39 pages • 1 hour read
Steven PressfieldThe War of Art: Winning the Inner Creative Battle
Nonfiction | Book | Adult | Published in 2002A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Book 2Chapter Summaries & Analyses
Book 2 Summary: “Combating Resistance: Turning Pro”
Pressfield contrasts amateurs with professionals, emphasizing that amateurs tend to leave their craft to their free time, pursuing it as a hobby, while professionals dedicate their lives to their craft. Professionals set aside time each day to do their work, rather than merely waiting for inspiration to strike. He admits that he still confronts Resistance every day, and is relieved when his writing day is over and he has produced some work.
Pressfield characterizes amateurs as people who are so over-identified with their craft that they feel become “overterrified of its failure” and therefore creatively “paralyzed” (70). They may procrastinate and never produce work at all, or only solicit reactions from friends or family. In contrast, professionals are realists about their work, knowing that some of it will not meet their expectations. They welcome feedback from industry professionals, and view failure as an opportunity to learn.
Pressfield reminisces about writing the screenplay for the film King Kong Lives, his first real writing job, and how devastated and embarrassed he was when the film bombed both critically and commercially. Pressfield realized that while the film was a failure, he was now a disciplined professional, ready to use the lessons of his failure and create new work. He insists that while professionals are realists who work for money, their work is still based on their love of craft. Professionally-minded people understand that their work will not be short or easy, and they mentally prepare themselves and save energy so they can complete their projects. They are also wary of excuses to not do their work, and are prepared to confront their own attempts at self-sabotage.
Pressfield argues that professionally-minded people do not react to success or failure with their Egos. Their only enemy is Resistance, not editors or critics. In order to stay motivated, professionals “self-validate” and develop self-confidence, not focusing on criticism (88). Pressfield recalls a disappointing meeting he had with a Hollywood producer, who continually took calls throughout their meeting and eventually asked Pressfield to wait outside the office. After half an hour Pressfield realized that the producer had forgotten about him. He reiterates that it is crucial to have strong self-esteem and withstand slights from other people. He claims that Resistance is malicious and persistent; the only way to overcome it is to stop being afraid of it, and become even more stubborn than it is. He concludes this section by reiterating that becoming a professional is not a “mystery” but simply an artist’s firm decision (101).
Book 2 Analysis
In Book 2, Pressfield continues to relay advice using the same “tough love” tone established in Book 1. He does not sympathize with the reader or validate different approaches to creativity; instead he uses direct, forthright language to communicate his beliefs. For instance, he chastises amateurs, writing: “The sign of the amateur is overglorification of and preoccupation with the mystery. The professional shuts up. She doesn’t talk about it. She does her work” (78).
He suggests that all artists should adopt this approach, claiming that it will help them be productive and avoid overthinking. He encourages the reader to love their craft, but not become paralyzed by their esteem for it:
The professional has learned, however, that too much love can be a bad thing […] The seeming detachment of the professional, the cold-blooded character to his demeanor, is a compensating device to keep him from loving the game so much that he freezes in action (73).
In other words, too much attachment and glorification of one’s craft can lead to paralysis. Pressfield employs analogies to underscore his recommendations. For example, he compares artists’ pursuits to the multi-day Alaskan dogsled race the “Iditarod” to emphasize the lengthy and challenging journey artists endure while completing projects. To illustrate that “a professional plays it as it lays,” he compares an artist’s work to a game of golf (81). Just as a golf player would take different disadvantages into account, a professional artist must also learn to cope with bad luck and rejection.
Pressfield reiterates the corrupting effects Resistance can have on people’s personalities and relationships. He again emphasizes that Resistance has real consequences for people’s lives and is not a neutral force. He writes that a positive aspect of practicing his craft is knowing that he and his relationships will not be negatively affected by creative repression; his actions “will not be coming from any disowned or unresolved part of me, any part corrupted by Resistance” (67). This reiterates that Resistance not only hinders artists’ creative works, but causes problems in other areas.
In these passages, Pressfield also explores the role of fear in creative life. He claims that when people interpret their fear as a lack of readiness and wait to become more comfortable, they allow Resistance to control them. Pressfield notes that even as a veteran actor, Henry Fonda vomited before each stage performance due to his anxiety. Pressfield uses this example to argue that artists must accept that fear is a part of the creative process, and trust that they can do good work while being afraid. He claims: “The professional knows that fear can never be overcome. He knows there is no such thing as a fearless warrior or a dread-free artist” (79). Pressfield later connects this discussion to our relationship with Resistance itself, noting that Resistance can only be a powerful force if one is afraid of it.
Pressfield builds on The Importance of Discipline and Self-Mastery. He encourages the reader to imagine themselves as an “infantryman”—one with a “lunch-pail mentality, the hard-core, hard-head, hard-hat state of mind that shows up for work despite rain or snow or dark of night and slugs it out day after day” (74). He reiterates that artists must not make excuses to avoid their work, and uses dramatic, sinister language to demonize Resistance and its role in halting the creative progress: “The amateur, underestimating Resistance’s cunning, permits the flu to keep him from his chapters, he believes the serpent’s voice in his head that says mailing off that manuscript is more important than doing the day’s work” (80).
By comparing Resistance to a serpent, Pressfield uses Christian imagery so that the reader will view Resistance like the devil, a force of evil. He connects negative criticism with Resistance, claiming that “Critics […] are the unwitting mouthpieces of Resistance and as such can be truly cunning and pernicious. They can articulate in their reviews the same toxic venom that Resistance itself concocts inside our heads. That is their real evil” (93). These observations emphasize Pressfield’s spiritual beliefs about the nature of Resistance.
