budget misallocation? Why did they promise so fervently on national television that rebuilding permits would be fast-tracked, to a constituency which was already accustomed to decades of bald-faced lies and pathological avoidance of civic responsibility?
I guess, like Rick Caruso and a lot of the “normal people” who used to participate in California politics, I often find myself wondering when the party who still likes to blame Ronald Reagan for today’s homelessness catastrophe will ever look in the mirror and take ownership of the smoldering craters that populate the landscape in the wake of their Decent and Compassionate managerial style. Not only in Los Angeles, not only in California, not only in America, but around the entire world. It’s almost as if George Orwell had never bothered to write Animal Farm, because the very people who most need to read it never think it might apply to them. Who needs to waste valuable time reading dusty old history books, when they can govern the hoi polloi based on progressive vibes?
Apologies if I sound bitter; we are both old enough to resent people who fancy themselves too clever to learn from the mistakes of their predecessors. And you ain’t seen nothing yet. Wait until gasoline and electricity prices take off logarithmically by the end of the year. Can’t wait to see who they try to pin that on, in a one-party forum.
I guess I’m just waiting for the citizens whose hard work subsidizes the nanny state to realize that the emperor is not only naked, but in fact the love child of Commodus and Caligula. No wonder they hate Donald Trump so virulently. Game recognize game.
Steven —. We are all so glad to know you and your wife are safe and have a home that’s at least working! Please keep the writing/publishing schedule. We are with you!
A topic of interest is how do we come together to rebuild. At one time we had neighborhood barn raisings. More modernly, we formed a GOVERNMENT to do things like FEMA. Now we have a president run by teams that say we aren’t allowed to do that, because (to the members of those three teams that are running the operations under him, it is sometimes fraudulent (against a few victims, and it is a wasteful and inefficient thing to have a government run an operation like FEMA).
But you, as a writer with a voice, can be a LEADER in saying perhaps it IS inefficient, but it is how we, the people, wish to create a government, and to go about running things to help people. (Having us, the people, be in charge of making the laws, and choosing an executive that is sworn to take care that those laws are carried out, has worked pretty well since we started the system in 1787 or so…
And who is to say we can’t keep doing this system of having the people’s representatives MAKE the laws and having an executive sworn to take care that they are carried out…?!
Please use your voice. Please lead us in a direction of allowing us, the people, to continue forming a government that serves at our pleasure. (We ought to be able to keep doing it, even if WITHIN such a system there IS some small semblance of waste, or fraud, or abuse. We fought a WAR over being free to do this, to have this kind of government over ourselves.)
-Shughy
So great to get an update, thank you. Getting a semi permanent home is a huge step forward. I’ve been ill and promised myself to put my ass in the chair everyday (wonder who told me that!) even if for a short time, and it’s amazing to me how a body of work builds up. I’m on day 326 of daily videos and only this morning realised I could be repurposing the audio for other projects I have. So glad you are still creating.
Steven, my heart goes out to you and Diana as you navigate the heartbreak, uncertainty, and slow-motion devastation left in the wake of this disaster. Though I don’t know you personally, I’ve long admired your resilience and voice, and it’s clear that same strength now steadies you through unimaginable loss.
May you both be provided for in every way — emotionally, spiritually, financially, and physically. May grace find you in quiet moments, and may the right people, the right support, and the right timing come into your life just when you need them most.
This is a storm, yes, but storms pass. And from your words, I can already see that your light, your work, and your bond with Diana are unshaken at the core. That’s powerful. That’s enough.
You’re in my thoughts and prayers.
