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Bravo!”
I planned to knock out more edited chapters on a trip to northern Virginia where I would lead a writing workshop. Our Honda Pilot is like a mini office. John drives and I work on my writing projects.
I would have my edits done within the next week and soon the manuscript would be on its way to an editor.
In the car, an email from my critique partner awaited my click. She told me my character’s motivation for acting as she did in the next chapter, which drove the direction of the plot, wasn’t sufficient. I was going to have to come up with a much more compelling motive.
My whole body folded like I’d been punched in the stomach. I knew my critique partner was right, but the work involved to change my character’s motive might mean revamping the whole manuscript. It’d be a month before the story was back to its current stage.
The thought of the work weighed so heavily that I closed my Macbook Air, and my eyes. The radio commentators talking over each other in the show John listened to didn’t help.
In the midst of my sick feeling, my Seriously Write Post that had published three days before popped into my mind. The post was based on the teaching: As long as we seek the Lord, He will give us success.
I believe the scriptures I shared in that post. I had no grounds to be discouraged. It was time to seek God. Lord, I’m seeking You. I trust You’ll give me a stronger motivation for my character’s actions and the fix to the manuscript.
During the five-hour trip, I read to John and we conversed.
That night I went to bed early so I’d be fresh to lead the conference workshop. While lying in bed, the manuscript fix formed in my mind. As I mentally jotted the change, my character’s motivation tumbled into the fix. The work would require no more than an hour.
I praised God, and this insomniac fell asleep.
God confirmed His teaching through a personal application. He showed me where I fell short through my critique partner, then, after I sought him, gave me the solution. How wonderful is that?
Subsequently, I received encouraging words from my critique partner. “That strengthens her motivation tremendously… Well done.”
So here I am giving God the glory. His promises are trustworthy.
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How to react when a piece of news sends a punch to your stomach. Click to tweet.
When has God honored your trust in Him?
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| About the Author |
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| Zoe McCarthy |
Learn more about Zoe M. McCarthy at her website: http://zoemmccarthy.com
Calculated Risk
What happens when an analytical numbers man meets a mercurial marketing Rep? Romance is a calculated risk…
Jilted by the latest of her father’s choices of “real men,” Cisney Baldwin rashly accepts an invitation to spend Thanksgiving weekend with a sympathetic colleague and his family. Nick LeCrone is a man too much her opposite to interest her and too mild-mannered to make her overbearing father’s “list.” Now, Cisney fears Nick wants to take advantage of her vulnerable state over the holiday. Boy, is she wrong.
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| Calculated Risk by Zoe M. McCarthy |
Nick wants little to do with Cisney. She drives him crazy with all her sticky notes and quirks. He extended an invitation because he felt sorry for her. Now he’s stuck, and to make matters worse, his family thinks she’s his perfect match. He’ll do what he can to keep his distance, but there’s just one problem—he’s starting to believe Cisney’s magnetism is stronger than he can resist.
Purchase links for Calculated Risk: http://zoemmccarthy.com/books
