Closing Out the Main Story of "Book III - Swords Against Bastards"
...and prepping the short story for the end of the book
Christmas got in the way of my progress for two days. Granted, that was fine, as it’s my favorite part of the year because I get to veg out with my family, exchange gifts, drink whiskey, smoke cigars, cook and eat a shit ton of marvelous food. However, I planned to attack the day like a rabid jackal on Monday morning, but my routine was thwarted and when my routine is thwarted, I’m pretty much f’d.
Yesterday, Tuesday, I made up for lost time. I reorganized and reworked the third act of the book, finding a better balance between two major battles happening at the same time with different groups of people and a different set of villains. Ultimately, I had to scrap and rewrite major sections of these big battles. I also toned down the amount of death, because the one death that is most important felt lost in the mix and diminished by the fall of other heroic characters.
In the end, that death was really hard to write. George R.R. Martin must like torturing himself or he is just a sick, sick man.
That’s pretty much it, though. I am now where I had hoped to be by this time. I really need to get back to work and write the closing chapter or two. I just wanted to give an update, as I haven’t since before Christmas.
Lastly, I still need to write the short story for the end of the book, as well. I don’t think that should take more than a few days and I’ve already outlined the plot details. That story will feature Fenrik on an adventure with Vasilia for the first time, as they hunt down the legendary sand dragon Cimmoarid, who was mentioned in the Vasilia short story that was part of Eyes in All Shadows & Other Stories.
Ideally, I’d like the book to be ready for release next week, but I’ll see how it goes. It’s not too far away from release, and being that I am still off of work until the 3rd, really benefits me.
Also, I apologize to those on Substack and Twitter who may feel I’ve been inactive and distant. I have been, I’m just trying to get this book done before I take a wee li’l break and then jump into the next book, a side quest story that stars Fenrik in what I can only describe as Dan the Destructor in reverse.