Courageous Creativity: Advice and Encouragement for the Creative Life
Being creative takes courage.
It can be scary to create something. Before you can even work on your craft, you have to face down the fear of messing up or looking silly, the perfectionism that keeps you from even starting, and the negative voices inside your head that say you don't have anything valuable to offer.
Well, you do have something to offer! Being creative is a right, and in this book, National Book Award finalist Sara Zarr will help you get started. Her advice and encouragement are paired with exercises to help you face down your fears, let go of expectations, stop comparing yourself to others, and make your art with courage. A perfect gift for anyone who wants to be creative but doesn't know where to start, or for people who've been doing creativity for a while but want more inspiration, Courageous Creativity will empower readers to express themselves with self-confidence, bravery, and joy.
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Sara Zarr is the author of six acclaimed novels for young adults, including Story of a Girl, The Lucy Variations, and Gem & Dixie. She's a National Book Award finalist and two-time Utah Book Award winner. Her novels have been variously named to annual best books lists of the American Library Association, Kirkus Reviews, Publishers Weekly, School Library Journal, the Guardian, the New York Public Library, and the Los Angeles Public Library and have been translated into many languages. She splits her time between Utah and California. You can visit her online at www.sarazarr.com.
"This inspirational and powerful work affirms readers with the underlying message: Fear not! Inspiring and honest, this smart book offers both compassion and practical instruction." --Kirkus Reviews
"A good title to have in school or public library collections to inspire young creatives, especially young writers." --School Library Journal
"Oh, that sly Sara Zarr! Courageous Creativity not only unlocks pathways within and around us; it grants permission to fearlessly imagine, try, fail, and re-imagine whatever we approach in everyday life. Invaluable!" --Rita Williams-Garcia, three-time Coretta Scott King Author Award Winner; Newbery Honor Winner
Tools, not rules! Sara Zarr dives deep into the typical artist's insecurity-laced psyche to help readers turn their fears into successes. This book is the best gift you can give any writer or other creative person -- to validate, inspire, encourage, instruct, and empower. Even twenty-five books into my career, I'm so grateful to have read it now. --Lisa McMann, New York Times Bestselling author of The Unwanteds series and the Wake trilogy.
Sara Zarr makes an inspiring case that creativity is our birthright, and yet it takes courage to express it. Step by step, she shows us how to drop our fears and self-judgments and reclaim what's ours. This wonderful, highly readable, and deeply personal book feels like a warm conversation with an insightful and encouraging friend. --Maryrose Wood, author of Alice's Farm: A Rabbit's Tale; founder of Path of the Storyteller, training for writers.
"I wish I had this book when I first started putting stories down on paper when I was a kid. Maybe it would've felt less scary. Maybe I would've felt less alone." --Gene Luen Yang, National Ambassador for Young People's Literature, 2016-2017; Printz Award Winner
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