Post History

Source: https://writers.stackexchange.com/a/49009
License name: CC BY-SA 4.0
License URL: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/

I'll give another option:

**8) Split a major (sub)plot in half, and move the 2nd half into to a later book.**

It will definitely take some re-writing, but your 1st book seems overloaded. The temptation is to drop the _weakest_ subplot, but consider splitting one of your strongest storylines into a _before_ and _after_, according to a main character's change arc.

You don't mention your characters' development, but consider which _character_ has the most _change_ within Book 1. This character's arc might be so big it's forcing more story to happen, to justify how much they change. For example, a character who rises from foot soldier to general to king, or a servant girl who marries a prince and later loses her sons to war – a main character who is stretching the story to accommodate their full arc.

I realize you have overlapping chronological events so you can't just cut-and-paste. The idea is to keep the same events, but bring that character's arc to a mid point, and save the rest for another book where they return harder/wiser/embittered/broken, and readers get the resolution to their story.

If the chronology can't be fixed, consider splitting that character into a thwarted heroic ancestor who dies in Book 1, and descendant who picks up the sword to complete their arc in a later book. Keep your timeline, but fulfill this character's destiny by someone who is available in a later story.

Original score: 2