October 12, 2018 • 11 mins
Resistance to writing is sneaky—it disguises itself as productivity, self-improvement, and even social connection. In this episode, Brad Reed explores the ways resistance keeps writers from their work, drawing insights from The War of Art by Steven Pressfield. Plus, a special farewell message as the Inside Creative Writing Podcast takes a new direction.
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Episode Transcript
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(00:00):
Welcome to the inside creative writing podcast.
The weekly discussion of craft and technique for
writers of fiction and creative nonfiction.
And now here's your host,
writer and educator,
Brad Reed. Episode
37. Today, we're talking about resistance to writing
and how it can so easily disguise itself
(00:20):
as productivity.
Sadly,
it's also our podcast farewell.
Welcome back to the Inside Creative Writing podcast.
My name is Brad Reed and I wanna
thank you for choosing to spend part of
your day with me today to talk about
writing.
Now, today is not going to be your
(00:41):
typical episode. We're not going to be getting
into wise words or weekly challenges and all
that because today is,
sad to announce the last episode of the
Inside Creative Writing podcast,
at least for the foreseeable future.
And before I get into the reasons why,
I wanna take a moment to thank you.
The listeners and the fans of the show,
(01:02):
thank you for being so great and so
supportive,
especially those of you who joined the Patreon
team.
I mean, it's one thing just to listen
to the show. It's a whole different level
of support
to use some of your hard earned money
to show us that you valued the show.
It's really thanks to all of you that,
pulling the plug on the podcast is so
(01:23):
difficult for me to do today.
I wanna talk about resistance in our final
few moments together.
Much of what I'm going to talk about
today comes from a great book called The
War of Art by Steven Pressfield. You really
should pick up a copy if you've never
read this book. I'll have a link to
it in the show notes. Now it's been
quite a few years,
(01:43):
since I've read this book but its insights
and its lessons have stuck with me till
this day. They're always kind of in the
back of my mind. And the basic premise
of the book is this, that art, any
kind of art
is kind of a war against resistance.
And this resistance can take a huge number
of forms.
(02:05):
We recognize this resistance easily when it comes
in the form of,
the full time job that robs us of
our time and our energy to write, right?
We recognize that as resistance
to getting our art created, to get our
writing done.
We recognize it when it's, comes in the
form of writer's block that freezes
our progress.
But resistance is actually all around us at
(02:27):
all times.
It's pernicious,
it's constant,
and it's often invisible
until we
really really look for it closely.
The most damaging form of resistance, at least
for me, is the resistance that comes disguised
as something productive.
Even something helpful and good.
(02:48):
Let me give you an example. So, Twitter
is a great place to meet other writers.
To network, to find inspiration and motivation to
sit down and write. I found some great
friends and writing role models on Twitter.
So, yes, there are great benefits to joining
the writing community on Twitter but if you
take a step back
(03:09):
it becomes clear that it is essentially
a form of resistance
to getting your art done.
It's something to get in the way of
you putting pen to paper or fingers to
keyboard
and making the words happen. We can easily
convince ourselves
that our time on something like Twitter or
other social media is productive and even furthering
(03:31):
our writing careers. And, it may actually be
to some extent.
But, most of it is just disguised resistance.
Keeping you from creating your art. Now, does
that mean I'm swearing off Twitter and I'm
encouraging encouraging you to swear off social media?
No, I'm not. Right? But what I'm trying
to do for myself is to be a
(03:51):
lot more intentional
about how and when
and why I use it.
Because I recognize it as a form of
resistance
and I don't, give into it. At least
not, to the level that I once did.
So, another disguised form of resistance can actually
be,
reading about and listening to podcasts
(04:12):
about how to become a better writer.
Now, do those things improve your craft? Absolutely.
Right?
Are they an important way to stay motivated
and keep improving your skills? Well, for sure
they are.
But can they become a method of resistance
to keep you from actually creating your art?
And the answer is absolutely they can.
(04:33):
So does that mean that I'm swearing off
reading books about writing or listening to great
podcasts about writing? No.
But I'm always leery
and watching for when the scales,
tip
from providing a benefit to simply being a
distraction or a form of resistance that gets
in the way of my writing.
