Writing War

Well, I finally embarked on one of the most critical chapters in the Slaying of the Bull (Book 1 in my Tocharian Gospel Series). I completed the Bull several years ago, but I realized when I went back to it recently, that I had rushed the ending. The book built and built to reach this pivotal moment, and then I pushed through it as if to just get it finished. It was very sloppy and unprofessional. Why may you ask? Yes, I should know better. I mentioned some of the reasons in the prior post (go check it out here!), and I can’t go into much detail as I don’t want to provide any spoilers, but the chapter is a great meeting between my antagonists and protagonists on the fields of battle. It is a very complicated event that has a historical framework that I want to adhere to roughly so as not to irritate the history buffs out there. Originally, this was encapsulated into one chapter. Now it is spread over five. Capturing warfare in writing, especially medieval warfare, is not easy. There are just so many moving parts. If you get bogged down in the details, you lose momentum, and the action suffers, but if you skim over it too quickly, it loses weight and impact. This balance is tough, and I imagine, at the time, my writing chops were just not up to the test.

In any event, I have one more section for this great test of my characters, and then I will be finished with the Battle of Mohi. I will add a few chapters to close up loose ends, and the writing will then be complete. I will then do my editing, and final read through. As much of the book has already been cleaned up, this shouldn’t take too long. The Slaying of the Bull will be on schedule and will be out in May! Once I finish the actual writing, it will be available for pre-order through Amazon, so check back often for updates. Also, don’t forget to check out Island of Stone if you haven’t done so already (write an Amazon review or send me feedback in the comments below, Facebook, or here).

Cheers!