And remind yourself not to beat yourself up for the moments you struggle with swirling emotions—-from sadness and grief to anger and frustration to overwhelm. Your human. You’ve suffered great loss. Your gratitude shines through in your love for your wife and her strength and the ability “to keep on keeping on” with your writing! Many of us are praying for you both, I am sure. On a different note, your new little rental looks like a story book house! Charming! Your updates help us uphold you in prayer! Making them “real” gives us a window into your heart. Praying now…
Wow! I’ve never come on site when there were no other posts to read yet…aBostonese BUMMAH! So good morning Steve, Yes, you can vent- it may make interesting reading somewhere down the line- for people like me who lived in Seattle and spent my first two years of college in San Diego- who know the PCH and Santa Ana winds and had a fellow freshman friend who came from Altadena. My Altadena friend and I had a friend from Portland. Diana, your wife is probably the sort of person I’d like to help out packing, shifting stuff, and helping you keep your chin off the ground. Cheers to Diana🎉👍🥂 Cheers to YOU 👍👍🎉🥂. Beyond all my cheering, what can I do from here on the opposite coast, to help? Is Habitat For Humanity involved in any way? I donate there.. Sending anything physical seems out of the question, as you probably have storage issues already. So here’s more bright-side cheering🌄🏄🏼♀️🌊 ( a few bars of Mony Python- ALWAYS LOOK at the BRIGHT…) Over and out.
This is where history comes in handy. Take a look back. Review all the shit you’ve already been through. From reading your books, you’ve made it through some tough stuff. You got this. We’re rooting for you, Steve. Keep faith and hope close.
Steven,
Even in the midst of all you’re enduring you are an inspiration! Your new home looks cozy and ready to shelter you and Diana. I’m glad the juices are flowing for you, and wish you productive and meaningful writing hours. I’m sorry to hear the gears of recovery are moving slowly in LA, and hope that changes soon. Thank you for all you share and do for other writers. You are truly a light in a world in need of illumination. Sending healing energy.
—Jan
Dear Steve & Diana,
This community here cares deeply about you, so thank you for the update! This entire ordeal couldn’t be easy. When we experience tragedy at this magnitude, processing it into manageable or even understandable emotions is difficult because it’s such a shock to the system! Our elected officials are supposed to be public servants. Disappointment hurts those that expect more and would do more themselves, but I’ve learned some people just “check out” when it would help them to “check in” with others. I bet your gift of writing has been a way to vent & process all of this — I’m curious to see where this experience will take you with your creativity. I know each one of us already knows it is alchemy for Mr. Pressfield! That rental with no heat or electricity? Trucking days? You get sh@t done and inspire us all!
These blog posts about the loss of your home and reporting on the massive disaster are not what you’d ever planned to write. It’s more like being a wartime journalist. Thank you for persisting in your generous sharing about it all. Thank you for keeping on keeping on writing these posts for us, which of course exemplifies more than you ever set about to teach.
Thanks for the update. Keep showing up for yourself, call your friends, and hug Diana.
The house looks sweet and welcoming.
Chills and tears as I read this. I grew up in nearby Orange County and no matter where I’ve lived throughout the years, my heart remains there along with neighbors in neighboring counties. The “new” house is adorable! Thank you for your updates – we’re all here cheering you on!
Thanks for the update Steven.
Don’t be deterred from your writing, your emails or – most of all – rebuilding your life
We’ll keep you and your family in our prayers. Hold on to your peace amid life’s storms.
So glad that you have somewhere to live while this goes on. As someone that lives in coastal Texas I have had to live through and witness the devastation and rebuilding after mutlitple hurricanes and know first hand what a toll it takes trying to get anything done. Sending prayers now.
Bravo for self- awareness and self affirmation. Especially in times of deep shit. Blessings!
Thank you for the update, Steve. I’ve been reading your blog for nigh on fifteen years now and I’m always inspired by your commitment to not only do the work but everything else in between. And your transparency about the tough stuff – such as life at three in the morning – is also an inspiration (and a reminder that I’m not alone in that!). So glad to hear that you’ve found such a great spot for the next year and that you’re chipping away at what’s important, as always.
Good on ‘ya, mate. We had many who left us too early… Semper Fidelis, Bing
This is the first time I have ever read a personal experience in one of our natural disasters of the actual aftermath experience. I recently finished GATES OF FIRE. It was the book I selected to read first in my personal project I started for this year relating to America turning 250 next year. Originally I was going to read my biographies of patriots, thinking I would add a few to fill any gaps. On reflecting on a trip to St. Augustine with my daughter last year, I paused thinking … wait a minute, that was the Spanish not the English. What was actually going on to birth a nation? (My husband says I slept through school. I was just focused on other things.) Anyhow, after pushing through some history books I had, I decided 380 BC would be my beginning point.