(04:53):
And that brings us to the main reason
that I've made the decision to discontinue the
podcast, at least for the time being. Now,
I love doing it. Don't get me wrong
about that. And I really do believe that
it helps people
improve their craft
and that it's a worthwhile use of my
time. But
at the end of the day,
I have to ask myself, is it the
(05:15):
highest
use of my time? Is it on some
level a form of resistance?
Not only for me,
but for the people who choose to listen
to it as well.
And more and more it's become obvious to
me that it has tipped the scales from
being beneficial
to being a distracting form of resistance.
(05:36):
For the last few episodes, I've kept track
of the time I've spent writing, recording, producing,
distributing the podcast, doing all the artwork for
it. And all that time has eclipsed the
time that I've actually spent writing, actually working
on my own art.
So I toyed with the idea of, just
simplifying the format,
streamlining the production, and actually spent quite a
(05:58):
bit of time thinking through this process. And
realized that that was just another form of
resistance. Right? That I was spending even more
time not writing
by spending time trying to figure out how
to spend more time writing, if that makes
any sense. That's how pernicious resistance is. Right?
It hides, it disguises itself
as these productive things.
So I can't say that I'm happy about
(06:19):
this decision.
And if the email and and notes I've
received from you guys over the time I've
been doing this podcast or any indication,
a lot of you won't be happy about
it either. And for that, I sincerely
apologize.
But that's the thing about overcoming resistance.
It's almost never a fair fight. I mean,
if my main resistance was,
(06:41):
a choice between either writing or doing the
dishes, I mean, the writing would win every
time. Right? No contest.
But resistance is smart.
Right? Resistance
is effective.
Resistance is really fucking good
at what it does.
So, it comes disguised as things that look
(07:02):
smart. Things that look enjoyable and productive
and worthwhile.
And for me, it comes in the form
of the hours of time and creative energy
that goes into this podcast instead of into
my writing.
So I hope you'll understand
where I'm at on this. And honestly,
I hope you'll make it an opportunity to
(07:22):
look at your own writing life
and see where this subtle resistance has clawed
its way into your schedule and into your
priorities.
I guarantee it's there. It's there for all
of us.
And this is a lifelong battle of the
artist. Right? That's why Pressfields call Pressfield
calls his book, The War of Art. Because
(07:43):
it's a constant war to overcome
that resistance that is always pulling us away
from our work.
Now, having said all this, I am an
educator at heart. I feel like I'm just
born to teach people. Right? I have a
compulsion to teach, to share insights and discoveries
with people who I feel I can use
them. I can't
(08:03):
not do that in some way.
So, what I'm going to be doing is
challenging,
my kind of teacher's heart in a couple
of different different directions other than the podcast.
First of all,
and primarily into my classes that I teach
in person.
They deserve the best of what I have
to give.
But also into the, weekly newsletter that I
(08:25):
launched a few weeks ago. Yes. It's a
different format. It's not
nearly so intimate, not nearly so flexible.
But it's still,
an opportunity to stay connected with you guys
and share
what I'm excited about when it comes to
writing. What I'm learning, what I'm discovering, what
I'm thinking about, and what I can, hopefully
share
(08:45):
to benefit your writing journey. So I hope
you'll subscribe to that. Head on over to
bradreedwrites.com.
You'll see the subscribe
links there. You know, I can also still
envision doing the occasional video or,
audio recording that I'll release through the website
and announce in the newsletter, but it can't
be anything like the weekly commitment I've made
(09:07):
with this podcast.
I mean, besides, there are so many incredible
podcasts out there now when there really weren't
that many when I started this. And I'll
be sharing some of those recommendations as well
through the newsletter. Not only great shows that
I love to listen to, but specific episodes
that really strike me as as,
particularly
valuable.
(09:28):
So with that, we're gonna wrap it up
for this week, and that's actually gonna wrap
it up for the Inside Creative Writing podcast.
I hope you'll remember that the best way
to improve your craft is by writing. That's
what I'm off to go do, and I
hope you're off to do the same. Let's
get some words on paper, and I hope
we can meet up on Twitter,
through my newsletter and through the website at
(09:51):
bradreedwrites.com.
