Gods 4 Synopsis is done

Just finished the synopsis for The Name of the Sword:

Posted on January 31, 2014 by Jim

I just finished the synopsis for the 4th and final book in The Gods Within. So what does that mean in terms of schedule?

For the last 3 months I've been in the planning stages on the 3rd book in The Dead Among Us, and the 4th and last book in The Gods Within, The Name of the Sword. I have to wrap everything up properly in Gods 4, so I've spent the time thinking the plot through, scribbling a lot of notes, writing a few disjointed scenes, scribbling more notes, etc. I just got to the point where I can write a full synopsis, and in fact I literally finished it about ten minutes ago. That means I'm ready to start writing in earnest.

The way I write is to alternate between two phases: intense writing and intense planning. At this stage I'm ready to go into an intense writing phase where I can crank out 30K to 40K words a month. I'll do that for 4-6 weeks, and then I'll need to pause, and go back to planning for 4-6 weeks where I proof read, clean up, review plot, add additional scenes where needed, throw out scenes that aren't needed or don't really contribute. Once I do that, I'll be ready to go back to the intense writing phase.

Over the next 6-8 months I'll alternate between the writing and planning-proofing-cleanup phases. When the book is ready I'll turn it over to my content editor, she'll rip it apart, I'll make changes, and hopefully I'll end up with something you can enjoy. I do think it's going to be a great ending to the whole Morgin-Rhianne saga.

BTW: during any planning phase I don't put a lot of words on paper, but I'll be thinking scenes through carefully. My wife calls me Mr. Magoo because I walk around the house mumbling to myself. In fact, I'm thinking through snippets of important dialog, practicing the dialog, all that kind of stuff. It's got to be a little frustrating for her, because while I may be physically in the room, I'm really far away among the Clans, or out on the sands of the Munjarro, or shoving a sword down Valso's throat . . .