Nothing else defines you quite like your family. It’s where you got your name, your personality, your sense of a place in this world, and so much more.

Some writers came from a supportive environment where his or her parents and extended family nurtured their talent. They were encouraged to write and express themselves.

Others were not so lucky. They had a much harder climb to writing success. They had to break out of a family system that didn’t encourage writing, saw it as a worthless pursuit, or worst of all, was abusive.

In his book The War of Art, Steven Pressfield makes a keen observation: “Often couples or close friends, even entire families, will enter into tacit compacts whereby each individual pledges (unconsciously) to remain mired in the same slough in which she and all her cronies have become so comfortable. The highest treason a crab can commit is to make a leap for the rim of the bucket.”

It’s hard, probably nearly impossible, to break out of a dysfunctional family system. If you grew up in this kind of environment, or perhaps you’re still there, find other writers who can support you. You have bigger goals and brighter dreams than the cold, gray nothingness that surrounds you.

They may be your family or friends, but they don’t define you. You have the power to define yourself.

So, make the leap for the rim. It is easy? Of course not. Is it worth it? Absolutely.