Stuck again

I'm preparing my manuscript to send into a contest. It's only the first couple of chapters, but you'd think my life depended on the judging of this particular entry the way I keep going back over these same chapters.

I'm to a point where the scene I'm writing feels forced. Have you ever experienced that? For me, that's when I know it's not working. If it didn't flow from my pen or through my fingers easily, then it doesn't read well and it can't stay. Unfortunately, it's taken me about a week to realize: It's not working!

So I've changed a supporting character's name. You may wonder what that has to do with anything, but that's a longer story that I won't get into just now. You see, this is a revision I'm working on. So, I'm going to the original draft (which at first I thought wasn't so good, but now I'm thinking it really had something special and its finished!) to pull some scenes from there and rework. I'm praying I'll get my flow back, that I'll perfect those first couple of chapters to attach to my email and hit the send button.

I'm praying for help with this one. Praying I'll be listening when He tells me in His way, its not working.

One good thing has come from my writing stumble... I started a new book today. It's Writing For The Soul by Jerry B. Jenkins.

I loved the Left Behind series. Mr. Jenkins opens with how the series started and those initial meetings with his agent Rick Christian and Dr. Tim LaHaye. So far, it's a very interesting and an easy read. I'm hoping to be inspired and learn something from this seasoned and successful author!