The force that stops most writers

Steven Pressfield struggled to write his novel for years.

He rewrote, second-guessed, and abandoned the project several times. Every day, he faced an invisible force pulling him away from the work.

It wasn't until he recognised this force, what he later called 'The Resistance,' that he began to see a way through. Instead of waiting for motivation, he treated writing like a job. He called it 'going pro.' He showed up, no matter what.

What he learned through that process led to The War of Art, where he famously wrote:

Every writer battles this 'resistance.' I come face to face with it regularly, but having momentum makes it far easier. I recognise it when it's there, and it soon fades after I start actually writing, even if what I'm writing is crap.

Resistance is that icky feeling that makes you want to stop and do something else. It's that pressure in your chest, that feeling of boredom and wanting to be somewhere else. It may manifest as slight panic, staring at a blank screen, wondering what you got yourself into.

And all of this stems from fear.

What fear? The fear of criticism.

We're all programmed to feel uncomfortable when exposing ourselves and our words to others. When someone dislikes what we share, which some inevitably will, we view this as bad and associate pain with it.

That's what we're working against. The problem is this force has persuaded millions of would-be writers over centuries to play it safe and choose the path of avoidance. They end up at the end of their lives with a stone in their chest. They knew they should have written when they heard their purpose calling.

Don't let that be you. I deal with resistance in two ways.

1. I get into the flow of writing.

I start by writing anything if I can't think of anything. I free-write whatever comes to mind. I'm willing to put down total garbage on the page for a few minutes. When I do this, my mind interprets this deliberate motion to mean: 'I am writing, so I am now a writer. I shall feed you ideas.' Getting loose is what you need. And to get loose, you need to write.

2. I reframe how rejection works.

I now perceive rejection in a new light. Rejection is inevitable, and it won't hurt you. Your ego may protest, but you will remain intact at the end of it. If you want to build a loyal tribe of readers, your work will inevitably push many away, too. Go full hog and even go as far as seeking out rejection. If no one criticises your writing, you're not stretching your boundaries.

Think of resistance like a grumpy bouncer at the club of Creativity and Flow. It'll try to stop you at the door, but the trick is to nod, say 'I'm on the list,' and walk right in like you own the place.

That was an excerpt from Chapter 15 of 62 of my latest book: ‘The Never-Retired Writer: How I built a life of freedom through words’

The rest of the book goes deep into how to actually build this writing life, from finding your topics and growing your newsletter, to the 12 ways I've made money from writing over sixteen years.

I'm launching The Never-Retired Writer book on Amazon this Saturday, April 25th at 9am ET, for just $0.99 during a special 3-day launch window before it goes up to $9.99.

Keep an eye on your inbox Saturday morning so you can grab it at launch price.

Exciting!

Alex