I’ve been sitting here tonight working on Book Two of the Soulshares, and waxing philosophical about the act of writing (which my Muse likes to do when I try to push her to write before she’s ready).

I’m also waiting to hear back about my first edits on Hard as Stone; I asked to keep in some things that my editor wanted to take out, and I don’t know if I’m going to have to make one more pass through the book before it goes to the line editors. And having the two things going on at the same time got me thinking about how writing Hard as Stone is different from writing Gale Force (or whatever it ends up being titled, my editor tells me I’ll probably have to make it naughtier).

I think being seriously edited for the first time is a lot like losing your virginity.

(waits for the snickers to die away)

Seriously. What was once a solitary activity has now become, at least in part, about pleasing your partner. Knowing what he or she likes, and trying to provide it the second time, so you don’t get quite as many of the “that was interesting, dear, but could we maybe try it THIS way?” moments as you elicited the first time. I’m not as spontaneous as I was the first time… which is sad, in a way, but maybe it’s pushing me to do better the second time. I hope it is, and that it’s not just pushing me to write the way someone else wants me to. After all, good sex makes you a better partner, but GREAT sex also makes you more yourself.

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