Pinning the tail on the shaggy dog.

Well, I tried ripping apart and jamming all the disparate parts of Tuskers II and III together and probably made a mess of it.

I probably would have given up if I hadn't been drinking a little wine at the same time.  I don't know that drinking helps writing any, but it does help keep me rooted to one spot for hours on end doing something I'd rather not do.

It's a huge game of Concentration.  Lots of shaggy dog tails hanging off the end of chapters that make no sense anymore.  Lots of duplications and things out of place.

But the overall structure feels right.

Tomorrow I'll see if the reorganized chapters make any sense.

I was careful to keep the original versions of both books.  The only thing really wrong with them was that one book was a good one third shorter than the other book, and I'd prefer to have the books about the same size.

Why?

I don't know.  Just seems like that's the way it should be.

I think having to reorganize can be a good thing, as it can challenge me to be better.  Forcing me to rewrite.

Then again, I don't mind it when a book just falls together either, as Tuskers I did.

Anyway, I'll spend a week or two trying to eliminate the inconsistencies and in-continuities.  Only then, when I read it straight through, will I know if it reads right.