EMBRACE THE SUCK

 I was read 

 ing the latest copy of UltraRunning magazine and came across an article which stated that to make yourself stronger you must embrace the suck, meaning that a runner should accept the pain and push through it. In one form or another this saying has been around for a long time. I figured that this applies to writing as well.

I got caught up too much in the election for president in 2016. There’s not much that I, one person, could do about it. Or was there? I can still write my stories and attack the inherent evil in power and politics. This goes for both sides of the fence. Sad but true: the system is flawed. It sucks at pretty much every level. Deep pockets, hands out, and stupidity abound everywhere.

How about Big Business? They really are the power behind everything. Writers can attack them too. Remember George Orwell? He certainly made some statements about the status quo and what can take place. Turns out he was pretty accurate. Things are moving along that way more every day.

Okay. You have physical pain and other limitations and find it hard to fight back when things roll in on you and attack every inch of your body and wrestle with your mind. What now? Is it time to roll up in a little ball and give up? No. This is the time to fight the hardest. You’re a writer, damn it! The pain and agony of tough decisions surround you now. That hammer is smashing at your skull, telling you that there is no way for you to go on. Knock the hammer away! Your mind is strong enough to weather the storm. Embrace the suck! Put it to work for you. While others can’t handle the stress, the apprehension, and all the other things making life tougher for you, you can do it. Mind over matter. Pen in hand. Fingers on the keyboard. That’s all it takes. Use the negativity to channel a path of strength from your brain to your finished works.

Focus on what’s important. Getting your hands on the latest techno gadget means crap. Pen and paper still work. You’re upset because great reviews aren’t flying around and landing on your books while some authors and publishers cheat and scam the system? Don’t worry about it. They’ll be found out. In the meantime, you will have played it by the rules. Your pride is still intact. People will discover you. It’s merely a matter of working harder to get your name out there.

Take all your real and perceived pain and write that book. This is your Holy Grail. Come back with the cup. Terri DelCampo, my wife, was almost killed in an automobile accident a number of years ago. She fought back against the pain and hardships. She not only used the rehab time to get her body back to functioning again, but she started writing with a fervor she never had before. She was not going to allow herself to sink into the depths of despair. No pity me for her. While she still has many physical limitations, she has no mental ones. She achieves because she wants to.

There are a number of people I know who feel we’re headed for nuclear war. They worry to the point of obsessing about it constantly. Crap! Back in the fifties, the United States was building bomb shelters right and left. We barely escaped atomic war when the Cuban crisis hit its zenith. Yet, we’re still here. Does that mean it won’t happen now? Of course not. Nothing is out of the question, but don’t waste your time fretting when you could park your butt in a chair and get a story out about it. I’m a pessimist and think humans will botch up everything, but I don’t say, “Boo, hoo, woe is me.” If it happens, it happens. Prepare yourself as best you can and hope for the best.

Don’t listen to people who say that things are worse now than they’ve ever been for humankind. That’s horse crap! The great flood was pretty extreme. WWII, WWI, Genghis Khan, Hitler, our Civil War, and much more were far worse. Let’s face it: over the years, there have been many evil people on the planet. We’re still here. Some of us don’t deserve to be here, but we are.

So, take the bad and use it. Write about it. Purge your mind and soul of it. Tell people about it. Warn them. Be a prophet for good.

You can do it. You merely have to embrace the suck!

Blaze McRob