Shit, she's right.

Always a danger when you ask people to be honest about your writing.

Bren has pointed to some real improvements to The Dead Spend No Gold that I can't argue with.

It means rewriting entire chapters, and many scenes.

But I think she's right.  It needs to be done.  It will make it a better book.

I think it can be done without changing the structure of the book.  That's what I'm most leery of.  Once I start moving scenes and events around, the whole thing is in danger of falling apart.

But as it happens, these new scenes will mostly either replace or add to the existing structure, and that I can see doing.

Shit.

I wish it was ready.   But these changes will make it better.

As seems to be happening more and more, the rewriting is more intensive than the original drafts.

I'm going to try to immerse myself in the story, and improve it all along the way.

First thing I'm going to do is write the new material outside the story and then see if I can't add them or integrate them into the original story.  That may not work, but I'm going to give it a try.

I'll probably spend a week or more just integrating the two outsider editing jobs.  Then another week or more adding historical details.  So I may not get this done in the month I had earmarked.

But if I set myself the task of doing it, I can probably get it done.

I keep reminding myself that a month or two to improve a book is nothing, when that book will be out there forever.

It will take as long as it takes.