Simple fixes that aren't so simple.

I'm overly optimistic when it comes to writing.  I think, oh, I can fix that easy.

Faerylander always looks close to being finished.  It's almost there, I tell myself.  And then, when I correct one thing, another two things pop up which need to be fixed.

I had thought I was in the language phase of the rewrite, that the structural phase was done.  I thought most of the plot changes were in the first half.  But I'm finding plenty of plot problems in the second half too.  Like a puzzle with pieces moved around, it makes the rest of the puzzle harder to solve.

Went to bed last night, started thinking about how some of the motivations STILL didn't make sense, and trying to figure out the fix.  Tossed and turned until three o'clock, got up and jotted down a bunch of notes, then went back to sleep.

Thing is, if I can identify a problem, I can usually come up with a solution. Usually.  But sometimes the problem is just under the surface, and only revealed when another problem is removed.

That is, every layer of problems I lift reveals another layer of problems.

How can this be?  How can Faerylander, which has so much possibility, and interesting characters and settings and ideas -- how can it be such a mess and take 4 years?  And something like Tuskers comes out whole and complete and in a very short time?

I suppose it's possible that Tuskers has problems I just don't recognize, but that's not the feeling I take away from it.

Really, if I'd known that Faerylander was going to be such a burden, I would have dropped it long ago.  But I kept fooling myself into thinking I was almost there.  That plus I wrote two sequels that don't make sense without the first book. (I won't be doing that again...)

But here I'm going to say it again:  this rewrite has made the book much better, and it's close to being right.

I'm pretty sure.