39 pages • 1 hour read
The War of Art: Winning the Inner Creative Battle
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Summary and Study Guide
Overview
The War of Art: Winning the Inner Creative Battle (2002) is a self-help book by American author and screenplay writer Steven Pressfield. This work aims to motivate the reader to overcome their “Resistance” to creative work, and to develop their relationship with their craft with discipline and confidence. With a colloquial tone and tough-love attitude, Pressfield examines the different manifestations that “Resistance” can take in artists’ lives, such as self-doubt and procrastination, and urges the reader to overcome it through discipline and self-mastery. Pressfield believes that angels and muses help hard-working artists, and argues that when creative people repress their talents and give in to Resistance that they hurt themselves, and deprive the world of their creative works.
This guide refers to the Google Books edition of the text.
Content Warning: The author of The War of Art discusses substance use disorders, alcoholism, and mental health conditions.
Summary
Pressfield divides his work into three parts, or “books.” Each book contains numerous brief chapters, with 104 in total. In Book 1, Pressfield defines Resistance as a “repelling force” (7). He explains: “It’s negative. Its aim is to shove us away, distract us, prevent us from doing our work” (7).
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