I thought the moment of serendipity was walking into Powell's and finding The War of Art on a shelf with many, many other copies. No, the serendipitous moment was looking in the title page and finding other books that Steven Pressfield has written. Some I didn't know. Had he written these all before he wrote The War of Art?
Turns out the answer is no. He's got another book called Turning Pro, which is a concept he discusses in The War of Art. In that book, there's a third section about angels and muses, the metaphysics of creativity, which still baffles me. And I need to re-read that AGAIN to be able to blog about it. But in the meantime, I read Turning Pro and it had the same effect on me as The War of Art. It was philosophical and spiritual and rocked my world. It made me think about things that I need to re-read and think about a lot more. It was really good.
His voice is calming and authoritative. It's paternal. It's also wise.
Again, he goes into this philosophy about amateurs and professionals. In a nutshell, amateurs let things get in their way. Such as need to be materially successful, valuing others' opinions, self-doubt, self-loathing, etc. Amateurs put so many obstacles in their way so they don't actually have to risk failing at something they really want to do. They stop before they start. That way they don't have to prove themselves right that they're all wrong. Pros go for it at all costs. It's life or death with them. It's vital. Nothing will get in their way, even a lifetime of rejection.
A pro knows she can claim her labor, but not the fruits of her labor. I love that. And it smacks in the face of worldly success. If you're not rich, famous, noted, congratulated, revered, celebrated, or envied then you're not successful and you're not doing good work. That's why so many people quit. Because it's not the labor that's enough. The work isn't enough for them. They need fruit. They need something someone else can consume, digest and shit out.
Of course, I hoped this book would be great. As great as The War of Art. I didn't want to hope that it could be better. And I'm not saying it is better or worse. But something in the book resonated with me. Actually, I should say some things. And these are things that felt deeper for me than what I read in The War of Art. Maybe since I already started to think about creativity in a certain way, the second book feels like a deeper step. Naturally. Or maybe it's deeper. I don't know if it's the message or my consciousness that is making me feel this book in a deeper way.
One of the first things is Pressfield's description of a dream that Rosanne Cash had where Linda Ronstadt appeared to her. He discusses Rosanne's love of the album Heart Like a Wheel. One of my favorite songs, "Dark End of the Street" is from that album. And it's a record that I admire greatly as well. Rosanne had read in an interview that Linda said in order to commit to your artistic growth you had to "refine your skills to support your instincts." I could rest on that sentence forever. IN the dream, Linda was talking to an older man named Art (no coincidence - symbolism of course! It's a dream!) who dismissed Rosanne as a dilettante. Roseanne woke up feeling deeply ashamed. But then she decided that she wasn't satisfied doing the work she had been doing. But it was very successful. So she decided to refine her skills. She started painting in order to learn about the absence of sound and words. I almost ejaculated when I read that. I love looking at paintings to learn about evoking elusive emotions without language. It's also why I loved dancing. I could express myself without words. It's important for the writer to understand silence and tension and emotion as much as it's important to understand language. Actually, I think rhythm and silence are way more important tools for a writer than language. Maybe that's why I like listening to music while I write and I also like writing in silence and driving in silence. I don't need to be interrupted with other people's words. It also makes movie or TV watching difficult when I'm in process on something. It's too easy to replicate and impossible to extract the essence of something and merely evoke it when you hear someone else's words and you're trying to come up with some of your own.
In this book he also has more words about the professional, which deepen my understanding:
- The Professional Is Ruthless with Himself
- The Professional Has Compassion for Herself
- The Professional Defers Gratification
- The Professional Helps Others
- The Professional Gets Two Salaries
- The Professional Mindset Has a Practice
- The Practice Has a Space
Okay, I'm going to stop there.
The Practice Has a Space
Holy shit! Really! Cause that's what I'm doing right now. I'm creating a space for myself!
"A practice has space and that space is sacred."
"When we convene day upon day at the same space at the same time, a powerful energy builds up around us."
- A Practice is Lifelong
So now we're looking at the work as a practice. I agree! For me my work is a practice. I go to it every day. I fail and I succeed. But I am at it every day. Some days the sound of my fingers hitting the keyboard are like a constant hum. Other days, I'm using notepads. Other days, I'm watching Orange is the New Black. Other days, I'm sleeping in. Other days, I am looking at art. Other days, I write 30 pages. Other days, I bang my head against the wall. In a life time of practice, as he says, a bad day or a bad week is only a bump in the road. It's not the entire road.
- The Professional Trusts the Mystery
- And in doing so, he lives by the following ideas:
- Work Over Your Head
- I was writing my House of Cards spec because I wanted to challenge my writing to be riskier, more overt, darker, and political. I didn't just allow myself to get comfortable.
- Write What You Don't Know
- The most I can be is authentic even if I've never been the POTUS. Even if I've never been a go-go dancer or a woman or a mother or African American. But if I go for authenticity, then I'll speak to an experience with authority. And I shouldn't be afraid to do so.
- Take What the Defense Gives You
- When I was working on the spec, there were days that I crawled on the floor and took a two hour nap. But I was in the space. I took what I got that day. Some days, I have 30 pages in me. Some days I have two. Some days, I have a nap. I take what I'm given and make progress so that tomorrow I can make some more. This is a marathon. I'm in it for the long haul. I'm not getting bothered by a bad moment.
- Play Hurt
- I did a review over the past two years worth of work. My Dad has been dead for almost two years. And in the year before that he was sick and I was his daily caregiver, along with my Mother. But I wrote every day. Or most days. I needed to. The writing got me through. I was reminded of why I write. Of why I started writing. I had pain that I had to get out. I wrote to survive. I wrote to make a record. I wrote to express things that I couldn't otherwise. And writing while my Dad was sick and dying and writing through my grief helped me practice my original purpose and impetus daily. It also got me through all of it. I could have waited to heal, but I didn't. I couldn't. I would have died.
- Sit Chilly
- Even in the face of fear that I wouldn't meet my deadlines when I had three scripts to write in an obscenely short amount of time, I maintained my position. I didn't let it throw me. I didn't panic.
The rest gets esoteric again, so I need to read it again to absorb it. It might be too much for me to even write about. But this book is great because it breaks things down even more.
Like I said before, this book really resonated with me. It helped me to know what I am on the right path. It's the right affirmation at the right time. That doesn't mean I'm stopping. It just means that I am reflecting and noticing. And it encourages me to keep going.
As Pressfield says in his other book, the Professional Recognizes Other Professionals.
I am grateful for the lessons of these two books.
I am grateful that they have come into my life.
I am grateful for conversations with friends I have known all of my life.
I am grateful for being bold and smart in what I want.
I am grateful for not relenting.
I am grateful for knowing who I am.
I am grateful that I read words that could have come out of my brain.
I am grateful for the ability to write and express and release everything I'm feeling.
I am grateful for a day that has taken me all over the city and is still about my practice and the space that it inhabit.
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