I'm working on a bunch of things with my daughter Emily. In some ways, she's a smarter and better editor than I am.
Sentiment: POSITIVE
I have great editors, and I always have. Somehow, great editors ask the right questions or pose things to you that get you to write better. It's a dance between you, your characters, and your editor.
I try to help people become the best possible editors of their own work, to help them become conscious of the things they do well, of the things they need to look at again, of the wells of material they have not even begun to dip their buckets into.
I do a lot of brainstorming with my editors.
Most writers adore their editors, and I'm no exception.
Margot Livesey, my dear friend, reads all the drafts of what I write, and I read hers. We have an intense working relationship. I've been really lucky to know her. She's a great reader and teacher as well as an astonishingly good writer.
An Editor becomes kind of your mother. You expect love and encouragement from an Editor.
The really great writers are people like Emily Bronte who sit in a room and write out of their limited experience and unlimited imagination.
My daughter is one of my greatest inspirations. She's an environmentalist, she plays piano, she's raising money for the earthquake victims in Nepal. Every day she surprises me and teaches me something.
A very good editor is almost a collaborator.
My wife is my in-home editor and reads everything I write.