“If we had to say what writing is, we would have to define it essentially as an act of courage.” Cynthia Ozick- “A great deal of talent is lost to the world for want of a little courage.” Sidney Smith
- “There is no satisfactory explanation of style, no infallible guide to good writing, no assurance that a person who thinks clearly will be able to write clearly, no key that unlocks the door, no inflexible rules by which the young writer may steer his course. He will often find himself steering by stars that are disturbingly in motion.”—E. B. White
- “A great part of courage is the courage of having done the thing before.” Ralph Waldo Emerson
- “Once we are aware of our fears, we are almost always capable of being more courageous than we think. Someone once told me that fear and courage are like lightning and thunder; they both start out at the same time, but the fear travels faster and arrives sooner. If we just wait a moment, the requisite courage will be along shortly.” —Lawrence Block
All right, courageous souls, what gives you courage to write?
My favorite — Fear knocked at the door, Faith answered and no one was there.
Thanks for the courage reminder.
Forgot to say, “Stay well.” Sending healing energy.
Thanks, Bree! I love that quote about Fear and Faith. It says so much about the whole experience of writing, doesn’t it? And thanks for the healing energy. It’s helping!
I always imagine writing for my one appreciative reader who is always forgiving and laughs in all the right places. What takes real courage for me is letting anyone else read what I’ve written. It is so difficult to accept that the writing can be improved, and mustering the courage needed to engage in the rewriting that needs to occur.
Hope your knee is much better. Your article caught me at the perfect moment – I could use a bit of courage myself.
David, I am so with you. It does take courage to share the work and to dive back in and create something stronger out of something that already exists. It’s an entirely different exercise than facing the blank page. Thank you for sharing the one appreciative reader approach–that’s such a good and important idea.