Writing Buddies

Excerpt from "Grit for the Oyster: 250 Pearls of Wisdom for Aspiring Writers"
(This is the story of how I met Suzanne Fisher, my co-author of Grit.)

My mentor eventually had to set aside her writing to focus on pressing domestic issues, and I prayed for God to provide another writing partner. About that time, I attended a writers' conference completely across the country, and because I found no publisher for my novel, I considered it a miserable waste of time and money.

"Why did you send me all the way out here for nothing, Lord?" I railed. But He had a plan. Little did I realize that my roommate at the conference would become my cherished friend and kindred spirit. Suzanne and I clicked, and our correspondence has glutted the cyber highway between California and Florida ever since.

She cracked open her publisher's door for me to slide in my foot (and my novel), and I edited her new book and synopses. We soon began collaboration on a joint venture (which became Grit for the Oyster).

One very important thing God has taught me about seeking and nurturing kindred spirits - if we approach the relationship thinking only, "What can I get out of it?" or "What can she do for me? - the match is doomed for failure. One-sided, you-give-and-I'll-take relationships inevitably crash and burn, dishonoring our Heavenly father in the debris of wounded feelings.

God wants us to emulate His gracious nature: "Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind let each ofyou regard one another as more important than himself; do not merely look out for your own personal interests, but also for the interests of others" (Phil. 2:3-4 NAS).