Just Do the Work

I had just finished writing the original version of this post when 'presto' the lightning fast reaction of my wireless mouse made it disappear.

Last week I discovered two e-books by a writer I had never heard before--Steven Pressfield. Both focus on the artist's path to developing craft. The first is entitled, "The War of Art: Winning the Inner Creative Battle" and the second is simple entitled, "Do the Work."

I highly recommend them both as good motivators to stop navel-gazing and get on with the business of creating. Both books are relevant to anyone engaged in anything creative and innovative, but particularly to writers.

According to Pressfield, there is a very real, tangible force artists encounter whenever they engage in their work and he calls this force Resistance (yes, with a capital 'R'). Resistance is more slippery than fear. It can convince one to focus too much on preparation--for example, research--and not enough on just getting on with it and writing the shitty first draft.

Here is a quote that really speaks to me from the "The War of Art":

WHAT I KNOW

There's a secret that real writers know that wannabe wrters don't, and that secret is this: It's not the writing part that's hard. What's hard is sitting down to write.

What keeps us from sitting down is Resistance.

When I read those lines I had to face myself and my own Resistance. I flashed back to all of the times I have avoided sitting to just start, coming up with every lame excuse possible to avoid entering the world of fiction. "No one will ever read it anyway." "Who really cares." "The world doesn't need another lame fiction writer." "Fiction never changed anything, focus on real work instead."

Here is another juicy quote from "The War of Art":

THE UNLIVED LIFE

Most of us have two lives. The life we live, and the unlived life within us. Between the two stands Resistance.

That's when I really had to look myself in the eye and face up to the fact that I have also been living my life unlived. I've in fact been pretending that I've been living the life, when in fact it's a just pretend game. According to Pressfield, Resistance is invisible, implacable, it never sleeps, it's universal and it wants to play for keeps. Resistance lives off of fear, so the key is to master your fear. Procrastination is a symptom of Resistance.

So how do we beat it?

We simply sit down and do the work.

How do you know if you are in the clutches of Resistance?

How happy are you? Chances are that if you are miserable, feeling restless and deeply dissatisfied, you are avoiding your work.

If something really scares you to death, then it is likely a good indicator you should be doing it. If you find yourself asking yourself: "Am I really a writer?" then you likely are one.

Check out Steven Pressfield's website and while it's still possible, you can download an e-version of his book "Do the Work": www.stevenpressfield.com.