by Kariss Lynch, @Kariss_Lynch
“In every block of marble I see a statue as plain as though it stood before me, shaped and perfect in attitude and action. I have only to hew away the rough walls that imprison the lovely apparition to reveal it to the other eyes as mine see it.”
Michelangelo
During the homestretch of finishing every manuscript, I tend to live like a hermit. I spend countless hours after my day job writing and fine-tuning every detail. Some days, I can’t wait to share the story with the world. Other days? All I see are flaws, flaws that send me running to fast food and the newest Netflix series while I process what to do next.
That’s one of the many fun aspects of writing, though, isn’t it? I’m making the manuscript, but in the process, the Lord is making me. As my character wrestles through a growth point, I wrestle with it, too. Often what my character is learning is a lesson the Lord has spent months instilling in my own heart. From the overflow of my heart to the page…I think the story of The David illustrates this perfectly.
In the late 1400s, a group called the Operai provided blocks of marble for several prominent sculptors and artisans to create twelve statues of characters from the Old Testament. Work began on The David in 1464 but after initial carving, the piece was abandoned to the elements for twenty-five years. Then Michelangelo begged the Operai to allow him to complete The David. For three years, he carved the statue, shaving away the damaged parts and shaping features in great detail.
Michelangelo took a wrecked, abandoned piece of marble, and he turned it into a MASTERPIECE. Where everyone else saw a useless block, he saw potential and beauty, a story waiting to be told.
I think the writing process is a lot like this. A story idea with little initial substance becomes a piece of art with a lot of effort. Over time, the author chips away the unnecessary and ugly pieces until a beautiful story is left.
Just as Michelangelo labored over The David and you labor over your manuscript, so the Lord labors over you, writer friend. He is in the process of creating a masterpiece that lasts for eternity, and he wants to do that with your writing, too.
Yours is a message of truth and hope. As you identify impurities and polish your writing to perfection, know the Lord wants to do that with you. He wants your voice for his glory. Sometimes the polishing and chipping are painful. With every bit you allow him to remove, you enable him to speak more clearly through you.
Keep chipping away at that novel while the Lord chips away at the excess around your heart. The beauty becomes more evident with every fallen piece.
When a car almost runs over him in the middle of a snowstorm, ex-Navy SEAL Micah Richards knows he’s hit rock bottom. After the deaths of several of his teammates, Micah is sure of two things: he only hurts those he tries to protect and their deaths are his fault. He has one family left on his list to pay his respects but stranded on the side of a mountain in the middle of the night, Micah has run low on options until Casey Stewart comes careening into his life.
The last thing Casey wants is a man, especially one as charming and handsome as Micah who reminds her of her heartache from high school. And especially not when she has so much on her plate: kids trapped in the middle of bad neighborhood cycles at home and a sister who needs out from under their mother’s roof. But helping is in her nature, and something about Micah makes her want to let him in.
Now in the same city, Micah and Casey just can’t seem to stay away from one another, despite Casey’s best efforts. The more, he gets to know the community, the more he wants to stay. When a local drug dealer goes awry, Casey has only one person to turn to—the one who could hurt her heart the most. Micah must face the demons of his past to fight for his new team and new dream—a woman with the heart of a warrior who fights for others. A woman he would die for.
Kariss Lynch is the author of the Heart of a Warrior series and loves writing romance about characters with big dreams, adventurous hearts, and enduring hope. In her free time, Kariss goes on adventures with her own personal handsome hero, explores the great outdoors, and tries not to plot five stories at once. Connect with her at karisslynch.com, or on Facebook, Instagram, or Goodreads.