Steven Pressfield
Steven Pressfield
Steven Pressfieldis an American author, of historical fiction and non-fiction, and screenplays...
NationalityAmerican
ProfessionAuthor
CountryUnited States of America
shadow genius resistance
Every sun casts a shadow, and genius's shadow is Resistance.
passion conquer wells
When we conquer our fears, we discover a boundless, bottomless, inexhaustible well of passion.
artist self rejection
The artist committing himself to his calling has volunteered for hell, whether he knows it or not. He will be dining for the duration on a diet of isolation, rejection, self-doubt, despair, ridicule, contempt, and humiliation.
culture pay succeed
It can pay off, being a hack. Given the depraved state of American culture, a slick dude can make millions being a hack. But even if you succeed, you lose, because you’ve sold out your Muse, and your Muse is you, the best part of yourself, where your finest and only true work comes from.
lying believe one-thing
It's one thing to lie to ourselves. It's another thing to believe it.
book acquaintance sooner-or-later
When you're a working writer, sooner or later friends and acquaintances will get you alone and confide that they, too, have a book in them.
resistance heard felt
Resistance cannot be seen, touched, heard, or smelled. But it can be felt.
believe artist effort
The artist cannot look to others to validate his efforts or his calling. If you don't believe me, ask Van Gogh, who produced masterpiece after masterpiece and never found a buyer in his whole life.
war drama character
When a novelist or screenwriter is looking for a subject, the element he's seeking is conflict. Conflict makes drama. Conflict produces great characters and memorable scenes. So war is a natural topic.
doe forget wholeheartedly
The professional loves her work. She is invested in it wholeheartedly. But she does not forget that the work is not her.
song composing
The song we’re composing already exists in potential. Our work is to find it.
inspirational mma bulls
It’s better to be in the arena, getting stomped by the bull, than to be up in the stands or out in the parking lot.
war drama character
The last element in drama is high stakes. War, of course, is life and death - survival, not only for the story's characters, but often for the society itself. That's why I'm drawn to stories that are built around wars, even if they're not technically "war stories."
yield resistance spirit
To yield to Resistance deforms our spirit. It stunts us and makes us less than we are and were born to be.