The War of Art

The first half of this book resonated with me greatly - probably one of the best “get it done” / motivation books. However, the second half fell flat. Ramblings about god, angels, and muses just don't click for me. A couple of great chapters litter the second half though, namely the discussions around “territory”. If you were the last person on Earth, what would you still do?

Eh... I think this book has a lot of valuable wisdom behind it, but for me, I do not find this style of writing personally effective. (Yes, I really am ‘its not you, its me'-ing to a book). The writing style was the literary equivalent of a young man in the gym hyping himself up in the mirror. It is good advice though, and if the style is one you resonate with, I imagine it could be an invaluable thing to read.

Un livre de moins de 200 pages, avec de courts chapitres, mais profondément inspirant. Dans la première partie, Steven Pressfield définit ce qu'il appelle la Résistance, cette force qui nous empêche de réaliser notre potentiel créatif et qui se manifeste notamment par la procastination. La deuxième partie permet à l'auteur de proposer sa solution pour lutter contre la Résistance, en adoptant une attitude de Pro dans notre travail de création. La troisième partie parle d'inspiration et d'attitude créative. Plus mystique, elle m'a moins plu, mais l'impression laissée par les deux premiers tiers du livre a été suffisante : c'est un livre inspirant et marquant, que je pense garder en tête un bout de temps.

Un livre majeur pour comprendre et dépasser les blocages que l'on peut rencontrer quand on désire s'atteler à une tâche importante et que tout semble conspirer contre nous. Aussi salvateur face à la procrastination ainsi qu'un grand coup de pieds nous incitant à enfin nous mettre à agir et pratiquer notre “art” quelqu'il soit.

“Creative work is not a selfish act or a bid for attention on the part of the actor. It's a gift to the world and every being in it. Don't cheat us of your contribution. Give us what you've got.”

This is a classic, short read that outlines The Resistance experienced by all artists and entrepreneurs (often called procrastination, but with much deeper analysis).

This would be an excellent gift for someone who wants to “turn pro” - the new writer especially. If you struggle to complete work that matters to you, I highly recommend reading this. It would probably pair well with Big Magic by Elizabeth Gilbert.

DNF. Drivel. I enjoy Pressfield's fiction writing, and am willing to give his other non fiction a chance after some distance from this one, but this one seems like he had a book deadline and hadn't written anything, so he took some Adderall and cranked this bad boy out in one night, and then never looked back. The book can be summed up with, “hey, get your shit done, because I said so.”

I learnt about this book because of Rich Roll's and Lex Friedman's interviews with the author. The podcast's gave me great expectations about the book. But, sadly, page after page I was presented baseless claims about topics the author doesn't dominate at all.
The main message is “procrastination is bad”, as if that was some kind of divine revelation. But the whole book feels as “Dunning-Kruger, the extended version”

Steven Pressfield uses the analogy of war (I hope it's just an analogy) for the process of writing. He pits Resistance, our human ego, against us as we attempt to write our screenplay or novel. The first chapters are grim, with all the fighting and battles and struggles in our quest to simply write. He proposes we must become Professionals, standing firm against Resistance, showing up every day, ignoring the voices in our head (our ego self) that urge us to give up.

I like Elizabeth Gilbert's take on the quest to write better, I think, but Big Magic may not work for everyone and The War of Art definitely offers a more aggressive take on the writing adventure.

The book aims to help individuals overcome their creative struggles. It is certainly a book that has resonated with many people, but personally, I found it to be a mixed bag.

The book's core message is valuable and relatable, as it identifies the enemy of creativity as “Resistance” and offers practical advice on how to conquer it. Pressfield emphasizes the importance of discipline, consistency, and adopting a professional mindset, which are undeniably essential aspects of any creative pursuit.

However, the tone of the book didn't sit well with me. Pressfield's writing often came across as overly aggressive and didactic, which I found to be off-putting. Instead of feeling inspired, I sometimes felt alienated by the author's approach. I believe the message could have been delivered more effectively with a more empathetic tone.

If you can look past the author's aggressive style, there is valuable advice to be found.

I already understood the critical importance of persistence in achieving any goal but enjoyed and benefited from the reinforcement he focuses on in part one of the three part book. I enjoyed (and saved) the profound observations Pressfield states throughout the book. This is a fast but important read no matter what your pursuit is.

More of a pep talk than a how-to guide. There is some great stuff in there, I liked the chapter on criticism, but overall it didn't really give me much in the way of action items or motivate me. If you feel like you could use a good kick in the pants to get you started, this would be a good book for you, especially the audiobook.

My typical approach to reading a short book like this is to chug it down in one sitting or two, but I took my time with this one ‰ЫУ a whole week!

Over the course of the week, I would see it waiting for me on the coffee table or my bedside table and look away quickly, like it was someone whose eyes I didn‰ЫЄt want to meet. There are some books that are scary because they call you on your bullshit, and it‰ЫЄs not easy to face.

Yes, I would love to be an artist. (I want to put the word in quotes, but I won‰ЫЄt.) But I do not love the idea of what I need to sacrifice for the sake of making art. Especially, though, I do not love the idea of being an artist whose work is actually terrible, even after doing all the work and making all the sacrifices. Not that I have a lot to sacrifice ‰ЫУ mostly only things I don‰ЫЄt need anyway. Wanting to make art is scary, because you won‰ЫЄt find out if you are any good until you‰ЫЄve already taken the risks.

The most important parts of the book were these two ideas:
1. You need to do the work. If you want to write, you have to sit down and write.
2. You need to rely on yourself, not others, to know whether what you make is good.

Pressfield doesn‰ЫЄt talk about how to find an audience or make money. He talks about how to make art, regardless of who will see it or whether you can make a living from it. He talks about being a professional versus an amateur, but it‰ЫЄs not about being successful by other people‰ЫЄs standards. The important thing is to succeed by your own standards. The more important thing is simply to do it.

There are parts of the book I disagree with (connecting ‰ЫПmaking art‰Ыќ with ‰ЫПbeing healthy and sane‰Ыќ goes too far), but most of it is in tune with my difficulties with writing. My biggest problem is that I don‰ЫЄt sit down and write often enough. I want a clear picture in my head of what to write before I start, but the reality is that I don‰ЫЄt know what I want to write until I am already writing. Writing is the means of discovering what I think and what I want to say. But I become impatient with the meandering and worry that I can't tell what‰ЫЄs good and what‰ЫЄs not. Often I give up before I get to the good stuff, or I never get started because I don‰ЫЄt think the good stuff will be worthwhile anyway.

Pressfield‰ЫЄs arguments for how to be an artist ring true for how to be a person, too. You always have to struggle against the weak, mean, sad, angry, scared sides of yourself to do the right thing and get things done. You need to judge your life by your own standards, not by other people‰ЫЄs. You need to trust your own standards or work to improve them until you can trust them.

I enjoyed this book not just for its advice to writers and artists, but because it provides an approach to dealing with things I‰ЫЄve been struggling with for a long time. I‰ЫЄve imposed limitations on how I think I should live my life, and I think I‰ЫЄve been wrong. I don‰ЫЄt regret anything, exactly, but I see things differently now. I suppose, though, I wouldn‰ЫЄt see things differently now if I hadn‰ЫЄt lived through those self-imposed limitations. I'm not carefree and boundless, but maybe I‰ЫЄm closer.

(Originally published in my weekly newsletter, All This Reading, with some differences.)