We spoke in the previous post about mankind’s evolution over hundreds of thousands of years from savage to barbarian to slave and helot, serf and peasant to courtier, conscript, subject of a king or queen. In other words, some form of pawnship in which the capacity to think and act for ourselves was either limited or proscribed completely.

When did this change? What was the first glimmer? To me, it was with the ancient Greeks and it achieved its apotheosis in Athens during the Age of Pericles. Athens was the first great democracy. 

Demos = people. Kratia = rule. 

In Athens and the other democratic poleis (city-states) of ancient Greece, a type of human being appeared for the first time.

The citizen. 

The free citizen of a free state.

Why am I talking about this? Because this totally new incarnation of homo sapiens is the precursor to the contemporary artist⎯to everything you and I aspire to be. 

And because this new type of human began to understand, for the first time in history, the burden and responsibility of self-rule.

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.

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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.

The-Authentic-Swing

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.

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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?"

Turning-Pro

14 Comments

  1. Jackie on January 7, 2026 at 3:53 am

    I will take the burden and responsibility of self-rule over the comfort of the herd to be who I am. And oh, it’s not easy, but so worth the effort. Wish everyone an enlightened week.

  2. Joe Jansen on January 7, 2026 at 5:12 am

    Free citizen of a free state. Let’s ensure that remains true, and does not fade into distant history.

    • Jackie on January 7, 2026 at 5:48 am

      Ditto, Joe.

    • Bettina Barry on January 7, 2026 at 7:40 am

      A “Free Citizen” A “Free State” Those are lofty romantic notions that can’t exist. As an individual, being free is to be a wild beast. The Free state is not possible without laws and obligations of the citizens to authority. One can master himself as a slave or as a citizen — that is in the mind. I image being a soldier Pericles’ army required self discipline (mastering one self) but the soldier wasn’t a Free man and the army wasn’t a Free state.

      • Jackie on January 7, 2026 at 10:39 am

        Forgive me if I’m not following the concept correctly. I wish to have an open mind. I do understand as citizens we have obligations and laws to authority, but what if the authority is wrong or perverse? What if authority itself changes the rules to benefit only a few? Then what is our obligation to ourselves and fellow citizens?

    • Joe Jansen on January 7, 2026 at 2:26 pm

      I’m partial to the quote by Jean Jacques Rousseau (1712-1778), I think from The Social Contract:

      “There is no liberty, then, without laws, or where any man is above the laws…. A free people obeys, but it does not serve; it has magistrates, but not masters; it obeys nothing but the laws, and thanks to the force of the laws, it does not obey men.”

      • Jackie on January 7, 2026 at 2:55 pm

        Thanks Joe. I love the quote. I will read further.

  3. Janus Adams on January 7, 2026 at 5:14 am

    Thank you. Please amplify far and wide.

  4. John Raisor on January 7, 2026 at 5:44 am

    Self rule #1 – True freedom comes from discipline and responsibility.

    • Richard on January 7, 2026 at 11:50 am

      This. Always this.

  5. Brad Graft on January 7, 2026 at 6:22 am

    John, I think you’re on to it…

  6. Bill Evans on January 7, 2026 at 6:48 am

    But never forgetting that Athens too fell into despotism. It’s far far easier than being in a democracy where you actually are required to participate.

  7. Maggie Hill on January 7, 2026 at 6:58 am

    Keep going to your point!

  8. Tolis on January 7, 2026 at 12:43 pm

    Thank you so much dear Steve. Im exhausted today so I won’t deploy many chains of thought, but I will just say that it makes great sense if a society or better yet the people achieve the self-rule dynamic, but in a manner of self not only as independent but also philosophical, or spiritual even -in scientific measure though.

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