I love how Joe is so experienced he didn't even realize he'd done some clever things till you pointed it out.😂😂 Like "oh yeah, the curtains ARE blue, aren't they?" He's a GOAT fr. Thanks for the great content Jed.
Brilliant video, Jed! Joe Abercrombie is among the very best when it comes to introducing vivid characters that leap off the page. It was a lot of fun to hear his thinking about how to achieve that. My thanks for the video!
The “don’t start with character walking up” is totally a double edged sword for new writers! Cause yeah, you want them to avoid the pitfalls, but then you could have a scene like the book I just finished reading where our first scene is the main girl waking up hungover with one of her gang member friends yelling at her to drive him to the hospital as he bleeds all over the room! Definitely not the pitfall we’re trying to avoid😂 or even one of my first projects where I start with the mc getting woken up by an emergency call from her professor about his secret project and that he needs her at the lab right away. There’s definitely lots of cool ways to do it that don’t involve describing the room🤪
I agree with your introductory statement. I love Tolkien, and after having read him (several times) it's hard to find something that matches and inspires... until I found Joe A. fairly recently. I am halfway through his first trilogy, and it's brilliant. I can't put the books down. I'm looking forward to reading ALL his material. As a writer myself, I learn a lot from him.
What I loved the most was the bit around 7 min mark when you were reading the chapter 1. I have a bad habit of feeling like I need to give my readers enough to feel comfortable with the information (without giving things away) and spending a whole paragraph on setting and description. Then you see the rules broken and all the lights come on
I'm so excited to watch this. I'm currently about a quarter of the way through Last Argument of Kings, and the series is just a masterpiece of character work.
I have a video Idea: How to Make Crazed Charcters (aka characters with an extreme desire that makes them seem crazy or out of control) Some examples of characters like this could be: - Smeagel/Gollum From LOTR (Sauruman could also be considered from his downfall in the third book) - Lord Shen from from Kung Fu Panda II - Azula from Avatar: The Last Airbender I think that these characters can make for very interesting characters when done right. Also, on a side note, I love your vids!
I appreciate this more than you know. I have a similar writing style as I started in screenwriting first. I am always getting bad feedback though and it makes me doubt myself. I will , from now on, write as I want! :)
Love your content, Jed! Getting a lot out of your guest interviews, survey results and tips. Thanks so much! Working on a first draft of my first fantasy book ( first in the series) now!
Joe is awesome, what a helpful interview! 24:30 love hearing this. As an amateur, I'm happy to hear the way I think about my series isn't novel (for lack of a better word). As I polish my first book, I think of book 1 = worldview change of the 2 MCs and their budding romance, book 2 = war and conflict breaking the current system as understood by the worldview change in 1, book 3 = societal change and upheaval as a result of war, and book 4 = moral implications of society, class, government, and life. Thanks for wonderful content!
I can’t believe you got him on your channel, very lucky. Definitely in my favourite fantasy author, easily in my top 3 authors of all time. Just wanted to say that I sent you an email and wondering if I should resend it or just wait.
Great interview mate, Joe writes character like nobody else. Gunnar, with his spectacles and aching fists really sticks with me. I’ve got to say, your last few uploads have been particularly bloody brilliant and each has tangibly helped with my writing. If you ever want to bounce ideas, or just grab a pint then go ahead and give me a buzz, or drop in to my pharmacy. (Except the pint part, that would mean trouble)
I fucking love Joe Abercrombie. I remember in 2019 I was waiting for the next game of thrones season. I drove an hour to work and back and needed something to occupy my time other than music. I remember Daniel Green and Murphy Napier would constantly compare the first law Trilogy to game of thrones so I listened to a free audiobook on TH-cam and I just loved it. I ended up buying every book in his series on audible and ended up buying 40 other books from different fantasy series and listened to all of them.
I'll try to upload it to my podcast today. Might not be super easy to follow along because this episode requires a lot of text references, but it's better than nothing
Let’s go Jed 🎉. Anyway what would you say to someone who has a magic system but it’s just basic powers like fire powers or turning someone invisible. Would you recommend that or try something more unique.
This is just my POV but I feel like... just start thinking about how access to these powers would change a culture that used them. Think about how technology changed our lives. If you described it to someone from any number of past eras it would seem like magic. The system itself is just how the people you are writing are using the magic. You can set rules they don't know on it, but those might come about through thinking about interactions between your characters and these rules!
I actually talked about this exact thing (do magic systems need to be unique?) on a recent interview with 2 to Ramble. Should be posted on their channel in the next few weeks.
