Oh, Faerylander! My problem book.

Oh, Faerylander!  I love you and I hate you.

There are so many admirable qualities about you, amidst the drek.  I started you with the wrong tone.  I went sideways for most of the story.  Slowly but surely, I changed the tone, and added forward momentum.  But the drek is sticky, and hard to take out, and there is still a lot of sideways movement.

What is needed?  What isn't?  I can't tell anymore.

Linda read through the last version and found a ton of inconsistencies -- "You need to draw a timeline and a map," she says.

But the problem is that I had two versions that were fundamentally different -- but each more or less consistent on their own, and I tried to combine the two.

My friend Bren has read the first two chapters, and she has plucked the doubts from my brain and pointed them out.  Yep, she's right.  I was hoping no one would notice.  I don't think that's a good way to approach a book -- hoping no one will notice the secret doubts.

So now, even though I've gotten everyone started on the latest draft, I'm thinking of reverting back to the draft just before that, which is about 25K shorter.

I'm also thinking that instead of trying to fix the second chapter -- which has always been the problem chapter -- I should just try to write it from scratch.  I'm not sure I can do that.  I have that chapter so deeply ingrained.

I will never, never, never do this again with a book.  What the Hell.  I could've written half a dozen books in the time I've spent on this.   I mean, in some ways it was unavoidable -- it was my "learning" book if you will, my "practice" book.

So one more attempt to get it right...then I just go with it.  I've written one sequel already and I'm 20% into another sequel, so I have to put it out.  Otherwise I'd just give up.