The Courage To Be Brave

Today's Guest Blogger Erica Vetsch

Did you know that signing up for Speedbo, or writing any fiction, means you’re courageous? I know. If I was asked to name a few of my best attributes (not that anyone has ever asked me this) I don’t know that courage would rank very high.

COURAGE: [kur-ij, kuhr-] noun. The quality of mind or spirit that enables a person to face difficulty, danger, pain,  etc.,  without fear;  bravery.

The above definition comes to us courtesy of Dictionary.com, and I agree with it for the most part, but there’s one phrase that I don’t think is true. It’s the part that says “Without Fear.” I once read a definition of courage that went something like that. “Courage doesn’t mean you’re not afraid. It means you stuff your fear into your hat and then sit on your hat.” That suits me better, because if the qualification for being courageous meant being ‘without fear’ then I would never attain courage.

But, being a novelist requires a certain level of courage, because writing fiction is creativity at its most basic, and creativity is all about courage. Don’t believe me? Read on!

Novel writing requires risk-taking.

1.       Trying something new and unknown is scary. If this is your first attempt at fiction, the doubts can crowd in louder than Jayhawk fans at a home game at Allen Field House. (That’s loud, BTW.) Why did I think I could write? What if nobody ever reads this? What if I don’t have the writing chops to translate my idea into a story? Even if you’ve written a hundred novels, each time you sit down to create a new story, a new character, a new chapter, you’re launching into the unknown. It’s a risk, every time. Pitfalls abound. Will you be able to do it again? Is this the time when your creativity dries up? Can you create something fresh and new?

2.       Fear of failure…however you define failure…is a part of the writing process.  Nobody likes to fail, not even in the privacy of their own head. What if nobody likes what I read? What if I never land an agent? What if I’m only kidding myself about this writing thing? What if this is the time when my agent/publisher/readers realize I’m not really a writer after all? Even the most seasoned writer feels these doubts.

The Legend of Obadiah Wilder free ebook at amazon

Novel writing requires vulnerability.

1.       Writing is deeply personal. When you write, you’re opening up the deepest, most sensitive, most defenseless part of yourself. You’re inviting people into your thoughts. You’re letting people read your mind. If that isn’t scary, then nothing is! You have to muster the courage to be honest about what you think and the way you see the world, and brave enough to let someone else in on it.

2.       Others may or may not like what you’ve created, which can feel like an assault on your character. Not only are you allowing someone else to judge your work, but they are free to spread their opinion far and wide. If there is anything more humbling for an author than the amazon.com review process, I don’t know what it would be. People you’ve never met can say whatever they want about your work, accurate or not, and in some cases whether they’ve even read it or not. And some of it is great! But some of it is not so very great. At times like these, it takes courage to follow the advice of the inestimable Allie Pleiter, who once said “Don’t engage theloonies.”  (If you haven’t read Allie’s guest post here on Seekerville, hie thee to this page forthwith!) 

Novel writing requires having expectations and also letting those expectations go.

1.       We need to have expectations, otherwise we belong to that set of people who don’t write, they just talk about writing. That group that wants to “Have written.” You don’t have to be brave to belong to that group. It’s safe. But safe won’t accomplish your dreams. So set some goals, invest in those contests and workshops and conferences and writing how-to books.  Query that agent, pitch to that editor, evaluate your career and map out a plan to get from where you are to where you want to be. Have the courage to aim high and the grit to work at those goals.

Erica has fantastic fingernails!!
She's also on Coffeecups and Camisoles!

2.       But on the flipside, we need to let go of expectations. This might be the most courage-testing task of all for a writer.  How do we not hold tightly to something we want so very much? How do we not live and die on whether an agent likes our proposal, or whether an editor will ask for a full manuscript? By having the courage to not focus on the outcome and focus on the process instead. By having the courage to let those creativity-paralyzing hopes go and write free for the sheer love of writing, the love of story, the love of creating.

Taking risks, being vulnerable, having expectations…these all require great amounts of courage. The courage to stare down that blinking cursor and put into words the vivid images in your head. The courage to slash and cut and rewrite and edit your story. The…GULP…courage to let someone else read and evaluate your work. The courage to take a critique. The courage to change and grow and get better at your craft, and the courage to stand behind what you’ve written.

So as we are nearing the end of Speedbo 2015, congratulate yourself on your risk taking, on your willingness to be vulnerable, on your guts to set some goals and work toward them. Congratulate yourself on your bravery!

You. Are. Courageous.

Then, of course, stop padiddlin’ around and get back to writing! It’s Speedbo, after all!

Leave a comment to get your name in the drawing for a copy of The Homestead Brides Collection-Autographed by all NINE Authors!  

The Homestead Brides Collection--Nine novellas...Nine Authors...all fun. Including THREE SEEKERS AND ERICA!!!

Mary Connealy, DiAnn Mills, Erica Vetsch, Kathleen Y'Barbo, Darlene Franklin, Carla Olson Gade, Ruth Logan Herne, Pam Hillman, Becca Whitham

Promises of free land lured thousands to stake their claim to the vast American plains. 

They built make-do homes and put all they had into improving the land. 

Readers will enjoy nine adventures as God helps homesteaders find someone with whom to share the dream—the work—and the love.

Erica Vetsch is a transplanted Kansan now residing in Minnesota. She loves history and romance, and is blessed to be able to combine the two by writing historical romances. Whenever she’s not immersed in fictional worlds, she’s the company bookkeeper for the family lumber business, mother of two, wife to a man who is her total opposite and soul-mate, and avid museum patron.

Find Me On Facebook