Instaread Summaries - Summary of The War of Art: by Steven Pressfield | Includes Analysis

Summary of

The War of Art

Break Through the Blocks and Win Your Inner Creative Battles

by Steven Pressfield

By Instaread

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This is a summary with analysis.

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Table of Contents

Steven Pressfields The War of Art: Break Through the Blocks and Win Your Inner Creative Battles is a book dedicated to helping writers and other artists overcome creative barriers and produce valuable and satisfying work. Pressfield discusses his own artistic struggles and uses examples of artists throughout history in order to inspire and guide other creators.

The biggest barrier to artistic creation is Resistance. Resistance is a negative energy that intercedes whenever a person attempts to achieve a positive goal, such as painting a picture, exercising, or making a life change. Resistance is a combination of self-doubt, self-deception, fear of change, and fear of success.

On a day-to-day basis, Resistance is expressed as procrastination, as when an artist cleans the house, gets a snack, or does anything rather than sit down to work. On a larger scale, Resistance can mean that an artist abandons his or her profession, or denies his or her creative dreams.

In order to defeat Resistance, the artist must begin to think like a professional. Amateurs pursue art as a hobby and only work when they feel like it. Professionals are dedicated to working no matter whether they feel inspired or not. Professionals are not devastated by criticisms or setbacks, because they separate their personal feelings from the work.

To overcome Resistance, the main thing an artist needs to do is to sit down to work. Once the artist begins to work, spiritual forces will come to his or her aid. The universe wants to bring art into the world. Creating art helps shift the artists consciousness from the inward-turning Ego and outwards to the spiritual, fuller Self. Overcoming Resistance through artistic creation is also, therefore, a path to spiritual growth.

Steven Pressfield is a writer of fiction, nonfiction, and screenplays. In addition to The War of Art, his books include the 1995 novel The Legend of Bagger Vance, which became a Hollywood film, and the 1998 historical novel Gates of Fire, a story about the ancient Spartans.

Robert McKee is a creative writing teacher and the author of a famous 1997 guide for screenwriters titled Story: Substance, Structure, Style and the Principles of Screenwriting.

Tiger Woods is an American golfer. Many consider him to be the greatest golfer of all time.

William Blake (1757-1827) was a British poet and painter known for the visionary nature of his work.

John Lennon (1940-1980) was a singer, songwriter, and musician best known for his work with the group The Beatles.

Carl Jung (1875-1961) was a Swiss psychiatrist. He argued that universal symbols are embedded in the mind, or collective unconscious, of all human beings.

Ludwig Van Beethoven (1770-1827) was a German composer.

1. Resistance is the negative energy that stands between a person and his or her dreams.
2. Resistance takes many forms, including procrastination, sex, trouble, self-dramatization, and self-medication.
3. Resistance is a good thing, insofar as it assures the artist that he or she is pursuing a worthwhile path.
4. To defeat Resistance, a writer must think like a professional, not an amateur. This means working hard enough to overcome obstacles and temptations.
5. Professional artists separate themselves from their work. Although this sometimes means being paid for artistic work, the professional artist never sells out.
6. The universe supports creativity, and will help the artist succeed if the artist puts in the work.
7. Individuals are divided into an earthbound, mundane, insular Ego, and a broader, spiritual Self.
8. Professional artists are not concerned with hierarchy. Instead, they focus on territory.

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Resistance is the negative energy that stands between a person and his or her dreams.

Analysis

Whenever anyone pursues a goal or a dream, that person is confronted with Resistance. Resistance is negative energy that pushes back whenever a person attempts to take steps towards his or her best self. Resistance is the reason people have trouble beginning exercise programs, or committing to relationships or marriage. Resistance is also what stands in the way of an artist pursuing his or her craft. To write a novel or paint a picture, an artist must overcome internal and external Resistance.

New Year's Eve is a moment when people make resolutions to change their lives in a positive way. As such, it marks the beginning of a yearly high point for Resistance. In the United States, more than 40 percent of people make resolutions for the New Year. [1] People promise themselves that they will exercise more, finish chores around the house, or even begin the novel theyve always wanted to write.

In the first two weeks of the New Year, people tend to follow through well. They get out to the gym, refuse desserts, and start writing or painting. But after that, things begin to fall apart. By February, people are already backsliding, and soon thereafter, most resolutions are abandoned altogether. All told, only 8 percent of people fulfill their New Years resolutions. That means that 92 percent of those who make resolutions were defeated by Resistance. [2]

How can someone defeat Resistance and hew to a New Years resolution? One key can be to focus on only one small resolution, rather than on many resolutions. A huge goal, like completing a novel, may be too daunting to face on a daily basis; a more achievable goal, like writing for 30 minutes each day, can be easier to accomplish. Similarly, in overcoming Resistance, it is important to focus on the immediate present. An artist needs to think about what he or she can do immediately to advance towards a goal.

Resistance takes many forms, including procrastination, sex, trouble, self-dramatization, and self-medication.

Analysis

Resistance can undermine a creator in many ways. Perhaps the most obvious sign of internal Resistance is procrastination. When creators find themselves dawdling on Twitter, or cleaning the house, or running errands, or staring at the ceiling, or taking any excuse to avoid getting down to the work of creation, it is a sign of Resistance.