Writing Wednesdays
“Help!”
By Steven Pressfield | Published: February 17, 2010
Friends of Writing Wednesdays, I’d like to ask for your wisdom and feedback. I’m taking a little survey, and you can be of real assistance to me if you’d answer, in the Comments section below, some of the questions I’d like to pose to you. (It’ll be my pleasure to send a signed copy of The War of Art to the half dozen commentators whose advice is most helpful.)
The original "silver bullet" hardcover from Rugged Land Books
Here’s the issue. I’m thinking about writing a follow-up to The War of Art. Sort of a War of Art 2.0. Some things I’d like to know from your perspective are:
1) Would you be interested in such a book? (Tell the brutal truth; don’t be kind.) Would you consider buying it?
2) In what ways would such a book be most helpful to you? As a motivational aid? A kick in the butt? For further insights on Resistance? On professionalism? Something else?
I have my own ideas on these issues, but it would help me a lot to hear what you think.
3) If War of Art 2.0 could be exactly what you want, what would it be? If it had three main sections, what would they be? If the book could deliver a specific feeling as you closed the final page, what would that feeling be?
Would it be like the original War of Art or would it be different? In what ways?
5) Does it matter to you if the book comes out in hardcover? (It doesn’t to me.) Would paperback be just as good? What if it was released as an eBook that you had to download and print out–is that worthwhile or a pain in the butt?
I’m thinking of constructing the book so that it could be read on an iPad–in other words, including video or links along with the text. If you were reading it on an iPad or other such device, what type of videos would you like to see included?
How about personal stuff? When I write, in Writing Wednesdays, of various personal struggles and challenges that I’m dealing with, is that helpful to you or does it get in the way?
Thanks, you guys. I hate surveys as much as the next man, so I appreciate anyone who takes even a couple of minutes to respond to this.
And anybody under thirty who has some brilliant web-based marketing strategies … I’m all ears!
Back to real Writing Wednesdays next week. Thanks!
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I’ll buy it. Paperback.
Motivation – Butt kicking – Discipline – Resistance – Focus – Commitment
Examples of your personal struggle – absolutely
How do you believe in yourself enough to take that leap of faith? I’m finally at a point where I can afford to do so and yet a voice from within is assuring me that going back to college for a couple of years would be sensible. I feel compelled to schedule a two-year block of resistance. I want the book to inspire me to follow my bliss, put all my eggs in one basket, and burn my bridges. I want you to give me guts.
Sorry for the cliche’s
What I would like to see in WoA2.0 is for you to “novelize” it as you considered and rejected before in the actual WoA.
Have an awesome index-guide: Use of blank to suggest blank-pp xxx, yyy, zzz.
Paper or ebook with embedded notes to jump back and forth between guide and novel.
Steven:
Thanks for asking. But please don’t ask.
If you want to do War of Art 2.0 because there’s something clawing at your insides that you need to let out, I’ll buy. Four copies. Right now. I’ll give you my Visa Card number. E-book, paper book, video. Matters not.
But f you’re re-doing it to extend the franchise, or do a sequel or capitalize on the brand or leverage your audience equity, don’t do it. Please don’t do it. Let War of Art be what it is, forever.
You didn’t do Bagger Vance because the demographics were right. Henry Ford said, “If I had asked consumers what they wanted, they would have said, ‘Give me a faster horse that doesn’t crap so much.’”
So please don’t ask me. I have no damn idea. But I’ll stand in line to read whatever you’ve been thinking and feeling and wanting to say since the first edition.
I’ll point you to page 152 of the paperback War of Art. (Don’t you freaking HATE when people toss your own words in front of you?) Definition of a Hack.
I agree. Dido.
If you released a new version, I’m sure I’d buy it, considering how many times I’ve re-read the original. That said, this survey is silly. If you have something inside you that you feel like you need to write, write it. If you don’t, don’t. You’d be violating your own principals to do anything else.
please don’t release a follow up. you touched upon everything possible in war of art and if certain people aren’t applying those principles, they are beyond help, plain and simple. a second book would be considered a form of resistance for most folks because most people like to play it safe and continue to learn instead of actually doing. maybe i should take my own advice though!
1) Would you be interested in such a book? (Tell the brutal truth; don’t be kind.) Would you consider buying it?
Yes. I would buy it on the day it came out, provided it were in eletronic format.
2) In what ways would such a book be most helpful to you? As a motivational aid? A kick in the butt? For further insights on Resistance? On professionalism? Something else?
Seth’s Linchpin built on your book, I thought. Take Linchpin up another notch. Stimulate the professional. You did a fabulous job in War of Art 1 on pinning the Resistance. Tell me more about the professional. Tell me about shipping. Tell me about producing, about putting stuff out into the real world, about detaching myself from the outcome, about being authentic.
Whatever way you choose to write about it will be both a kick in the butt and a motivational aid. Both of these happen naturally in your writing.
3) If War of Art 2.0 could be exactly what you want, what would it be? If it had three main sections, what would they be? If the book could deliver a specific feeling as you closed the final page, what would that feeling be?
I guess I mostly answered this in the previous question. Discuss authenticity. Talk about the authentic swing in the work of the professional. Talk about Bobby Jones. Talk about the relationship of the professional to consumption (does the professional consume or produce more?). Tell me how to break through the initial barrier and build momentum.
The three main sections of the book would be:
I. The Professional
II. The Breakthrough
III. Sustaining Movement
4) Would it be like the original War of Art or would it be different? In what ways?
