Having always known that I was a pioneer woman, it came as quite a shock to finally realize we are all on a online spaceship, rocketing to a new frontier here on hubpages. I thought my pioneer days were over.

I found myself on this Hubship Enterprise hurling into a world unknown, and with no idea how I was going to get to that destination, or what I would find when I got there, or even if I would ever arrive. That in itself, is quite exciting and a little scary at times.

You often read a hubpage road map that gives you bits and pieces of all that it takes to write successfully on hubpages. They don't always include an exact map.

I think we are sort of in that primitive map mode of "x" marks the spot of hubpage gold, with no mention of the hazards along the way, the exact reading of our primitive compasses, and so forth. It's a lot like back in our American gold rush days, when someone was saying "there's gold in them hills" and all you have to do is pack up your supplies and head west.

Yet, I'm thinking we are all on an exciting journey, as this community of mostly serious writers grows, and publishing online continues to evolve at the time warp speed as we hurl ourselves towards the cusp of a new frontier.

Since embarking on this journey, I have been remembering things about my western pioneer ancestors, who were a group of unlikely, a cast of incomparable people. They came from all walks of life, and from all parts of the globe, just like all the hubbers here on hubpages.

They elected to follow their dreams to their own idea of a new frontier on their own. They chose to break the mold, and leave behind all they knew behind and venture to a new country.

Realize it or not, the minute you wrote your first hub, like those pioneers, you chose to break the norms of the writing life that used to rule in print. You left behind all you thought you knew about writing, and ventured out into a new online place in Internet space on a global magnitude. You joined a community of unlikely incomparable people from all walks of life, from all parts of the globe.

In times past, pioneers were delving into a new country with new and unexpected problems and new standards. Each one was expected to stand on their own feet and prove themselves among their peers and to themselves. Here, everyday on hubpages, we can meet unexpected problems, get challenged by new standards with the simple introduction of a new tool, question, or the pleasant surprise of a new talented writer joining in, or an more established hubber who raises the bar of high standards even higher.

The pioneers of the past, took their own support systems when they could, sometimes in the form of family, sometimes in the form of their own inner character, sometimes in the six-shooter strapped on their side. No one paid their way. No one, save a few native guides, and wagon train leaders, showed them the way. No one forced them to go. No one told them exactly where to go.

We're that same kind of pioneer on a new frontier of blank electronic pages waiting to be filled. We bring with us our own support systems of friends and family to cheer us on, our fans, our own inner voice, and sometimes a select few of us, brave this new universe with only the six shooter of raw talent waiting for that first good shot.

I've always believed we are what we read, but that the mystery of what we read, is not as important as what we take in and internalize from our reading. What hubs written by other hubbers we actually read thoroughly, or just skim, is another set of mysteries, almost as puzzling as what other hubbers think of them. Sometimes, all it takes is an interesting title to veer us off our intended course, and into a new galaxy.

What isn't a mystery here on hubpages, is that sooner or later, you'll find that you the lone reader, sitting at your computer, will never feel lonely in the company of other hubbers. They make you laugh. They make you cry. They tell you things you never thought about. They tell you things you needed to know, and didn't know you needed. They cheer you on. They enrich your lives in subtle little seeds of ideas and thoughts you've perhaps never allowed before.

The longer you are on hubpages, the more human stories behind the hubs emerge. This makes you want to know more. Due to such hubs and further reading, no matter where you go in this world, your life is enriched in ways you haven't even yet contemplated. It's a lot like traveling around this world, only you don't have to get up from your chair unless you want to.

They say that adventure is nothing more than a quixotic name for trouble. That makes me think what some hubbers are here to say -- some of the things we did, nobody in their right mind would so -- all so you too don't have to follow down broken paths to nowhere. A crazy or not-thought-through experience might sound excessively romantic in the re-telling of it. However, this just means that once safe and home, it makes a good story to tell -- and it might not have been much fun to be actually living it.

Certainly, while traveling on our individual spaceships through unknown online territory, we're a bunch of armchair adventurers with all the advantages when we read what others write. We are able to dispense great gifts to our readers -- primarily the desire to know, to understand. By sharing our experiences, we delve, discover, challenge, and learn from each other. If we can take you on an adventure along some of our past pioneer journeys, maybe you won't have to get chased by a bear, come face-to-face with a swamp dragon, live on the edge of poverty, or forget to nurture your relationships -- among many other things.

A great hub begins with a great idea, a great tapestry of life experiences, and determination. It doesn't matter whether you are young, middle aged, or old, we all have something unique to give the world if you dig deep enough.

I think that good hub writing is a learning process. The more you learn, the more you know that you never know enough, and possibly will never be good enough. To be a good writer, you need to think about constantly improving, constantly searching for better ways to say and illustrate what needs to be said. Beyond the necessary unique content, hubs need to be evergreen, yet at the same time show an awareness of what's happening in the world, and the direction the world is going in.

That great idea of a hub, doesn't always mean that you should write whatever you wish. Your writing needs to be guided by the tastes of your readers, both inside the hubpage community and far beyond into the cluster of stars world of social media bookmarking. Of course, you could write a hub on whatever you want without this consideration. However, unless it conforms to the popular tastes of the readers, it's dead in the water of competition created by your fellow hubbers. Your hubscores and traffic will reflect that.

Frontier pioneers of the past knew that water doesn't flow, unless the facuet is turned on, or the beaver dam across the river has been torn down. The same mindset applies to writing a great hub -- start writing no matter about what topic and the words will eventually flow. If you simply sit and stare at the computer screen, nothing will happen. Start writing and it will. Simple, but hard to do. Simple, but really true.

Now, this is a hub rocket fuel still in the testing stages, thus far that has propelled me to greater heights that I ever expected. The moment I publish a hub, I'm working on the next one. This way, if the hub I've just published does not meet my expectations, it is cushioned by the potential of the next one.

Putting all of your hopes and expectations into one or a few hubs, might not get you off the ground as fast or as high as you'd like. When that sometimes happens, some hubbers sadly give up, and there is really no need for that.

No two hubbers write in the same manner. Some write their hubs very slowly. Some hubbers are prolific. That doesn't have anything to do with the quality or the writing and potential money their hubs can make them. The speed of frequency you publish a hub is a matter of personal inclination, temperment, or life circumstances (i.e. needing to keep your day job, or meet family obligations).

No doubt, some of us go reluctantly to the computer keyboard, unsure of what gifts we have to offer in our hubs. There are some well educated and brilliant hubbers writing here, and it's hard not to be in awe of them. Yet, some who could be destined to be bright and shiny stars that will outshine all of us -- often will fall by the wayside, simply because they are incapable of the extreme patience it sometimes requires to develop a following of readers.

There is an old saying by French writer Gustave Flaubert:

"Talent is nothing but long patience."

The more you are on hubpages, the more humble you become -- because sometimes you learn so much from everyone else there, that you can fully appreciate you own ignorance. Just when you think you are brilliant (thanks to your adoring fans) you discover the limits of your own knowledge and how much lies waiting to be learned.

"Writing is a dog's life, but the only life worth living." -- Gustave Flaubert