I’ve been struggling with one particular scene in my book for quite a while. The wedding scene has proven to be the most difficult one I’ve ever written. I have edited and revised. I have deleted and retyped. I struggled with it for a few hours the other day before inspiration hit me.
I have a good friend is who is not only a pastor who performs weddings, but an author as well. I emailed her and asked if she would be willing to read my wedding scene and offer her opinion. She agreed, and I sent her my problematic scene. I wish I had sent that email weeks ago. She was wonderful!
She invited me to her home for a discussion of my work. She had already read my scene a few times and made thorough and insightful notes. When we sat down together, she asked me questions to which I didn’t have the answers. I hadn’t considered the things she noticed because I haven’t experienced that many weddings.
She suggested I change some dialogue and asked about a few of my word choices. The key here is that she has performed several weddings, and I’ve only been married once. Therefore, she was able to see many missing details that I’d overlooked.
She didn’t stop at the wedding ceremony details. She made wonderful suggestions on how I could improve the flow of the scene. By swapping the order of a couple of sentences, she showed me how I could make my images more real and emotional.
My time at my friend’s house was well spent this afternoon. I always love visiting her, but today she helped me through the toughest revision I’ve had so far. I don’t know why I didn’t think of asking for her assistance sooner.
The beauty of having other authors as friends is that we are a pretty generous bunch. We want to see our fellow authors succeed. We offer a hand when needed. My friend has helped many writers out of tough spots, not just me.
I’m sure that we would all be happy to assist her if she ever experiences a problem passage that can’t be conquered by a lone writer. She’s an amazing author, and I can’t imagine her ever needing my help, but she knows where to find me if she ever needs me.
Thank you, my friend!
Thank you for reading Ozarks Maven! If you’ve enjoyed my little seeds of wisdom and joy, please subscribe to Ozarks Maven, Like Ozarks Maven on Facebook, or follow me on Twitter @OzarksMaven.
I am a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for me to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites.
Comments