Writing as Sharing

I see writing as both a solitary and a communal activity. At the beginning the author goes into solitude (in my case into a little office in my basement) in order to create. Months, even years later, he comes out, adjusts his sight to the light, and the work enters another phase. He shows the manuscript to a few people whose judgment he trusts. Down he goes again to revise. Out he comes again and this time his agent and then his publisher look at the work. Now he goes into hiding again but now he is not alone, he is working with others who are helping him complete the initial vision of the story. Of course, the only revisions he agrees to are those that were always part of the story or the character, although they were hidden, unrecognized, until then. Nevertheless, after a point the book belongs to more than one.  Then the book is published. Here I think the author has a choice. He could say “that one’s done, on to the next”. Or he can say, “let’s see what I and others can learn from this book”. For a story, as you probably know, is greater than the sum of its parts and always tells more than is intended. So let’s use this modern day marvel of communication to learn as much as possible from Behind the Eyes or The Way of the Jaguar. Hopefully, this will be useful to you. As for me, you can be sure that the next time I descend to that little office in my basement, I will take with me what I’ve learned from you.