Then last week I looked you up as a curiosity and discovered THE WAR OF ART (as well as others but I have to stay focused and will order another day).
Keep hanging and banging!!!!
Sue Ellen Yates
I need to clarify. I ordered THE WAR OF ART and have finished reading! It was a motivator. The other interesting books will have to wait.😄
Kudos to Diane!
Per ardua ad astra
Amen Steven! Recognizing how difficult it must be, I absolutely love your commitment to not letting the ‘turkeys get you down!” It’s no small task but, as you write, instrumental to staying on track and stepping over the alluring resistance and negativity that lurks in the distance. Thank you for this great reminder… to keep going… slow and steady… letting go along the way and persevering. I am reading the book you recommended by Nick Murray, though I am not a financial planner and I’m loving it… prospecting has a new meaning for me… again, thank you!! So glad you both have a home…. it sounds like it’s already furnished with lots of love.
I found some photos of PHS classmates from a reunion at our house about 10 years ago. Matt is going to scan them into the computer & send them to you. I’m still hunting for more and will photocopy pages from the yearbook for you and send them also. Ginger
Prayed for you guys this morning.
“Have a little faith, baby. Have a little faith.”
—Oddball, Kelly’s Heroes
I can’t imagine. I have never been through anything so devastating. But what God tells me when stuff happens? “Just keep writing.”
It’s our lifeline.
Man, that looks like a tidy spot to hole up while you two work through the rebuild. Looks like it has a good vibe to it. And the owner showed it only to you? Feels like some element of serendipity in that.
“Keeping a positive attitude has been very hard for me.” Thanks for opening yourself up to share something that’s probably hard for you to say out out loud.
I recall in one of Natalie Goldberg’s books (Writing Down the Bones or Wild Mind, one of those), she talked about writing being like throwing things on a compost heap. Banana peels, coffee grounds, orange rinds, egg shells. You turn it, the stuff decomposes, transforms, breaks down complexity into simpler components. One day, a flower sprouts. And when you think about it, the metaphor is good to describe the creative process, but you can also extend it to these lives in general.
“Stumbling and bumbling and grinding”: the compost heap. “… the juice is still there”: there’s the flower that sprouts in the middle of it all.
You and Diana have LOTS of friends.
Having gone through Katrina and the federal levee failures in New Orleans in 2005, I read your words and see and hear truth, Steven. You will endure and prevail, as will your work.
Glad to hear things are moving forward, even it it’s at a glacial pace.
Also glad to hear the juice/the Muse connection is there. The work sustains. Which might be just the thing to get through all this.
“Keep breathing and hang on to hope.” Excellent advice Steve. Praying continuously for you folks and all the others who have been burned out. Happy you found a place so close to home. Really, really proud of you for continuing to work. You practice what you preach. Good man.
Perspective is everything. Thank you for sharing your journey…us east-coasters haven’t forgotten about you.
As you said yourself, Steve: “Don’t be shy about calling friends.” It’s a great chance to vent! I would be happy to hear from you. Love, Sys
Keep on fighting! You are an amazing inspiration, Stephen, and always have been. It’s neat to see you living in Mar Vista where I grew up, even if only a temporary home. Thank you for your work!
Much love, Steven. This must be so hard! Keep on keeping on, brave writer!
The temporary house looks good. Very homey. A nice neighborhood is everything.
Take it from me, a military wife with about a hundred moves in my resume. Okay, that was an exaggeration. It just felt like it at times.
So glad to know you are writing through it all. Keep it up. You are needed.
What a sweet little house! I’m glad to hear that you and Diana found it. I have family in Venice and am so grateful that that area was somehow bypassed. I live on the mid-coast of Maine–far from the “madding crowd”.
Best wishes with your new digs and your continued writing success!
The lovely,”sunshiney” home, a promise of good things to come.
Your message is filled with so many honest, hard feelings, but also hope. One grain of hope is real and transformative.
C XX
Thank you! Your encouraging words help a lot! I too am stumbling and bumbling through, but I will keep my head down and keep at it. It will all work out in the end. 🙂
What a sweet little house! I’m glad that you and Diana found it. I have family in Venice Beach, and I’m so grateful that the fires somehow bypassed their area. I live on the mid-coast of Maine–relatively safe from forest fires.
