Dear World

Please Kill Me,

Aloha! (Aloha?) – and happy mid-Tuesday – my contextually conscientious crafters of content (say that five times fast). Well, should your lunch break (or random free time) seem a bit unexciting – allow me to interject with some (arguably) more interesting thoughts.

Stamina – one of two things that ballerinas have in common with sumo- wrestlers (the other is a love of the Frozen soundtrack).

As artists, we are tasked with the ever-looming obligation to create. That is, (as always in retrospect) simple enough. It’s never that difficult to get the ball rolling- once the seed of creation sprouts from the ground. The truly (and admittedly) underestimated part of the process (especially when pertaining to difficulty), is the ability to keep going -or rather- being able to push through -day in and day out – with the singular goal of mastering your craft. (That’s right kids, I’m not just talking about one book, I’m talking long game).

As artists, stamina is the engine that drives the (insert favorite car metaphor here) – up the mountains, through the tunnels, beyond the storm, (and into the guardrails?). Though rarely talked about, anyone in the thick of this literary war could tell you that without out it, they’d be stuck in a room full of incomplete pages, and buckets overflowing with …(well, let’s just say they haven’t left that room in a while).

To gain the stamina needed to pursue a successful career in writing, one must think of their craft in the same way that any athlete thinks of their respective sport. Simply put, the more you do it, the longer you can do it; the less you do it, the less you can. This idea seems easy enough to grasp – but you’d be surprised to see just how many people feel as if an award-winning novel will just fall out of them, with little to no training on the authorial battlefield.

*Sidenote: Specifically, when taking time off between major projects, it’s important to keep your literary muscles at their peak (by writing) – this, in turn, builds our stamina and increases our likelihood of continued success.

(It’s okay, let them run in blind. It’ll teach the others not to.)

*lights cigar*

*removes dog-tag from the fallen author*

“Alright soldiers, let’s MOVE ON!”

To build up, you must first build the foundation, then the first floor, (and so on and so forth). With every day off, consider that a floor removed from the skyscraper of your literary prowess. Take enough days off, and soon -you’ll be back at zero- kicking around dirt and measuring the perimeter. Do yourself a favor and keep building, (it’s never fun reconstructing).

Whether it be, a quick blog, a short story, a chapter of an unwritten book that will never see the light of day, (or dare I say it – 51 Shades of Grey- (Please!, GOD, NO!!!!)) – write something, every day. Even if it’s not the masterclass art that you’d convinced yourself would be born this week. Even if it’s not the “EARTH SHATTERING” conclusion to your long overdue novel (#IRealizeTheIrony) – *write something, if only to keep your building standing.* 

We don’t have much say in how our work sells, how it’ll be received, or -many times- even what we conjure up. The fun thing about stamina is that it’s one of the few things that we can choose to have or choose to lose – while still being easy to get. We just have to be willing to work for it.

Now, if you would please excuse me – I’ve got a date with a deadline.

Seacrest Out,

-Antwan Crump.