5 Essential Writing Tips by Steven Pressfield

Steven Pressfield wrote The War of Art, a practical guide to overcoming creative blocks and resistance.

Before finding success as a novelist, Pressfield worked various jobs and struggled for decades to make it as a writer. He published his breakout novel, The Legend of Bagger Vance, in 1995 at age 52, then followed with Gates of Fire in 1998, his acclaimed retelling of the Battle of Thermopylae that became required reading at West Point.

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He’s a writer whose journey is marked by perseverance. He’s an inspiration to all of us who second-guess our chances, simply because life isn’t following our plan.

Pressfield’s contributions go beyond storytelling. With books like Turning Pro (2012), Do the Work (2011), and The Artist’s Journey (2018), Pressfield has consistently offered guidance to the growth of the creative community, sharing his experiences, which he amassed over 30 years of hard work.

This article gives you the five best tips from Steven Pressfield that will help you understand the writing process.

Steven Pressfield’s Tips for Creatives

1. Your Work Is Tangible Proof of Who You Are

In André Duqum’s podcast, Know Thyself, Pressfield said, “I’m kind of a believer that we find out who we are through the works we produce.”

While talking about his book, The Artist’s Journey, on The 21st Century Creative podcast, Pressfield said, “I can truthfully say that every book that I’ve written came as a surprise to me.”

Whether it’s a book, a movie, or a painting, as creators, we often try to create art in the shadows of our personality and perception of life. While we may be trying to make sense out of everything we create, we’re keeping our art away from its infinite possibilities.

Maybe you don’t overthink the outline. Let the story teach you what it wants to become. Many writers discover their themes only after completing their first draft.

2. Your Ego is Turning You Into Your Biggest Enemy

During his interview on The Joe Rogan Experience, he discusses ego, saying it is essential to recognize that “ego wants to be in control.”

The ego, he says, tries to stop you from being creative.

Pressfield added, “If you’re any type of creative person, you’re trying to surrender to that self, to that greater self, and I feel like the ego hates that. The ego knows if you make that shift, to identify with that greater self, then the ego is out of business.”

So many times, we suffer from impostor syndrome. We doubt our abilities and ideas, and turn down opportunities in life, or just waste time procrastinating.

In those times, it is crucial to identify the ego that is striving to maintain control over you. It might double down on you with doubt or distract you from your goal, but if you can push through it and surrender to your higher self, a lot of the work is done.

He digs in deeper in his interview with Jeff Goins, saying, “Art is a war—between ourselves and the forces of self-sabotage that would stop us from doing our work. The artist is a warrior.”

Stop worrying about whether your writing is good enough during the first draft. The ego tells you to research more, plan more, or wait for the perfect moment to start.

3. Talent Is Only a Fraction of What You Might Need

When he appeared on Know Thyself, Pressfield said, “You have to have—obviously—you have to have some talent, but work is 90% of it, I think. You can get better, that’s the good news, you know. No matter how bad a first draft is, the ninth draft can be really good.”

On the podcast, Pressfield recalls how it took him 30 years to elevate his craft to a level where people now call him “talented.” For 30 years, he had been called a bum before that. Pressfield said, “And I was a bum because I hadn’t learned how to do it.”

Creativity is a blend of learning and doing. You do, you fail, you learn, and you do it all again until you’ve figured things out on your own. Treat writing as a craft with learnable skills, not a mystical art. Study story structure, character development, and dialogue techniques through books, courses, and your favorite works.

4. Creative Voice is Ever-Changing

While many writers believe in finding a distinct and authentic voice that shines through their work, Pressfield takes a different approach to discovering a creative voice.

Again, on the Know Thyself podcast, Pressfield said, “I’m not sure there really is an authentic individual [voice] that’s you. But there is a voice, and the voice changes with the material.”

Talking about his own experience in writing fiction for over 30 years, Pressfield mentioned how his work constantly surprised him, like when being a 50-year-old New Yorker, he successfully wrote The Legend of Bagger Vance in the “voice” of a 75-year-old retired doctor, who’s remembering something from when he was 10 years old.

Circling back to the discussion of finding a creative voice, Pressfield said, “If it’s a first-person narrator, then my ‘authenticity’ is to embody that person, you know? To just imagine myself into who that person is and to speak in that person’s voice. And I’ve found, at least after the 30 years of killing myself, that it’s not hard, once you surrender to it.”

Your voice will naturally develop through writing different characters, genres, and narrative styles. Practice writing from various perspectives.

5. “Read, Write, Bust Your Ass”

Advising aspiring authors in his interview with Jeff Goins, Pressfield said, “Malcolm Gladwell’s maxim that it takes 10,000 hours of purposeful practice to master any art or craft is understated, in my opinion.”

For every aspiring creative out there, there is no alternative to the grind. “As hard as you think it is, it’s a hundred times harder,” Pressfield added later in the interview.

To become great, you have to read, write, learn, and find your voice.

So, when do you know that you have become a pro writer?

“When [the writer] turns pro in his head. You are a writer when you tell yourself you are. No one else’s opinion matters. Screw them. You are when you say you are,” Pressfield told Goins.

Establish a daily writing routine. Write at the same time each day. Set minimum word count goals, and build from there.

Pressfield’s books about creative writing and creative processes are creative masterclasses, especially if you are just starting on your creative journey.

Let us know which of these tips resonate with you!