API Edit Multiline via XML RPC

API Edit Multiline via XML RPC

I'm trying to edit a multi-line field via the XML-RPC API. When I ADD a record, the format is:

<field Name='myfield>
<value>
the value which
can
be multiline
</value>
</field>

However, in the EDIT spec, I have to format it like this:
<field name = 'myfield' value='some value'></field>

This format, where the value is a parameter of the field node, and not a separate node, doesn't seem to support multi-line. Any suggestions on how to work around this problem?