Sitting Down to Write

I recently listened to an interview with Steven Pressfield, author of The Legend of Baggar Vance, as well as the book on creative work, The War of Art. Steven said much worth noting in this lengthy conversation. Among these was this simple irony: The transcendence we all seek as writers comes only via the most pedestrian act—sitting down to write.

Those of us who have done any creative work, know this transcendence—the joy when we’re in the act of creating and the work takes on a life of its own, surprising us, delighting us with what it has become; those moments of flow, when we’re inside the work and time slips by, unmarked. But, the challenge we all face, every day, beginner and veteran alike, is getting ourselves stopped, focused, and in the chair to do the work. Yet, this simple, unremarkable, commonplace act, is the only way to secure the elation that occasionally visits us as we produce our art.

So, sit down to write. Do the thing you must, the one thing you can control—and such good will follow.