Could it be I’m really nearing the end this time?
I have completed rewriting one of two Alaska chapters, in rough draft only at the moment, and I think I’ve done it. I managed to refocus the story perfectly.
As a bonus, I didnt’ lose words along the way even if I lost concepts and scenes – I found new material to use that actually worked better than the original.
And now I think I’ve figured out the second of the Alaska chapters that not only allows me to use an existing chunk of detail I was about to cut (I have to cut it down some but that’s a good thing) but really drives home the main points I was trying to make.
There are a couple of other changes in the main text I still have to take care of, but they will link back to the Alaska chapters and help thread things together. Outstanding.