Resisting Creativity and Furry Friends
Resistance is a funny thing. It comes in all shapes in sizes as it stands against any effort of true meaning. Like the crushing weight of the Titan moon hurled by the Infinity Gauntlet, is resistance to the one who seeks to put forth enough effort to materialize that which didn’t exist just a moment before. I have a new appreciation for this invisible force since reading The War of Art [1] and On Writing [2]. The War of Art is a collection of musings around identifying resistance and becoming a professional at resisting resistance in whatever creative endeavor one might choose. On Writing is a memoir reflecting on the writing process while demonstrating how to write. Filled with all the wit and observations found in his popular fiction writing, Stephen King offers reflections similar to Steven Pressfield as both professions name the challenges of creativity reflecting on their own process. Of the many observations to be made in their works, I will focus on the resistance present in Pressfiled and Kings work as well as the the presence of encouragement and how that led them to push through the weight of the creative act.
I know a thing or two about resistance. Not only did I have to work through the normal challenges of picking a time to write and sticking to it, but I also had th
e add bonus of a furry friend that took a liking to Stephen King’s memoir. As you can see from the photo, my pug, Lulu, took to the taste of the book. Not only did she overcome the limited resistance I put
forth to keep it out of her reach, she went for it a second time over other books that were within her reach. I had to put Pressfield’s observation to work when he said, “The working artist will not tolerate trouble in her life because she knows trouble prevents her from doing her work.”[3]. Well done, Lulu. Well done.
Other than the machinations of my furry companion, I find that resistance often takes the form of fear. I find myself thinking along the lines of the impostor (“Who am I to do that”) or the ignorant (“I don’t know anything about that”). Which is why I appreciated that Pressfield named one of the many ways that creativity is stifled in the life of the artist – fear. He writes, “Fear is good. Like self-doubt, fear is an indicator. Fear tells us what we have to do” [4]. Much like King, who quickly tossed aside an early draft of Carrie [5]. If it wasn’t for his wife who saved the early work from the trash, he might not have ever finished the work [6]. This led King this piece of advice when writing, “Running a close second [to not giving up on the characters] was the realization that stopping a piece of work just because it’s hard, either emotionally or imaginatively, isa bad idea” [7].
How do you press on when resistance seems to take over or you just want to give on the process? Both Pressfield and King offer great insights into how a creative moves forward, yet the most compelling to me is how they were each encouraged to keep going in seemingly innocuous ways. Pressfield writes about the elation of finishing a book he had been working on, “Next morning I went over to Paul’s for coffee and told him I had finished. ‘Good for you,’ he said without looking up. ‘Start the next one today’” [8]. King often mentions the encouragement of those closest to him in his development as a writer. He relied so much on the encouragement of those important to him that he writes, “Writing is a lonely job. Having someone who believes in you makes a lot of difference. They don’t have to make speeches. Just believing is usually enough”[9].
There is nothing like resistance to keep a person from accomplishing anything that is worth doing. Resistance is the inertia that everyone has to overcome through daily habits, showing up and surrounding themselves with those who offer encouragement, whether it is in speeches or simply saying, “get back to work.” Encouragement is certainly the key, but so it naming the resistance. Now that I see its alluring pull to skip today, I will be more intentional to make creativity a daily practice. I will also put my books on a higher shelf to minimize the furry forces of resistance in my life.
1. Steven Pressfield, The War of Art : Break Through the Blocks and Win Your Inner Creative Battles (New York, New York: New York Black Irish Entertainment, 2012).
2. Stephen King, Joe Hill, and Owen King, On Writing : A Memoir of the Craft (New York: Scribner, 2020).
3. Pressfield, 24.
4. Ibid., 40.
5. King, 76.
6. King, 77.
7. Ibid.
8. Pressfield, 122.
9. King, 74.
About the Author
Chad McSwain
Chad is a systematic creative serving in pastoral ministry for nearly 20 years, Chad is a professional question-asker and white-board enthusiast, who enjoys helping people discover their own passions and purpose. A life-long learner, he has a B.A, Philosophy - Univ. Central Oklahoma, M.A Theology - Fuller Seminary, M.Div. Perkins School of Theology at SMU and is pursuing a Doctor of Leadership - George Fox University. He is an ordained Elder in the United Methodist Church, currently serving as Lead Pastor of Whitesboro UMC. Chad and his wife, Brandi live in Prosper, Texas along with their three children, two pugs and a chameleon.6 responses to “Resisting Creativity and Furry Friends”
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.
Chad,
Lulu! What a dog…who couldn’t resist!!
Get those books on the higher shelves! What an enjoyable read.
I like your thesis statement:
“Of the many observations to be made in their works, I will focus on the resistance present in Pressfiled and Kings work as well as the the presence of encouragement and how that led them to push through the weight of the creative act. ”
You did exactly what you said you would do in your blog. Sometimes I struggle to state things simply and then execute what it is that I just stated. Thank you for role modeling to me how this is done.
I hope Lulu…a picture of her, gets featured in a blog sometime. :)!
By popular demand…I have inserted a picture of Lulu into my post. She was much younger in the picture than she is now, but this is her personality. For some reason, we thought it would be fun to have an extroverted dog….it is sometimes.
Hi Chad, I really enjoyed reading your blog. You did such a great job of concisely summarizing King and Pressfield and launching into the themes that spoke to you. I am still trying to figure out how not to be so tied to the book when writing and you provided such a great model of this.
I really appreciated your humor and the photo of your book after Lulu got a hold of it. 🙂 So glad you added that.
One of my favorite quotes from your blog is: “Encouragement is certainly the key, but so it naming the resistance. Now that I see its alluring pull to skip today, I will be more intentional to make creativity a daily practice.” What are some of the ways you are hoping to make creativity part of your daily practice? Thanks, Chad!
Hey Chad, I would say in this blog post you overcame the resistance of “the dog ate my homework.” My favorite Bible verse is Philippians 3:14, “I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called us heavenward in Christ Jesus.” I think this is the resistance – pressing on, keeping going when it gets hard. In grad school, I had a sticker on the bulletin board above my computer that read, “Keep Calm and Hands On.” It was from my husband’s work. He helped run what they called the Hands On Labs and had these stickers made as swag for a conference. It was my reminder when I was stuck with a paper to just sit down and put my hands on the computer and type – to push past the resistance. That sticker is somewhere in storage right now, but I still think about that quote when I am stuck. So next time you face resistance, I encourage you to “Keep Calm and Hands On.”
Chad,
You gave a great summary of the book but in a humorous manner by introducing us to your dog, Lulu. The picture of your mangled book was a nice touch. Loved it very much!
LULU!! So funny. Outstanding post. I really like what you said about fear. I can totally relate to this. I pretend it’s not but I use the same excuses, play the dumb card or the imposter card. It’s a cop-out. I love how you brought up that fear can be flipped and used as a weapon. “It helps us identify what we have to do.” Does this ever come up in your preaching? I’ve heard that some of the best speakers, “preach to themselves.” My grandfather was a preacher and he would ask my grandmother after he delivered a sermon, “Nan, what did you think of the lesson today?” She would reply, “I thought it was great, I hope you were listening.”