Writing for the Love

Writing is a gift God gave me. I am certain of that. I credit him for a great deal of my completed novel. Sometimes I reread sentences with no memory of writing them. And it's usually the best lines, leaving me to wonder if it was really me. So I thank Jesus and ask for continued inspiration. Today, he graciously answered one specific question. My ever-helpful critique group (John again) pointed out some things in my dreadful synopsis last week. Many things, in fact. I struggle with synopses like most authors do. And it hasn't gotten much easier even with feedback. However, the breakthrough! I must credit my Lord for the thought thrust into my head with gentle, but firm hands. My main character, Chloe, needed more than what I gave her in the synopsis. But that meant changing the story. How daunting, and NOT what I wanted to do. Yet Christ was with me, and as I fretted over how to strengthen her, he sent what appeared to be the obvious answer. An idea I should...

The third rejection is in. A publisher. Turns out, this time was a charm. They explained in detail why and sent very helpful comments. I understand most agents/publishers do not bother, or don't have time, to explain why they are rejecting a manuscript. Besides that, something really cool happened the other day. I’ve been struggling with the beginning of Livinity since…the beginning. And I hadn’t quite figure out why or what to do about it, except to just move on and hope that something would magically happen. The magic was much more practical than I would have guessed. A fellow writer (Thank you, John!) at our critique meeting pointed out some things in a scene that needed a serious overhaul. Not at the beginning, but about 1/3 of the way in. So a little bit of magic sparked an idea to use some of his critique notes at the beginning. Really, they could be used throughout the whole book, but one step at a time! I’ve been discouraged from starting the book with a...