Book Review: The War of Art

I just finished reading The War of Art by Steven Pressfield (subtitled: Break Throught the Blocks and Win Your Inner Creative Battles) -a hard-nosed look at why artists, writers and other people creative find it so easy to be distracted from their work, and how to fix it. I found it inspirational, funny, and more to-the-point than was comfortable in some respects (with some adult language). A thread of thought runs through the book. It is that there is one culprit above all others that keeps us from our work-it actually encompasses most other culprits. It is what he calls Resistance. In various sections of the book, he explores Resistance andVictimhood, Resistance and Self-Dramatization, Resistance and Procrastination, Resistance and Fear, Criticism, Self-doubt, etc. Each section is short and direct. I really enjoyed that. Then, he goes into envisioning change. He pictures a true Professional and asks you to internalize the image. A Professional Seeks Order. A Professional Demystifies. A Professional Acts in the Face of Fear. -Asks for help. Perseveres. Doesn't take failure (or success) personally. Reinvents Herself. Recognizes limitations, etc. Again, concise and clear. In latter chapters, we go into how we see ourselves and how it affects our work, and many other deep (and difficult) reasons for procrastination in creation. It ends with assuring the artist (writer, musician, etc) that he/she has what it takes, if he/she will only know it.This author is a fiction writer, creator of international bestsellers The Legend of Bagger Vance, Gates of Fire, Tides of War, and Last of the Amazons. But here's a clip from the book body on his bringing this self-help work:" When I began this book, Resistance almost beat me. This is the form it took. It told me that I was a writer of fiction, not nonfiction, and that I shouldn't be exposing these concepts of Resistance literally and overtly; rather I should incorporate them metaphorically into a novel. That's a pretty subtle and convincing argument. The rationalization Resistance presented me with was that I should write say, a war piece in which the principles of Resistance were expressed as the fear a warrior feels. Resistance also told me I shouldn't seek to instruct, or put myself forward as a purveyor of wisdom; that this was vain, egotistical, possibly even corrupt, and that it would work to harm to me in the end. That scared me. It made a lot of sense. What finally convinced me to go ahead was simply that I was so unhappy not going ahead. I was developing symptoms. As soon as I sat down and began, I was okay."

I recommend this book highly. It has much for many of us who have much to give. Life happens, and it has happened to us all, but keeping tools such as this one around to kick us in the pants now and then can help us to wake up, renew our resolve, and keep on working...