Any news on Peace Talks

[wardenferry419]

I say he has 2 more chapters tops. Feels like he has passed ending conflict and is now working on conclusion.

[pcpoet]

I think the reason for the book being so many chapters is that he wrote 1/3 the book and then ended up having to take two year break on writing....when working on a project like a book you never stop thinking about what you are writing even if you cant write. I bet Jim Butcher  came up with another plot line to weave into the story and ended up rewriting a great deal of the chapters he all ready had written. this new plot line ended up also adding another 12 chapters to the book....this is my guess and if I ever meet him at Q and A I am going to ask him.  if I am right I think the plot line was created when he wrote the short story Zoo day.

[segaily]

I think the reason for the book being so many chapters is that he wrote 1/3 the book and then ended up having to take two year break on writing....when working on a project like a book you never stop thinking about what you are writing even if you cant write. I bet Jim Butcher  came up with another plot line to weave into the story and ended up rewriting a great deal of the chapters he all ready had written. this new plot line ended up also adding another 12 chapters to the book....this is my guess and if I ever meet him at Q and A I am going to ask him.  if I am right I think the plot line was created when he wrote the short story Zoo day.

That sounds possible.  Especially the extra time having caused extra ideas.  No idea if you are correct but it is certainly an interesting idea. 

[pcpoet]

like I said someone will have to ask Jim Butcher if the break caused him to rework the book and put in a new sub plot...

[Kindler]

I think the reason for the book being so many chapters is that he wrote 1/3 the book and then ended up having to take two year break on writing....when working on a project like a book you never stop thinking about what you are writing even if you cant write. I bet Jim Butcher  came up with another plot line to weave into the story and ended up rewriting a great deal of the chapters he all ready had written. this new plot line ended up also adding another 12 chapters to the book....this is my guess and if I ever meet him at Q and A I am going to ask him.  if I am right I think the plot line was created when he wrote the short story Zoo day.

I've seen it happen to other writers in the past. It's not quite boredom with a current direction so much as greater excitement about a new addition. I would not be surprised in the least to find out that Jim got some new ideas for ongoing plotlines and resolutions to existing ones while poking at Peace Talks in his head, considering the sheer size of the cast and the opportunity for foreshadowing and straight-up exposition. Good God, I'm getting sweaty just thinking about a thirty-page Ebenezer Infodump about the Life, Universe, and Everything.

I'm also willing to bet that Jim spent a lot of time thinking about the Cinder Spires, even though he was still slated to finish Peace Talks before continuing that series. I'm on my annual Butcher Binge right now, listening to all of his books through Audible this time, and I'm reminded about how much fun the Aeronaut's Windlass is and the opportunities for worldbuilding, political intrigue, and cat-on-everything violence he'll have going forward. I'm sure he's got some new plans for that series, too.

By and by, is his next work after Peace Talks (and, I suppose, the Maggie and her Maggical Pals series debut) confirmed to be a Cinder Spires entry, or is he jumping straight to Mirror, Mirror? I'd heard the former, but I saw some speculation that he'd be sticking with Dresden to try to get back on schedule.

[g33k]

...
By and by, is his next work after Peace Talks (and, I suppose, the Maggie and her Maggical Pals series debut) confirmed to be a Cinder Spires entry, or is he jumping straight to Mirror, Mirror? I'd heard the former, but I saw some speculation that he'd be sticking with Dresden to try to get back on schedule.

Jim has said before that he needs to take breaks between every DF novel; I suppose that is subject to change, to the vagaries of the creative impulse.  But I won't be holding my breath...

Jim's official site jim-butcher.com states that the next writing project after completion of Peace Talks (DF#16) is Olympian Affair (Cinder Spires #2).

[Maz]

Jim has reaffirmed by belief that he is a machine with his recent progress.

I'm pretty sure even with Olympian affair, with his life in order now, he can get us back on track and unless he takes up some dangerous new hobbies, we have no more threat of a Robert Jordan...

[Kindler]

we have no more threat of a Robert Jordan...

Knock on some wood, right now!

[KurtinStGeorge]

Time to break up the boredom and make a prediction.  It's been 11 days since it was announced that Jim was up to chapter 60.  I don't know if that means Jim is working on chapter 60 or he has finished 60 chapters.  That wording is a little vague.  Whoever is writing those updates needs to write more clearly; and I say that as someone who often needs to remind myself to write more clearly, but I digress.

