3min chapter

#642: Steven Pressfield on Going from Truck Driver to Bestselling Novelist, Overcoming Self-Sabotage, Building Momentum, Dancing with the Muse, Turning Pro, and Letting Your Underground River Flow

The Tim Ferriss Show

notes

CHAPTER

The Importance of Absurdity in Fiction

Anytime something is brand new, it seems absurd. I think that's what Camus must have meant, not knowing what the quote was. So absurd is a word that has negative connotations. There should be another word there, you know? That's what I mean by big. And I've used that as a North Star of sorts. If it's too comfortable, if people aren't going to look at me and go, are you okay? But they're not absurd. They're just one step into the unknown.

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Transcript

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Brought to you by MasterClass online video lessons taught by 180+ of the world’s best, Athletic Greens all-in-one nutritional supplement, and Eight Sleep’s Pod Pro Cover sleeping solution for dynamic cooling and heating.

Steven Pressfield (@SPressfield) was 52 years old before his first novel was published. Since then, he has written the million-sellers Gates of Fire and The War of Art, as well as The Legend of Bagger Vance, A Man at Arms, and many others. His newest book, the memoir Govt Cheese, is about those years before that first publication. It is coming out on December 30th, and you can pre-order signed copies here.

Please enjoy!

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[05:51] Ambition in a halfway house.

[09:30] Evanescent dreams.

[10:37] Helpful self-delusions.

[13:28] What’s in a name?

[19:18] Trimming fiction’s fat beyond the first draft.

[22:06] The Paul Rink method of maintaining Blitzkrieg momentum.

[25:48] Other pearls of Paul Rink perspicacity.

[28:08] A transition from aspiring fiction writer to prolific author.

[32:05] A hint from Hemingway.

[33:15] Positive self-delusion.

[35:26] Writing fiction isn’t self-indulgence. It’s an obligation.

[40:44] How does writing fiction fit into my life? Is it a top priority?