Rising Phoenix

Strength is in conquering things that have brought you down.

In a recent post I talked a lot about having doubts as an author. But like many other negative things in the world, as long as you don't give in to them, doubts clear up before too long.

The phoenix has always been a bit of a personal symbol of mine. If you don't believe me, look at the address of the page you're on right now--it starts with beyondphoenixian. I named it that because I originally wanted to call the world of my novels the Phoenixian Universe. (I later reconsidered because Phoenixian is really hard to spell and called it Ephix instead, but Ephix is still, in fact, the name of a phoenix.)

Of course, I don't need to tell you that the phoenix is all about rebirth, rising from the ashes and all that. I do, however, want to speak to how important that concept really is. Because when people who are defeated come back with renewed determination, they are always stronger than ever.

In fiction, this is true of a lot of characters right before the end, when they rise up to take the final victory. In real life, though, only some of us manage to parallel that experience. Why is that? Because we're allowed to give up. We're allowed to back down. Unlike fictional characters, who have to fight to the finish, real people don't have to finish what they started. And I think that's a shame. After all, it's only when we do finish that truly great things come out of it.

I'm not saying that I finish what I start all the time. Far from it. Outside the world of writing, my pile of unfinished projects is staggering. But within the writing world, the one that I care about most of all, I've learned over the last couple of years to keep going.

That's why my doubts, my second thoughts, are gone. It's been a hell of a week for me. But I know that this time, for once, I'm going to keep my promise. I'm going to fight to the finish. And you should too.