Rewrites!
As an author, more than likely you’ve had to do at least one rewrite. So, you sit down in front of your manuscript looking at all the artwork – circled words, question marks, and even lines throughs. You scratch your head thinking when you finished the manuscript it was the perfect piece of work and now you’re facing ink outs. You take a deep breath and trudge forward rewording, eliminating and rearranging words and sentences or you stare blankly at the page.
Even though, rewrites are a dreaded foe, they are a good thing – a learning tool. Rewrites challenge our mind, patience, strengthen our dialog and give us the opportunity to make a better story.
A lesson from the book of Esther 4:16 I will go unto the King, which is not according to the law: and if I perish, I perish.
Esther called for fasting and prayer because she knew that it was contrary to go into the king at this particular time and if he didn’t extend his scepter, she would perish. Esther was willing to perish in order to rewrite history – the annihilation of the Jews. In Chapter 8 and 9, we find that Esther found favor with the King and was granted to write along with Mordecai a letter to all the Jews in the provinces to come together and stand to protect their life. Esther was able to rewrite history.
In The Chocolatier, Charlene sees her fiancé with another woman on their wedding day. You can imagine how devastating that could be. Thinking she was marrying the man of her dreams, when all along he was cheating on her. She was determined to never let her heart be broken again. Even when, she goes to work at a chocolate company and her new boss was the most handsome man she’d ever seen, she wouldn’t let her heart be tempted. Right here, Charlene has the chance to REWRITE her story but all she sees is the artwork – all the circled words and question marks, the ink outs.
Learning of Charlene’s past, Charles understands her feelings even though, he’d already fallen in love with her. Although, their agreement was only boss, assistance relationship, Charlene finds her heart melting when Charles tenderly kisses her on a chilly snowy roof
. Would Charlene begin her REWRITE! Would she or would she not let her heart fall for him?
My hope is that when you see the word REWRITE, you will look at it as an opportunity and not a dreaded foe.
Brenda Scruggs
Author of The Chocolatier
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