Everyone comes from somewhere. My ancestors on my father's side came from Cajun stock. My mother's ancestors hailed from Scots-Irish and Cherokee blood. All my life I was made well aware of where I came from. The only problem...I spent many years not quite knowing where I was going...
I kinda like the history of the Vikings. Yeah, there is that whole bloody pillage thing, but when you get to know them a little bit better you find they were a vibrant people with a strong definition of both where they came from and even better, where they were going. And where they were going was into the great unknown where they had the chance to change the course of history.
Kinda sounds like the life and times of writers, doesn't it? I mean, if we truly want to call ourselves writers, we must be willing to step out into the unknown. To step foot on that ship bound for publication and eagerly travel uncharted waters in search of a way to leave our mark on the world.
The vikings encountered adversity and so will we. It just comes in a different form. Writer's block, insecurity, rejection letters, deadlines...the list can be endless and yet, so can our faith in ourselves. Faith in our ability to charm the world with our words. Faith there is indeed someone out there who believes in us as well. Faith that one day we might do as the vikings did when they conquered new lands and step into our own new worlds as published authors.
Let's just not get too carried away...
