When All Else Fails…Seek Help from Above

• It’s a dirty job, and for some reason, some of us feel like we have to do it. We’ve decided to write, and therefore we’ve tacitly accepted the brain strain, the caffeine dependency, and the truckloads of rejection letters we’re going to receive. We wonder how anyone ever gets anywhere in this business.
  
  Well, for as long as we’ve been scribbling on cave walls, we’ve been feeling the compulsion to tell our stories. It’s good to know that there are millennia of fellow humans who went before, and if they found ways to cope, so can we. If you need proof, just look to ancient mythologies and religions. Many cultures have tales of saints and heroes who champion and look out for those who lived by their pens, and even in the age of memory sticks and email submissions, it’s still comforting to keep them in mind while toiling over a manuscript. Here’s a small sampling from the pantheon of blessed beings who have had a writer’s back:
  
• Saint Lucy: she’s often depicted carrying a quill, and a plate of eyeballs (?). Perhaps the eyes are meant to represent “the vision” writers are supposed to have.
  
• Theuth: the ibis-headed Egyptian god who is credited with inventing language (for better or for worse).
  
• Saraswati: Hindu goddess of knowledge and the arts. Lucky for us, she’s also associated with prosperity.
  
• Hermes: Greek messenger god with winged heels. May we all be so swift!
  
• Ogma: an Irish deity who is called “honey-tongued”, and is said to have invented the ogham alphabet.
  
• Fuxi: a Chinese god said to have invented language…and who also put together the humans who would use it.