Listening? We writers listen all the time. We listen and watch. In fact, we’re avid observers of human behavior. Our realistic characters result from our studying fellow humans with all their imperfections and foibles. Great listeners that we are, however, we should ask ourselves whether we have selective hearing. Turning a focused ear to others from our fly-on-the-wall perspective highlights our capability to pay close attention and discern details that others may miss. But do we give the same careful attention to our editors, our manuscript readers, or our critique group as they point out shortcomings in our stories? Do we put ego aside, cut the umbilical cord that attaches us to our words, and listen to what they’re saying? It’s difficult to listen to others who may not share our enthusiasm for our manuscripts exactly as they are written. They may even dare to suggest changes, sometimes big ones. And we may think they are way off base, out in left field, totally oblivious ...