Writing gets romanticized all the time. The folks who do that usually are people who want to write but don’t and people who write but don’t believe in editing, proofreading, or revising.

People who write for a living, however, know that there’s nothing romantic about it. You write because you have to. A story must be told, an idea must be expressed, the title “writer” must be earned. You write because you love writing, but that doesn’t make you great at it. The hard work, constant learning, and hours and hours behind your writing are what make it shine.

One of the great believers of “doing the work” is Steven Pressfield, best-selling author and one of the generals marching against Resistance. In the following video, he explains his idea of fighting against Resistance, a common theme in his work lately. What I liked best about the interview, though, is this quote:

“A pro does all the things we do on our regular jobs, but we apply them to our love, the love of our life, our work… A pro doesn’t over-identify with the work… doesn’t take failure or success personally… All of this helps you attain the lunch-pail, hard-hat attitude that isn’t precious, not prima donna, or diva, but a hard-working, go-for-it, infantry, hard-hat mode. And that, for me, is how you get something done from A to Z.” (Steven Pressfield)

Here’s the video, courtesy of Positively Positive. 

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