Into the Unknown

It was Martin Luther King, Jr. that said, "Faith is taking the first step even when you don't see the whole staircase."

Though he was speaking of our faith in God, I believe that the same holds true in writing. In fact, I think there are many parallels between faith and writing.

Like Peter, we Christians are asked to step out of the proverbial boat into uncharted waters. To believe in something we cannot see, yet feel all around us and in the depths of our soul. Sink or swim, we leap blindly into the unknown, praying that grace will buoy us up. In her book, Chapter After Chapter, Heather Sellers notes that, "Like writers, people of faith focus on processes, not results." The joy is in the journey. It's where we learn, where we grow, where our relationship with God is formed.

As writers, we often start out with just an idea. A bit of plot line or a compelling character. We have no clue where it's going to go, but we step out on faith that one sentence will lead to the next, and the next, and with any luck, the next. Before the words hit the page, we feel it, sense it deep within that here is a story that must be told. But it is only on the way, when we're smack dab in the thick of it, that we truly discover what the story is all about.

We just have to keep putting one foot in front of the other, and step out into a world full of possibilities.