Rewriting is like doing a house renovation.

Worked on Faerylander all day yesterday, hoping to make quick progress.

This is going to be harder than I thought, but still worth it.

Rewriting a book is like doing a house renovation -- it'll take twice as long and cost twice as much as you think it will.  (Cost in this case being energy.)

But I can see the improvements already.

The biggest problem is that the plan I have in my head isn't what's coming out on paper. The first chapter I'd hoped to eliminate is still there, just completely changed.  A new viewpoint character, and it will probably be about half the size.  Less confusing.  But...unfortunately, I wasn't able to consolidate two chapters into one.

I have another chapter I need to move up in the order, and I'm afraid it slows the story slightly at that point, but works better in this slot than where it was before.

The real major rewriting is the middle half of the book.  I'd say about 60% of the book needs little to no change, 20% needs rewriting, and 20% is probably going to almost be written from scratch.

But then, that just tells me that 40% of the book was wrong.

So I can't regret changing it.

I'm fully engaged.

What's happened to Faerylander is that enough time passes between major rewrites that I'm willing to "let go" what I did the last time.  It's hard in the middle of rewriting something to throw it out, but a year later, is becomes tolerably feasible. 

It been a long slow struggle, but each time it's improved the story so much that I wonder that I ever thought it was ready.

The time before last, I thought the book was "Okay."

Last time, it was better.  "Good Enough.

This time, I think, the book will be something I can be proud of. "Good."