Armored Piercing Operations

I will be taking a long break before starting the second draft of AP3. Like I said in the last update, I did a lot of work on the AP series this year. I like to game, but I had to do a lot less of it in order to work on AP. By looking at the first two AP books, you can see that I put a lot of effort into this series. AP3 will be a massive endeavor, and so will AP4 when I get to work on its second draft.

I also have another standalone book that I started in 2023 but haven't finished yet. I want to return to work on that and if I keep the same momentum I had with AP4, I can finish it very quickly. I'm also thinking about writing a quick blog post about AP3/AP4. It has been a long wait…

To add on top, the AP3 outline is officially longer than the original draft of AP2. That is pretty insane to have an outline that long. I think my second draft of AP2 was above 260 pages, and I doubt the outline will surpass that. Despite the heavy workload, I'm glad to have made so much progress with AP3 and AP4 this year.

Sometimes I regret adding extra details to AP1. For example, groups like Warhawk, Zaeed Front, and the Afghan insurgent groups were not in the original drafts for the first three Armored Piercings. They do add an interesting dynamic to the world of the series, but it created a lot more work for me. One recurring issue I had while writing AP4 was repeatedly forgetting details I wrote earlier, which resulted in plot holes later on in the book. I don't usually write outlines, but for AP4 I had to write multiple for each main plotline so I could properly keep track. I may need to do the same with AP3. I think I was premature in stating that AP3 will come out in 2026 at the earliest.

I recently surpassed 1230 pages for AP4. This makes it the longest book I've ever written. My 1st draft for AP3 was just below 1200 pages. I never imagined reaching this length for the book, but there's still so much story to tell. There's no doubt I'll surpass 1300 pages, and maybe I'll hit 1400 pages, which would be insane. I'm trying to finish AP4 as soon as possible so that I can get back to working on a final draft for AP3. It's been 4 years since publishing AP2 and I don't want to keep any fans waiting for more years. When I finish AP4, I might write a blog post about my writing journey on that book.

Welcome to our group Armored Piercing Operations! A space for us to connect with each other and share our love for the series. Feel free to post your thoughts, theories, etc.