I Need to Fine Tune the Final Act of "Book III - Swords Against Bastards"

...which I can probably do relatively quickly, I hope

The main story for Swords Against Bastards, the third chapter, but fourth book overall, in the Barbarians of the Storm saga is about 90-95 percent done. However, being that it does have two massive battles at the end, which happen simultaneously, I need to rework how they’re structured and how they flow together. Right now, they take up four big chapters (two per battle), real chonkers compared to how my chapters usually are.

My main goal with the first draft was to get these two massive things on the page. I knew that I’d have to play with the structure and flow. I didn’t, however, expect there to be so much on the page, to that point that even thinking about going in there, breaking it up, and reorganizing it is pretty overwhelming. However, I’ve got to do it and strive to make this the best book it can be.

Additionally, I see a lot of bloat. With that, even though I had a clear path mapped out for every core character in the series, some subplots need to be cut entirely. This actually saves one character’s life, as I was going to sacrifice them for a specific reason that was important to the story. With the restructuring and the trimming of the book’s fatty midsection and backside, it’s no longer necessary. I also found a better narrative solution to a problem that would have made this character’s sacrifice a total waste.

Still, there is some loss in this book. Although, I had five deaths I was sure about, I now think I am only going to fully commit to two (maybe three) of them, because as I wrote two that happened very close to one another, I thought that their weight and impact became diminished.

So, all that being said, I am going to go way back to the beginning and start proofing everything a second time, working my way forward, and editing out and restructuring as I go.

Anyway, I have a lot of work to get to if I’m going to wrap this book up. Luckily, this is the first of twelve days off. Other than family time on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, getting this shit done is my only priority.