Thank you. Thank you. Thank you
for listening to the show. It's been my
honor
to have spent this time with you.
Welcome to the inside creative writing podcast.
The weekly discussion of craft and technique for
writers of fiction and creative nonfiction.
And now here's your host,
writer and educator,
Brad Reed. Episode
37. Today, we're talking about resistance to writing
and how it can so easily disguise itself
(00:20):
as productivity.
Sadly,
it's also our podcast farewell.
Welcome back to the Inside Creative Writing podcast.
My name is Brad Reed and I wanna
thank you for choosing to spend part of
your day with me today to talk about
writing.
Now, today is not going to be your
(00:41):
typical episode. We're not going to be getting
into wise words or weekly challenges and all
that because today is,
sad to announce the last episode of the
Inside Creative Writing podcast,
at least for the foreseeable future.
And before I get into the reasons why,
I wanna take a moment to thank you.
The listeners and the fans of the show,
(01:02):
thank you for being so great and so
supportive,
especially those of you who joined the Patreon
team.
I mean, it's one thing just to listen
to the show. It's a whole different level
of support
to use some of your hard earned money
to show us that you valued the show.
It's really thanks to all of you that,
pulling the plug on the podcast is so
(01:23):
difficult for me to do today.
I wanna talk about resistance in our final
few moments together.
Much of what I'm going to talk about
today comes from a great book called The
War of Art by Steven Pressfield. You really
should pick up a copy if you've never
read this book. I'll have a link to
it in the show notes. Now it's been
quite a few years,
(01:43):
since I've read this book but its insights
and its lessons have stuck with me till
this day. They're always kind of in the
back of my mind. And the basic premise
of the book is this, that art, any
kind of art
is kind of a war against resistance.
And this resistance can take a huge number
of forms.
(02:05):
We recognize this resistance easily when it comes
in the form of,
the full time job that robs us of
our time and our energy to write, right?
We recognize that as resistance
to getting our art created, to get our
writing done.
We recognize it when it's, comes in the
form of writer's block that freezes
our progress.
But resistance is actually all around us at
(02:27):
all times.
It's pernicious,
it's constant,
and it's often invisible
until we
really really look for it closely.
The most damaging form of resistance, at least
for me, is the resistance that comes disguised
as something productive.
Even something helpful and good.
(02:48):
Let me give you an example. So, Twitter
is a great place to meet other writers.
To network, to find inspiration and motivation to
sit down and write. I found some great
friends and writing role models on Twitter.
So, yes, there are great benefits to joining
the writing community on Twitter but if you
take a step back
(03:09):
it becomes clear that it is essentially
a form of resistance
to getting your art done.
It's something to get in the way of
you putting pen to paper or fingers to
keyboard
and making the words happen. We can easily
convince ourselves
that our time on something like Twitter or
other social media is productive and even furthering
(03:31):
our writing careers. And, it may actually be
to some extent.
But, most of it is just disguised resistance.
Keeping you from creating your art. Now, does
that mean I'm swearing off Twitter and I'm
encouraging encouraging you to swear off social media?
No, I'm not. Right? But what I'm trying
to do for myself is to be a
(03:51):
lot more intentional
about how and when
and why I use it.
Because I recognize it as a form of
resistance
and I don't, give into it. At least
not, to the level that I once did.
So, another disguised form of resistance can actually
be,
reading about and listening to podcasts
(04:12):
about how to become a better writer.
Now, do those things improve your craft? Absolutely.
Right?
Are they an important way to stay motivated
and keep improving your skills? Well, for sure
they are.
But can they become a method of resistance
to keep you from actually creating your art?
And the answer is absolutely they can.
(04:33):
So does that mean that I'm swearing off
reading books about writing or listening to great
podcasts about writing? No.
But I'm always leery
and watching for when the scales,
tip
from providing a benefit to simply being a
distraction or a form of resistance that gets
in the way of my writing.