Same style. Mix up your own internal feelings with the principles you share. Share your struggle. Tell us about how you’ve matured and gotten wiser with experience.
5) Does it matter to you if the book comes out in hardcover? (It doesn’t to me.) Would paperback be just as good? What if it was released as an eBook that you had to download and print out–is that worthwhile or a pain in the butt?
In my case, I would prefer that you launch it either in Kindle Format or in ePub format. I’ve found the iPhone apps Stanza (and Kindle) to be spectacular for reading anywhere on account of portability. From what I know, these apps are also available on iPad, so you’d be doing a killer job of it. And you can include links in that format. ePub is really the best.
Another suggestion would be for you to sell it straight to your readers, without any DRM. All DRM does is prevent your real fans from copying the file to every device they own in order to read it wherever it’s convenient. Do it the Radiohead way.
It’ll be tough to include videos for the iPad, since Apple ensures no video can play on their devices. Unless you put them on YouTube.
I hope my answers help you. And you can bet I’ll be standing in virtual line to get it when it comes out.
write.the.damn.book.
hurry.
We’re all writing 237-word rambles.
Seth Godin gets to the nut in four words.
I have to agree with Walt, but I’m going to offer my own reply anyway!
1) Yes. Interested and would buy it. Even if it were just a refinement of the original based on the work and experience and feedback you’ve had in the meantime, I’d be on board.
2) All of the above. Just having it in the house is a motivational kick in the ass. Thanks to the vignette format, if I’m battling resistance or just need a pick-me-up I can open it to any page, read for a couple minutes, and get juiced right up. Everything in the original was helpful — the analysis of resistance, the tips on professionalism, the dangers of amateurism. Odds are whatever experiences and topics you feel in your gut are important (even just to you), they’ll be helpful to the rest of us if only as yardsticks.
3) The specific feeling of the original wasn’t one I got as I closed the book so much as each time I read. I cannot read more than a few pages without having to put it down and do some work of my own. That, all content aside, it what is most important to me about the book. Three sections:
i. Resistance (recap 1.0, lay down new insights)
ii. Professionalism (refine / expand descriptions, behaviours, processes from 1.0, maybe recruit / quote a range of successful professionals on their approach, work day, etc., enough that we can each find someone with inclinations similar to our own)
iii. The Industry (how the professional becomes part of his profession, concrete steps, what to watch out for, how to maintain your integrity, vision, etc.) Here your personal experiences are especially relevant. They don’t get in the way for me, even when our experiences or processes are completely different. I’m with Camus — “One recognizes one’s course by discovering the paths that stray from it. ”
How would it differ? I imagine 2.0 would be less internal than 1.0. The first was basic training, the second is a field manual. (Is that an actual term? I’m out of my league with the military metaphors but I hope you get what I mean.) It would be the same in that it’s a collection of things you’ve tried, what has worked and what has not, principles that have become evident in the process.
5) Hardcover is okay but in fact I’d prefer it in paperback. It’s more portable, more lend-able. I’m not on the e-book bandwagon so I can’t comment. As long as it comes in paperback I’ll be happy.
All in all I think it’s a worthwhile effort. If your gut is telling you to follow it up, then by all means do so.
Mr. Pressfield,
1) Yes
2 & 3) Of late, I’ve developed the sense that there isn’t just “resistance” in writing, there are also “traps”. Resistance is, as you define, those forces acting in opposition to our progress. In my mind, “traps” aren’t necessarily forces acting in direct opposition, but mental models (borrowing from Mr. McCallister, here) that distract or derail our efforts. They’re gimmicks, sales pitches, and false aids that aren’t necessarily designed to act in direct opposition to creative people, but instead mean to use our energy and determination for their own profit.
Bogus essay and short story contests, self-proclaimed agents that aren’t worth the money you pay them, people who offer to “broker” your creative properties or try to scam you on faux publishing agreements. To my mind, they’re all “external” traps.
Trying to measure your blog’s success by the number of comments made on it, believing that you have to update your social media every 10 minutes to stay in “the public eye”, coming up with pointless blog or status updates because you underestimate the value of having something worthwhile to say, stepping down to your audience’s level in order to “keep the dialogue” with it going. These are all “internal” traps.
We all feel resistance, but what you’ve done is give it a diagnosis and a solution. You’re the Freud of resistance, perhaps. But when it comes to traps, we fall in them because we have no means at all by which to perceive them. They are, by nature, sneaky. Can you show me how to read the map and the terrain, step over the tiger pits and run from killer boulders? Can you be the Indiana Jones of traps?
4) I suppose I like the style of WoA and would like 2.0 to be the same, since familiarity with the format would make it more easily accessible. Since it’s a “sequel”, there is the consideration of the reverse model of people buying 2.0 first and thus enjoying 1.0 in the same way as the rest of us going in order.
5) I have “Story” in hardcover, and wish I’d bought WoA in hardcover originally. Paperback doesn’t last repeated use, and I use WoA frequently.
This is what I think without really thinking about it.
A paperback works for me best. I want something I can take into the bathtub if I so please. I hate reading off the computer. I like to be able to underline things in different colours, fold pages down, make it my own, etc., etc. Putting the blogs all tghr works for me, so that I can dip in and out (not just the bathtub) when a particular issue comes to me, or simply open at a page, voodoo-like. Repetition is not an issue because sometimes one (me, myself or I) needs the same thing said a hundred different ways before it is finally understood, or acted upon.
Re: structure: Put the blogs together and see for yourself what themes constellate … you may find you want to elaborate on certain ones … (suggestion)
Just do it. People WILL buy it.
Tricia