Editors

Beanz read my story that I submitted to my workshop last week, and it made me feel a million times better about waiting to hear what they have to say. Now I can anticipate
what they will complain about, what they might like, and how I'll respond to them. The best thing about workshopping a story is that sometimes you need other people to tell you what you were trying to say, and then you have to go back and rework what you actually said, so that the final product comes close to matching what you intended to say, and and what other people remind you you were actually coming close to saying.
Beanz is a wonderful editor. She isolates what my story is saying, what parts work and don't work towards that end, and what I should do to begin improving it. She tells me what I need to hear and am worried about hearing. She's unsentimental, but invested in improving my work. It's not that she's merciless, but she doesn't soften her blows for me (even though this story is obviously inspired by our relationship)