Category: Writing

I would like to tell you that I write on an old black typewriter with only a desk and some books. Maybe the desk is an antique door that I have converted for the task and there is no clutter. Only a clean space for the mind. I would like to tell you that I look out a picturesque window with a view of the mountains or the ocean. But I don’t.

I look at a screen very similar to the one you are most likely reading this on. Maybe bigger if your on your smartphone right now. And the space around me does have books, but it also has hard drives and cables and cords and more clutter than it should but that doesn’t matter. I wouldn’t trade the tools I have at my disposal for all of the ribbons in the world.

Last week I was writing the post about imagination and I used a quote from Mark Twain. I knew it came from A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court…. but I am also aware of my lack of talent in spelling.

So I just switched over to a browser and started typing in the Google search bar and after I got to “a conn” I saw “a connecticut yankee” and I arrowed down twice and then hit the right arrow and the spacebar and it auto completed the rest of the title and then I hit select all and then copy and then I pasted that into my post. It was easier than typing the title and correcting the spelling. I counted keystrokes just to see. Had I typed it out it would have taken 43 keystrokes without spellcheck. The way I did it took 13. And that includes switching programs.

Now I don’t know if one way is better or not. But I do know that I am so used to doing things this way that I didn’t even think about it. That’s how much my process has changed based on the tools I have available.

Outside of the tools involved in whatever it is you are trying to create, (paint, brush, clay, fire, piano, guitar, pen, pencil, paper, laptop…..you get the idea.) the only other two things you need are a deck of cards and a book. But not just any deck of cards or just any book.

1) The deck of cards you need is Oblique Strategies by Brian Eno and Peter Schmidt.

2) The book you need it The War of Art by Steven Pressfield.

The idea that you have in your mind, the thing you have been trying to create since the moment of your conception is already whole, it’s creation is already complete. The manifestation of it is the only thing lacking.  If you are imagining something with your mind and when you close your eyes you can see it, then it is already a real thing. But as real as the thing may be, there are also forces that are just as real acting as antimatter to your creation. These two resources tip the scales in your favor, they give you the leverage you need to do the heavy lifting.

The Obliques Strategies were first given to me by a friend as a printout only a few pages long. Each of the thoughts allowed me to think about my creations in another way or from another perspective. A random drop of my finger on the page would give me the push I needed to move on. But go ahead and get the deck, it’s a much more elegant way of getting the nudge to move forward, and many times all you need is that little nudge.

But sometimes you need a kick in the ass. And that is what you will find in the The War of Art. This book will give you enough fuel for a lifetime of creative work. Just one read will introduce you to the idea of resistance. And just knowing that one idea will make all the difference. But you will keep coming back for more. You will crave the reminder of what lurks beneath. It was this book that allowed me to complete my first novel. I had been a songwriter for many years and had thought about writing a novel from time to time. Maybe when I’m older or maybe when I have a clearer idea of what the novel should be. Maybe. That’s resistance. And once I knew it, I was able to push through it. And you can too.