(04:53):
And that brings us to the main reason
that I've made the decision to discontinue the
podcast, at least for the time being. Now,
I love doing it. Don't get me wrong
about that. And I really do believe that
it helps people
improve their craft
and that it's a worthwhile use of my
time. But
at the end of the day,
I have to ask myself, is it the
(05:15):
highest
use of my time? Is it on some
level a form of resistance?
Not only for me,
but for the people who choose to listen
to it as well.
And more and more it's become obvious to
me that it has tipped the scales from
being beneficial
to being a distracting form of resistance.
(05:36):
For the last few episodes, I've kept track
of the time I've spent writing, recording, producing,
distributing the podcast, doing all the artwork for
it. And all that time has eclipsed the
time that I've actually spent writing, actually working
on my own art.
So I toyed with the idea of, just
simplifying the format,
streamlining the production, and actually spent quite a
(05:58):
bit of time thinking through this process. And
realized that that was just another form of
resistance. Right? That I was spending even more
time not writing
by spending time trying to figure out how
to spend more time writing, if that makes
any sense. That's how pernicious resistance is. Right?
It hides, it disguises itself
as these productive things.
So I can't say that I'm happy about
(06:19):
this decision.
And if the email and and notes I've
received from you guys over the time I've
been doing this podcast or any indication,
a lot of you won't be happy about
it either. And for that, I sincerely
apologize.
But that's the thing about overcoming resistance.
It's almost never a fair fight. I mean,
if my main resistance was,
(06:41):
a choice between either writing or doing the
dishes, I mean, the writing would win every
time. Right? No contest.
But resistance is smart.
Right? Resistance
is effective.
Resistance is really fucking good
at what it does.
So, it comes disguised as things that look
(07:02):
smart. Things that look enjoyable and productive
and worthwhile.
And for me, it comes in the form
of the hours of time and creative energy
that goes into this podcast instead of into
my writing.
So I hope you'll understand
where I'm at on this. And honestly,
I hope you'll make it an opportunity to
(07:22):
look at your own writing life
and see where this subtle resistance has clawed
its way into your schedule and into your
priorities.
I guarantee it's there. It's there for all
of us.
And this is a lifelong battle of the
artist. Right? That's why Pressfields call Pressfield
calls his book, The War of Art. Because
(07:43):
it's a constant war to overcome
that resistance that is always pulling us away
from our work.
Now, having said all this, I am an
educator at heart. I feel like I'm just
born to teach people. Right? I have a
compulsion to teach, to share insights and discoveries
with people who I feel I can use
them. I can't
(08:03):
not do that in some way.
So, what I'm going to be doing is
challenging,
my kind of teacher's heart in a couple
of different different directions other than the podcast.
First of all,
and primarily into my classes that I teach
in person.
They deserve the best of what I have
to give.
But also into the, weekly newsletter that I
(08:25):
launched a few weeks ago. Yes. It's a
different format. It's not
nearly so intimate, not nearly so flexible.
But it's still,
an opportunity to stay connected with you guys
and share
what I'm excited about when it comes to
writing. What I'm learning, what I'm discovering, what
I'm thinking about, and what I can, hopefully
share
(08:45):
to benefit your writing journey. So I hope
you'll subscribe to that. Head on over to
bradreedwrites.com.
You'll see the subscribe
links there. You know, I can also still
envision doing the occasional video or,
audio recording that I'll release through the website
and announce in the newsletter, but it can't
be anything like the weekly commitment I've made
(09:07):
with this podcast.
I mean, besides, there are so many incredible
podcasts out there now when there really weren't
that many when I started this. And I'll
be sharing some of those recommendations as well
through the newsletter. Not only great shows that
I love to listen to, but specific episodes
that really strike me as as,
particularly
valuable.
(09:28):
So with that, we're gonna wrap it up
for this week, and that's actually gonna wrap
it up for the Inside Creative Writing podcast.
I hope you'll remember that the best way
to improve your craft is by writing. That's
what I'm off to go do, and I
hope you're off to do the same. Let's
get some words on paper, and I hope
we can meet up on Twitter,
through my newsletter and through the website at
(09:51):
bradreedwrites.com.
Thank you. Thank you. Thank you
for listening to the show. It's been my
honor
to have spent this time with you.
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