Best wishes with your new digs and your continued writing success!
Rebecca Solnit writes about the ‘help’ from the federal government in ‘Paradise Built in Hell’ which is about 5 separate catastrophes. Fascinating read. One lesson is the heavy boot of government often squashes the organic community gardens, aid stations, food dispensaries. It is an optimistic view of mankind, how compassion, ingenuity, and cooperation break out much faster and more often than riots and thievery.
You and Diana remain in my thoughts and prayers.
bsn
All the best to you and Diane, Steve! Keep going. Be happy.
Love your new house and your rules for surviving. Bird by bird right?
I send you light love and laughter, this too shall pass xoxoxo
Sending all the best wishes and much light your way!
My daughter once decided to find someone who looks at her the way my husband (her dad) looks at a miter saw 🙂
You make me wonder, Steve, if I’ve ever loved a place the way you and Diana love this part of California!
You and Diana’s positivism in the face of this disaster is inspiring, Steve! So glad you found a nice place to live, and a way to meet new neighbors and make new friends. Keep exercising and writing, my friend!
Brilliant M 1. Semper Fi
Attachment is the root of all suffering…let go… suffer less
Thank you for sharing. I can’t help but think of the refining fires we will face in the end and how is this just a taste of what the Lord has in his love for you.
You’re both in my prayers. Happy to hear a little house showed up. Happy to hear how amazing Diana is in your life.
Happy to hear a sweet little home showed up. Happy to hear how awesome Diana is in your life.
Shalom.
Write it and publish it.
Betting “it” will be one you are very proud of.
PS
Remembering your story of “Bagger Vance” creation
Steve
I’ve been reading and following your work for years. We had fires in Santa Rosa, although we weren’t affected, so I have an idea of how you feel. One never really knows however. We hold you in our prayers and good thoughts as we say Grace every day. Love you man, keep the focus. I know you will.
BE Well
Chuck
GOD BLESS YOU. HANG IN THERE. YOU WILL CONQUER. THE HOUSE IS SWEET. ENJOY.
SENDING HUGS. REMEMBER. YOU HAVE EACH OTHER. THAT IS THE TRUE BLESSING
I went through Hurricane Katrina back in ’05… getting knocked off your feet and having to rebuild is one of the most challenging experiences life can throw at you. I’m so glad you’ve found a new, even if temporary, place to ground and breathe. Sending lots of love to you and Diana—you are in my heart and meditations.
So, sorry. It’s not surprising considering the adversarial relationship between the orange one and your governor + the current cutting services mania.
What I can tell you speaking from Louisville, Colorado ( you know the town that was on fire December 30, 2021) under a way kinder administration— some of our neighbors are still building.
I think what. I’m trying to say is patience is the key.
all times I have enjoy’d
Greatly, have suffer’d greatly, both with those
That loved me, and alone; I am become a name;
Death closes all: but something ere the end,
Some work of noble note, may yet be done,
Tho’ much is taken, much abides; and tho’
We are not now that strength which in old days
Moved earth and heaven; that which we are, we are;
One equal temper of heroic hearts,
Made weak by time and fate, but strong in will
To strive, to seek, to find, and not to yield.
from Tennyson’s “Ulysses”
I lost my house too. Burned to ashes in Topanga. I didn’t live there anymore due to divorce. But I paid and sweated and loved it for 25 years. So sorry to hear your loss but I bet you come out better:
“That which does not destroy us..makes us stronger.” Friedrich Nietzsche
“… and the work.”
This all has to end up in a future novel!
That what these events are actually FOR!
I know, easy for me to say, my house didn’t burn down.
On the other hand, I don’t have a house …
Prayers for your housing situation to improve, and for the all-important work to continue.
These disasters shake up the mind and remind us that nothing is under our control.
Call anytime.
Dear Steve, what a fairy-tale house you rent.
I can also vision Diana as if she is right in front of me -her energy, for I know her face only a little: emitting that serious but befriending and sweet optimism right above -but much higher than- the base line of the disaster’s impact to her and you and all.
I think there is tremendous power in disasters, as in every large scale act of the world. It’s just hard to harness, it needs more than just instinct. There’s the difference.
