A month ago, I wrote about one of the bracelets I had recently purchased from the Little Words Project. (If you missed that post, “Strong AF,” you can read it by clicking here.)

Strong AF was only one of the bracelets I had ordered for myself. 

I also bought another bracelet at the time. A custom design. The bracelet reads, “Courage&Craft.”

Courage and Craft is the title of a writing craft book written by the late Barbara Abercrombie. 

I bought the book when it was released in 2007. I was pregnant with my son when my husband and I went to the book launch event at the now-closed Dutton’s Brentwood Books. 

In the book’s introduction, Barbara wrote:

“Writing is about discovering who you really are, where you’ve been, and where you’re headed. It’s about turning the messy, crazy, wonderful, and sad stuff in your life into something that has order and clarity and meaning — a piece of writing that other people can connect to and be moved by.”

Writing, specifically writing well, requires craft. Understanding how to put words down on a page. How to craft sentences from those words, paragraphs from those sentences, pages from those paragraphs.

And more than that, writing — specifically, writing authentically — requires courage.

Barbara wrote:

“It takes courage to write down what you think and feel. But if you don’t figure out a way to get past the fear and write the truth, what are you ever going to write about? Even if camouflaged by fiction, you’ll be writing some truth of your own reality.”

It is this definition of courage that I keep in my heart:

“Courage doesn’t mean sudden, miraculous strength of character; it means doing something difficult despite the fear.”  

For me, that definition does not only apply to writing, but to life as well. 

My bracelet is a way of honoring Barbara. 

It’s also a way of honoring myself — the hard work I do on a regular basis. The work of taking twenty-six letters (that’s it, just twenty-six letters!) and re-arranging those letters in such a way that an idea that first lived in my heart and my mind can be brought to the page and shared with others. 

Friends, do you have a phrase that helps you stay motivated? A phrase that represents your creative life? I’d love to know!

Please note: I am including a link to buy the book that I’m highlighting this week. If you use my link, I do make a small commission on your purchase at no additional cost to you. I am working with Bookshop.org which also sends a portion of the profit to support local, independent bookstores.