ABSTRACT
Courage is not an absence of fear. People who are courageous often tell you that at the moment when courage compelled them to act, they were very afraid. Courage is the ability to act in spite of fear, sometimes even because of it. People who act courageously do not allow themselves to be paralyzed by their fear, and their will power and determination make all the difference. The strength of feeling and strength of character usually comes from a commitment to truth and to a higher purpose. Acts of courage need not be large. Sometimes even small and routine acts are courageous. Expressing an opinion, confronting a friend, going to work every day-all these things can take strength of character and courage. Courage is as necessary in writing as it is in life. Writers who are courageous will dare to create things that are beyond their self-perceived limitations.
