it takes a special bond to have fun in the aisles of Costco or while sorting receipts for doing taxes

Yes, this too! (Some of the best fun Stephen and I have is when we can escape the kids and go to the mall by ourselves, or have a few minutes in the car alone to talk.)

It just doesn't make particularly compelling reading, though.

Yeah, it's not dramatic. I think traditional romance can be dangerous stuff. Three of my friends (male and female) who are gorgeous, smart and still single at 50 are the ones who associate love with intensity and drama and romance. They all have a history of breaking up with people when it gets "boring," which is of course when the real deep stuff starts happening between two people.

Dailiness is right. I have no objection to happily ever after, but I won't pretend to be a fan of Peter Pan and I certainly don't write for people who are looking for that.

How do you know if you're getting daily, or if the spark really has faded? Not that I have a spark to protect at the moment.

The spark *always* fades, or at least diminishes. The question, is do you still like Fred even when he doesn't have a radiant nimbus of joy surrounding him?

It's expecting to be permanently infatuated that causes all the trouble.

It's expecting to be permanently infatuated that causes all the trouble

And, Betsy nails it. That's my problem with the whole Peter Pan reader out there: I keep wanting to tell them to grow the hell up, because the sex is better when you grow up, anyway.

And you don't want a spark burning that bright forever. The only thing that genuinely winds up burned when that happens is you.

I gotta say I don't mind those readers, because without them, I'm pretty much spitting into the wind.

It's not realistic, but fantasy (in this case the fantasy of perfect, true romance) is sometimes the only thing that gets you through the night.

It's not realistic, but fantasy (in this case the fantasy of perfect, true romance) is sometimes the only thing that gets you through the night.

Makes sense, and more power to them. I'm not dissing it - I'm just saying I'm not usually in that particular section of the bleachers. Might be my own history talking, but I keep wanting to ask, guys? What happens when your sweetie hits forty and grows ear hair? Do you put on a chastity belt and wait for (ack pTOOee!) Fabio to show up?

I don't know. Maybe I'd sleep better at night if I could buy into it for more than a few minutes at a time. But truth to tell, I didn't have any more sense of it at sixteen than I do at fifty one.

I like a happy ending, but I don't need it. Even if I expect the Watson case to come out different every time.

Hi all. I know this is mainly a thread for fiction writers - but:

I've now received feedback from an editor on my book. The verdict was:

1) Content great 2) Style - amazingly well written and lively 3) Organization - sucks. (I paraphrase)

Still that's not bad is it? I mean that means another shitload of work, but if the content is good, and the individual paragraphs are good, they are just in the wrong order that's not all bad. Please tell me this is the time to get stoked, not discouraged.