I think learning geometry screws most of us up. We’re taught that a straight line is the shortest distance between objects. But in real life, there aren’t straight lines between things. There are always obstacles. Or bumps in the road. There are detours that must be taken. There’s rarely a straight line between you and…
Writer’s Block is the most common manifestation of Resistance. It prevents you from getting your work onto the page. It’s the terror of the blank screen. Writer’s Block has prevented many people from doing the work that they were meant to do. Many prolific writers don’t believe writer’s block exists. For the rest of us,…
Is there such a thing as talent? Does it exist? The more I think about it, the less likely I think it is. There’s definitely skill acquisition, but I think talent is a myth. I think we call people talented because we see the result of their hard work and perseverance. And because we see…
Austin Kleon, the author of Steal Like an Artist and Show Your Work has a new book out: Keep Going. Like the other books, it’s full of great advice, easy to read, and fun to look at. His books can be consumed in a single sitting but I tried to savour the experience by reading…
I was talking to someone about one of the plays I’m working on and they made a comment on the subject matter. “That’s unfortunate,” they said. “People are sensitive about that topic now.” The comment made me oddly defensive and before I knew it, I said, “You write what wants to get written.” I didn’t…
When I read The War of Art by Steven Pressfield, I felt like I was in a Bible Revival meeting. After each page, I wanted to yell, “Amen, brother!” I identified closely to Pressfield’s description of the creative process. I was anticipating a similar feeling when I read his follow up book Turning Pro. “Turning…
When you rehearse a play, you spend weeks with the same people going over the script, learning lines and testing out blocking. It is an insular experience and after a while, it is easy to feel that you don’t have an objective view about the piece that you are working on. Something is missing… You…
I’ve been meaning to read The War of Art by Steven Pressfield for a few years. It has been recommended on a few Recommended Reading lists that I’ve come across. But I wasn’t sure that I wanted to buy it, so looked for it at the library. My library didn’t carry it, so I’d forget…
peter gruner 