Stuck in the Middle (With You) Writing is romantic. Editing is war. And this week, the battle's been rough. I’m deep in the editing phase of book two in the Woolsey series, and I’ll be honest, this part is my least favorite. The first draft felt like a victory—getting William’s journey from beginning to end, pulling together all the historical threads, and weaving in the real genealogy behind it. That part felt like a win. But now I’m knee-deep in what I call the scene surgery stage . It’s where I go line by line, digging out all the places where I was telling instead of showing. My first drafts are heavy on chronology—what happened and when—because I want to make sure the family story is honored as accurately as possible. But in this round, I have to turn dry facts into moments that feel alive. That means cutting. Rewriting. Doubting myself. Putting a scene back the way it was. Then rewriting it again. It’s a spiral of second-guessing that coul...