I'm in the midst of editing CHERISHED:21 Writers on Animals They've Loved and Lost and here's something I've learned: really good writers are not complacent or sure about their work, in fact some of them are really, really nervous. I'm so glad to know this because when I write I too am really nervous and often verging on some kind of melt down. It's a particularly interesting situation for me this week because I'm also working on my own essay, fittingly entitled "Crazy", for my friend Victoria's anthology.

I'm saying to my writers – "Oh, would you mind cutting the first page?" and then I turn around and say to my editor,"Oh, my God, I can't cut that word!" As an editor I'm trying for that balance of seeing the shape of someone's essay and how to make it even better, yet at the same time not messing with their voice, the rhythm of their sentences. As a writer I'm trying to be open to all suggestions and not to be defensive about my work. 

It's just really hard to write – and I'm so delighted that I'm in the same nervous boat with so many wonderful writers. And if you're nervous about your writing too, you're in that same boat.