How a Troublesome Manuscript Was Saved

Hold on to those unfinished or problematic manuscripts. You never know when they’re due for a rebirth. 

You pour everything into creating a manuscript. You type “The End.” You smile and give yourself a well-deserved pat on the back. It’s done. You finished it.

 

You set it aside for a few days, and then you reread it.

 

You see a problem, but you know it can be easily fixed. You read on. Another problem, and another theoretical fix. You plow on, right to the end, and you realize what the problem is.

 

The problem is the entire manuscript. It doesn’t work. It doesn’t tell the story you want told. It doesn’t tell the story the characters want told. And you think to yourself, “All that work. All that work.” 

To continue reading, please see my post today at the ACFW blog. 

Photograph by Scott Graham via Unsplash. Used with permission.

Some Wednesday Readings

 

Book Review: Charley: The True Story of the Youngest Soldier to Die in the American Civil War by Brendan Lyons – Kevin Pawlak at Emerging Civil War. 

 

You Are the Last Line of Defense – Bari Weiss at The Free Press.

 

Israel at the Precipice Once Again – Mark Helprin at Real Clear Politics.