For the past few weeks Jim has been knocking out a chapter every 4 or 5 days.  Several months earlier Jim was averaging about 8 days per chapter.  Now there could be some simple explanation why the current chapter is taking so long for Jim to get through.  Jim may have had some personal or family issue come up that he needed to take a few days off to deal with.  However, I'm hoping it's not an outside problem, I'm hoping it's actually a good thing; something indicative that Jim is really in the very final stretch of finishing up Peace Talks.  I'm thinking Jim has been working through all the final twists and turns of the final confrontation or set of confrontations Harry must pass through, and following the conclusion of the current chapter (or two) there will only be the epilogue to write.  The epilogue chapter probably won't take more than 3 days for Jim to knock out.

Even if the current chapter isn't the penultimate one, the extra time Jim is taking to finish the current chapter will mean the final boss battle chapter will go pretty quickly because Jim has already set everything up for the conclusion he's aiming for.  I think after the current chapter is finished, it might only be 3 to 8 more days before Jim writes "The End."

[prince lotore]

may 19th is the 3 year anniversary of the release of the first chapter.  I wonder if we will get news by then or at least a rerelease of the chapter or even an updated version

[Cozarkian]

may 19th is the 3 year anniversary of the release of the first chapter.  I wonder if we will get news by then or at least a rerelease of the chapter or even an updated version

We might get more news by then, but I doubt JB or his publisher are paying any attention to an anniversary of a kickstarter reward.

I suspect the next announcement will be that JB submitted the manuscript to the publisher but that the first chapter won't be released to the general public until the announcement of the release date.

[segaily]

Time to break up the boredom and make a prediction.  It's been 11 days since it was announced that Jim was up to chapter 60.  I don't know if that means Jim is working on chapter 60 or he has finished 60 chapters.  That wording is a little vague.  Whoever is writing those updates needs to write more clearly; and I say that as someone who often needs to remind myself to write more clearly, but I digress.

For the past few weeks Jim has been knocking out a chapter every 4 or 5 days.  Several months earlier Jim was averaging about 8 days per chapter.  Now there could be some simple explanation why the current chapter is taking so long for Jim to get through.  Jim may have had some personal or family issue come up that he needed to take a few days off to deal with.  However, I'm hoping it's not an outside problem, I'm hoping it's actually a good thing; something indicative that Jim is really in the very final stretch of finishing up Peace Talks.  I'm thinking Jim has been working through all the final twists and turns of the final confrontation or set of confrontations Harry must pass through, and following the conclusion of the current chapter (or two) there will only be the epilogue to write.  The epilogue chapter probably won't take more than 3 days for Jim to knock out.

Even if the current chapter isn't the penultimate one, the extra time Jim is taking to finish the current chapter will mean the final boss battle chapter will go pretty quickly because Jim has already set everything up for the conclusion he's aiming for.  I think after the current chapter is finished, it might only be 3 to 8 more days before Jim writes "The End."

The problem with you idea is that we do not always get an update for every chapter.  This means that while you could be correct and the latest chapter is taking a little longer it is also possible the next update will say chapter 62 or 63 not 61 meaning the chapter is not taking any extra time compared to others. 

It is also possible we will just get a book complete notice soon and we will not know for sure how many chapters until we get the book. 

[Mira]

The problem with you idea is that we do not always get an update for every chapter.  This means that while you could be correct and the latest chapter is taking a little longer it is also possible the next update will say chapter 62 or 63 not 61 meaning the chapter is not taking any extra time compared to others. 

It is also possible we will just get a book complete notice soon and we will not know for sure how many chapters until we get the book. 

I don't think the number of chapters is important, it is the length of those chapters... Are they fifteen pages or forty?  Are we talking a four hundred page book or an eight hundred page book?  How many pages really advance the plot line and how many are just descriptive padding?

[wardenferry419]

Just waiting for two words, "The End."

[Kindler]

He needs to do 62-63 chapters for me to win this bet. Any less, and the terms are unmet for both of us and we have to roll the pot (and add to it) for a release date bet. Any more, and I just lose. COME ON JIM FINISH THIS ONE AND THEN DO AN EPILOGUE.