Even the small act of writing down at the beginning of the day what you will do in the day gives birth to a whole different day.
Imagine what we could do if we could think deep.
My love and hope.
Having worked with hurricane victims in Florida who lost everything but their lives, I can imagine what you are going through. All I can say is God bless you and give you the strength to carry on.
You thankfully have one another to steady your course. Each new day is a gift and a beginning. Have hope and know that God is watching over you.
I wish I could offer you more support. I am so far away, but I send you my mental hugs and wishes for peace and future prosperity.
As we would say to one another when I was in the Army, “See you in the foxhole battle buddy, I got your six covered.”
Way to soldier on, Steve! Love the cute little rental you and Diana secured – it’s so perfect for now, and, well that’s all any of us have is now. Transition is everybody’s new normal these days 😉
Stephen! Keep on! This, too shall pass – but not before it sucks some more. I think that’s a direct quote from Solomon. One foot in front of the other, just for today!
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Uno de los momentos más bellos de la vida.
There’s something so grounding about this post — it’s not just about finding a new space, but reclaiming creative purpose. Steven’s words always feel like home for the soul. And speaking of comforting rituals, nothing beats a quiet moment with a paaseieren kleurplaat — simple joy at its best!
When I feel that resistance arrive (daily, sometimes hourly), I will think of this post. You are a true inspiration.
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Sorry to hear you were effected by that disaster, but glad to hear you and family are safe. When you were lecturing in the Meta Verse, about 2 year ago, I imagined you were at your home on the large patio. As a fan of your writing I was so excited to participate in my oculus. My favorites are “Do the work” audio book Which I found in the public library, I have followed you every since, the oddest experience was you on the streaming radio or pod cast with some guys mentioning getting high, which you handled well, LOL. The book may be old but I recently finish Government Cheese, I really liked the characters. And just so you know I prefer the books that you do the audio. Take care Steve hope to see you around, Martha from Arizona, but raised in Los Angeles..
Steven & Diana, your pen is your warrior piece, your story is your twin light. Telling your story of this darkness, whilst you are both standing in your own inner light. Here’s something different for your eyes to rest upon.
Invocation of the Warrior’s Bloom
A cherry blossom falls, not in surrender, but in war,
A whisper of silk, yet a thunderous roar.
He rides with the wind, the storm in his veins,
A pen-blade in his grip, where mercy remains.
Through crimson dusk and steel’s embrace,
His spirit shines—past a deathless grace.
Mother Earth’s fire, Steven’s might,
An ember glowing through endless night.
Astride his steed, swift as fate,
A sigil gleams—divinely feminine and ornate.
Not just a warrior, but legend writers untamed,
By honor and moonlight, our soul-pen remains.
By Paula Brown
I’m seeing more brides go for pastel mehndi dresses and it’s refreshing.
Wow, this is intense! Glad you and Diana found a place. It sounds like a real struggle, but your writing is so strong. Keep at it, and thanks for sharing the reality of what’s happening.
Steven & Diana,
Very happy to hear you two found sanctuary – I have relatives in Malibu & Altadena who were similarly fortunate, but as a former L.A. resident for 20 years before relocating to Vegas, I wonder how the whole thing could have been so poorly mismanaged by local government from the outset. Anyway, thank you for your wwritings which continue to inspire us all! Hang in there – it’ll get better…
[SP: writings] 🤬
So great to get an update, thank you.
Even though he had no knowledge of the Antarctic link origin the military theory is indeed plausible. The seller might not have been too far off the mark. Remember the various methods of transportation used to get the core samples back to Scott Base from the drilling site A U.S. Navy helicopter was among the fleet. The watch may have been gifted to the pilot. That may have been how it ended up in the U.S. when most of the other recipients were part of the New Zealand crew.
Steve,
My first 50 pages on my first screenplay has my heroine publishing A critical Examination of the Life of Xerxes.
She is a professor of Ancient Greek History at a university in Oregon. And that is a minor part of her life as the story develops with an award winning screenwriter lover who solves a crisis in her family life.
Et. Etc.
My professor suggested your work to me and as soon as get out of my white terrycloth bathrobe and start my day i will see what the lady has on her mind for me today. At least her lover’s name is not Leonides. I know better than that.