“The writer is an infantryman. He knows that progress is measured in yards of dirt extracted from the enemy, one day, one hour, one minute at a time and paid for in blood. The artist wears combat boots. He looks in the mirror and sees GI Joe. Remember, the Muse favors working stiffs. She hates prima donnas. To the gods, the supreme sin is not rape or murder, but pride. To think of yourself as a mercenary, a gun for hire, implants the proper humility. It purges pride and preciousness.” -Steven Pressfield, The War of Art
My favorite book on the craft of writing, by far, is Steven Pressfield’s The War of Art. It’s really intended for anyone in a creative field, but Pressfield is a writer. It’s so like me to gravitate to a book that kicks you in the ass. Pressfield does not sugar coat anything, and you get the impression he’s trying to scare you into quitting – to separate the hardcore from the pussies (he is a former marine who writes war fiction).
He is mean to me. And I love him for it. Because in this field (or any creative field), there’s no room for whiners. I dare you to not be a puddle or tears or a determined hard-ass after you read this book. If I didn’t know better I’d swear I was related to the guy.
The entire book is quotable to me, but here’s some of my faves:
“If you’re paralyzed with fear, it’s a good sign. It shows you what you have to do.”
“The opposite of love isn’t hate, it’s indifference.”
“What are we trying to heal anyway. The athlete knows the day will never come when he wakes up pain-free. He has to play hurt.”
“The amateur believes he must first overcome his fear; then he can do his work. The professional knows that fear can never be overcome. He knows there is no such thing as a fearless warrior, or a dread-free artist.”
“It’s better to be in the arena, getting stomped by the bull, then to be up in the stands or out in the parking lot.”
“Resistance will tell you anything to keep you from doing your work. It will perjure, fabricate, falsify, seduce, bully, cajole. Resistance is protean. It will assume any form, if that’s what it takes to deceive you. It will reason with you like a lawyer, or jam a nine millimeter in your face like a stickup man. Resistance has no conscience. It will pledge anything to get a deal, then double-cross you as soon as your back is turned. If you take Resistance at its word, you deserve everything you get. Resistance is always lying, and always full of shit”
“You know, Hitler wanted to be an artist. At eighteen he took his inheritance, seven hundred kronen, and moved to Vienna to live and study. He applied to the Academy of Fine Arts and later to the School of Architecture. Ever see one of his paintings? Neither have I. Resistance beat him. Call it overstatement, but I’ll say it anyway: it was easier for Hitler to start World War II than it was for him to face a blank square of canvas.”
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Nice. Honestly though, I never refer to myself as an artist. I’m a writer. Two completely different piles of BS.
“The opposite of love isn’t hate, it’s indifference.”
Do you know that, finally, at the age of I’ve finally realized this is true?! And, oh! Indifference is wonderful.
I must get this book.