The War Of Art
By Steven Pressfield
Black Irish Entertainment LLC (November 11, 2011)
192 pages
If you are in a creative field, or want to be in a creative field, get to the bookstore and buy this book (Or simply click the link below). While The War of Art is written for writers, it applies to every creative field. This book is a must read for any artist, writer, blogger, designer, or poet. In the end, this book offers great encouragement. The difference between amateurs and professionals is nothing other than action, persistence, and time.
Two of my favorite quotes:
“Why have I stressed professionalism so heavily in the preceding chapters? Because the most important thing about art is to work. Nothing else matters except sitting down every day and trying. Why is this so important? Because when we sit down day after day and keep grinding, something mysterious starts to happen. A process is set into motion by which, inevitably and infallibly, heaven comes to our aid. Unseen forces enlist in our cause; serendipity reinforces our purpose.”
“You know, Hitler wanted to be an artist. At eighteen he took his inheritance, seven hundred kronen, and moved to Vienna to live and study. He applied to the Academy of Fine Arts and later to the School of Architecture. Ever see one of his paintings? Neither have I. Resistance beat him. Call it overstatement but I’ll say it anyway: it was easier for Hitler to start World War II than it was for him to face a blank square of canvas.”