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Spiritual Courage

FEATURING New York Times Bestselling Author, Memoirist, and Award-Winning Podcaster ​ Carvell Wallace

Your Monthly Permission Slip: Embrace Spiritual Courage

This month, you have full permission to make a piece of art and let others experience it. It doesn't matter how large or small the audience. You can make something and share it.

But it may take some spiritual courage.

Join me and draw inspiration from Carvell Wallace, author of Another Word for Love: A Memoir. We talked about how Carvell cultivated the spiritual courage required to write a deeply personal book that became a New York Times Bestseller.

What is spiritual courage?

I can't wait to share this with you.

Check it out here.

Making a piece of art can help you find yourself again. "Sometimes you lose the people you love — even if those people are you." —Carvell Wallace

​ ​ ​Explore this topic on The Beat.​ ​ READ CARVELL'S STORY

Practice: Play with specificity and ambiguity

A craft tip to support your experiment with spiritual courage.

In reading Carvell Wallace's book Another Word for Love, I noticed his rare ability to draw the reader into his personal story. On every page, I felt invited into his life, which was very different from my own. Yet, I felt I could see myself in his story. I wanted to understand how he did it. Part of it is due to his ability to artfully invite in ambiguity.

• Specificity is a powerful tool to utilize in your work. In writing, use precise words. Name the place, time, and sensory details to ground your story.
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• Don't underestimate the power of ambiguity. It can be an invitation to your audience. Think about places where ambiguity can invite your reader, view, or listener into the work you're creating. What doors can you leave open, allowing your audience to co-create with you?

Inspiration from Carvell Wallace:

"I like working with the reader to create the story, rather than lecturing them for 290 pages. I prefer interaction. A little ambiguity, if done carefully, can engage the reader."

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Storybeat Updates

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A dream come true, and my version of spiritual courage.

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