If there's a book that should be wedged into every freelancer's toolbox, it's this one: The War of Art.
It's by Steven Pressfield, novelist and screenwriter. He wrote The Legend of Bagger Vance, Gates of Fire, The Last of the Amazons, The Afghan Campaign, The Virtues of War, and most recently Killing Rommel. This guy produces.
In the War of Art he has much to say to us creatives and freelancers and entrepreneurial types who have stacks of unrealized daydream projects and works laying around undone. Or even untouched.
Why we don't do
How come we don't 'get around' to writing that symphony, or building that web venture? We're spending our days designing user manuals, which we detest, yet we still don't sit down to do the scary hard work that could break us into the big time. Why the hell not?
Or maybe we've lucked into the all-time juicy dream assignment from the best client ever. And it's laying there undone because we're so freaking scared of blowing it, we don't even start. (Where I am this very day.)
How to get off your ass
Mr. Pressfield names the demon 'Resistance', that anti-force that keeps us from sitting down and doing our work. And by 'work' he means that thing we were born to do, that calling that tugs at our soul. The thing we should be doing.
In the War of Art, he exposes the tricks and subterfuges that Resistance employs to make sure we keep dicking around and not doing.
And then he shows us the miraculous things will happen when we shut up, buck up and get to work.
The best part: Mr. Pressfield writes as a guy who's been personally slapped around by Resistance. (See his story about the night in a cheap New York apartment on page 49.)
He's doesn't scold from a lofty perch like some overachiever gurus out there. Mr. Pressfield has done hand-to-hand battle with Resistance. (And still does, apparently.) He comes back with muddy boots and a gashed chin to give us the intel. It rings true. I believe him.
I first read this book three years ago, and go through it afresh every few months for much-needed 'starch and inspiration' as he calls it. I have bought at least seven of these to give away. Above is a picture of my tattered and sweat-stained copy. Buy your own here.
Three questions
Anyway. By dumb luck, I recently had the chance to do a quick Q&A with Steven Pressfield on the War of Art, particularly as it applies to us freelancers.
Talk about stage fright. I re-wrote my questions nine times, afraid of sounding like a boob.
Mr. Pressfield was gracious and complete pro. Here's the exchange.
Q: One passage from WoA that often echoes in my head is The Definition of a Hack. I agree with the thought entirely. Enduring and powerful work doesn't come from trying to outguess the market, reviewers, the public. That's not why you did Gates of Fire.
But the question that nags at me (and every other artist/designer/photographer freelancer I commiserate with) is 'how do we remain authentic while still trying to satisfy clients?'
Some say "Work the way you want, and let the right people find you or not." Others say "As a pro, you should be skillful and disciplined enough to show up and solve any problem, whether the solution delights your soul, or not."
Where do you land here?
PRESSFIELD: Walt, I come down for #2. But that’s assuming that the artist/designer/photographer/freelancer we’re talking about is in business as a commercial enterprise and not doing “pure art.”
If you’re in business, you’re there to serve your client. On the other hand, #1 has a lot of validity too. A photographer, say, has his own style – and that’s why clients come to him and not to other photographers. They want his look, his emotion, what he and only he brings to the table.
So now that I think about it, I would say it’s a combo of #1 and #2. Do you remember the actress Tina Louise, who was on Gilligan’s Island? A real sexpot. I had a boss once who hired her to do a commercial. When the camera rolled, she kept giving him her sexy Tina Louise takes, which he kept trying to tone down. Finally she just snapped. “If you wanted Florence Henderson, you should have cast Florence Henderson!”
What reactions and feedback have you heard from the business and entrepreneurial worlds? Is there War of Art for business in the works?
PRESSFIELD: You’re right on there, Walt. I didn’t think WOA applied to entrepreneurs either when I wrote it. But to my amazement, that group has written in the most and been the most enthusiastic.
I never knew Resistance applied to business but it sure does! Donald Trump put WOA as #2 on his “summer reading list” for his business seminars; Robert Kiyosaki recommends it; and I’ve bunches of copies for David Allen (“Getting Things Done.”)
Maybe I should do a business version. Thanks!
Q: Where does blogging fit into your overall work day now? (StevenPressfield.com) Is it a warm-up before the day's hard slog? A little cool-out jam session after the tough pages are done? Maybe a distraction? What has your experience been so far?
PRESSFIELD: Blogging has really devoured my time. I’ve got to stop it. It’s fun and I’m enthusiastic about the cause, but it’s real work, it’s full time stuff. I intend to keep it up for a while, as the issues are “hot,” but by early next year I’ll have to really scale it back. It requires too much time and effort. It’s just as hard, I find, to write a good blog piece as to do real work.
As far as how it fits into the day, I’ll do a blog piece first, as you sussed out, as a warm-up. It takes about two hours. Then two hours of real writing. Then I’m pooped. But I’ve lost two hours of serious writing time, so that’s not so good.
Unfortunately these days, a writer if he wants to survive has to have some way of “getting the word out.” You can’t count on your publisher at all and there are no more book reviews. It’s like everything else in this tough economy. The old days are over. It’s tough out there!
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Post-game commentary:
-I was heartened to see that it took Steven Pressfield -- world-class productive writer-- two full hours to write a blog post. Makes me feel better for pecking at this one for 90 minutes, even with 60% of it already written by Steve.
- It's interesting to see that even established, pure-pro guys with a built-in audience still have to be out there pitching and networking and handshaking. Your work can do some of the talking for you. But not all of it. Steve does it well, and with class.
- Steven didn't single me out for this Q&A just because I'm an A-list mover and shaker. He does this as a matter of course, I think, to offer a leg up to other creatives out there struggling in the trenches every day. Even Z-listers like me.
Here's a stack of other Q&As Steve offered to freelancers and creatives. (Many of whom had way better questions than mine.) This guy is generous, tireless.
The New York Screenwriting Life
Oh, and if you ever need a savvy and refreshingly human advocate for your book project, I would recommend Callie Oettinger. She gets it.
Great interview Walt and thank you for taking the time to list links to the other interviews as well. I just went through all of them. I found War of Art a little late, but think the book is incredibly inspiring.
Posted by: Peter11s | August 14, 2010 at 08:56 PM