I've got an emotional breakdown finding out that Savine is daughter of my FABOURITE CHARACTER HELP. Caught a spoiler but no regrets, except for a feel like I will faint ahahhaa
5:03 Respectfully, hard disagree. If you haven't described a character for 7 chapters, then all of a sudden they have red hair, I'm gonna be annoyed. I already created a character in my head by then. There should be a statue of limitations on character description.
Yeah I think this is one of those things that comes down to the preference of the individual reader. Personally, I agree that trickling the descriptions in later is 100% fine - I'll draw in the hair colour or whatever, whenever I'm told what it is, but only if I'm told when it matters. I'm far more likely to put the book down before I get there, if there's a big chunk of description every time there's a new character, because until their hair colour matters to the story or their relationship with another character, I'm not going to actually pay attention to it anyway. Depends how much the character's appearance matters to the reader, I think. I don't really get too specific with what they look like in my head, & I'll make something up as I go anyway which can change along the way. But I agree not everyone reads the same way.
When i think of character introductions well i have a lot i think of birdidile he has many and in each one the people he presents himself to are terrified of him
To be honest, I am only 16 trying to write a good story. My only problem is starting the first scene. My story is in a Japanese town following the main Character, Ren. He becomes a prisoner of war by getting captured by the main villain. He would soon lose everything, his weapon, love interest goes missing, and many other things I won't get into. Basically I was wondering if you could do a video on how to start a story? It would help me and many younger writers, thanks.
What would be your best advice for someone who has never written a book before? Because I’ve wanted to write for a long time but can’t seem to get started. I have a cool idea that I’m sure can be turned into a great story but it’s hard to envision it all with no experience writing.
The most important thing at this stage is to get over your apprehension of sitting in front of the keyboard. Just start. Don't worry if it's any good, don't worry about typos, don't worry that it doesn't feel quite right. Just start. Your only job is to vomit the words on the page. I'd recommend outlining. It will be a good navigation tool to beat the story into shape once you're done. Read stories in the style of what you want to make. Your brain will unconsciously absorb all that and run it through a blender to spark creative ideas for you. Develop a writing routine. You will fail several times, but keep returning to it. (It took years for me before I got consistent at it)
Start writing. Chances are what you'll write at the start will be bad, the important part is to keep going. The more you write the more you'll pick up how to write well. There's no special thing you need to do before starting; a writing course can be handy, but it's not necessary. Everyone starts somewhere.
He's always comparing writing books to TV and theatre, as if he didn't fully realize a book isn't a worse medium than visual media. It has some disadvantages, sure, but it has its own advantages (which obviously should be used by a skilled author). Joe doesn't seem to realize it. OH, the setting isn't that important in the theatre. Yes, because we can see it. We can't see it in the book. Setting is actually very important. BUT! That doesn't mean describing everything in detail, no. It's about creating the atmosphere. Theatre and TV can do that visually - through the use of colours, pictures, lighting (plus music!). It is just there and you don't even realize how important it is for evoking certain feelings in you. The book has to use words. I know, people hate reading words nowadays and that's, I think, is the main problem with literature today - as few words as possible, as transparent style as possible... I feel like it's not development, it's regression of the art/craft of literature. Like many authors today, Joe tries to make his books as similar to a televised or staged drama as possible, seeing only the shortcomings of literature that he needs to overcome and ignoring the potential this craft offers.
Wow. I never saw anyone do an almost line-by-line breakdown of an author's writing WITH THE AUTHOR. This is gold. Thank you!
Oh yeah, Joe is the man. Props to you for getting him on your channel.
It's not the first time, his interviews are great!
I love how Joe is so experienced he didn't even realize he'd done some clever things till you pointed it out.😂😂
Like "oh yeah, the curtains ARE blue, aren't they?"
He's a GOAT fr. Thanks for the great content Jed.
What a fantastic video. Joe Abercrombie is an absolute legend.
Thanks Johan!
Brilliant video, Jed! Joe Abercrombie is among the very best when it comes to introducing vivid characters that leap off the page. It was a lot of fun to hear his thinking about how to achieve that. My thanks for the video!
Thanks, Philip! Glad to know you enjoyed it :)
The “don’t start with character walking up” is totally a double edged sword for new writers! Cause yeah, you want them to avoid the pitfalls, but then you could have a scene like the book I just finished reading where our first scene is the main girl waking up hungover with one of her gang member friends yelling at her to drive him to the hospital as he bleeds all over the room! Definitely not the pitfall we’re trying to avoid😂 or even one of my first projects where I start with the mc getting woken up by an emergency call from her professor about his secret project and that he needs her at the lab right away. There’s definitely lots of cool ways to do it that don’t involve describing the room🤪
I agree with your introductory statement. I love Tolkien, and after having read him (several times) it's hard to find something that matches and inspires... until I found Joe A. fairly recently. I am halfway through his first trilogy, and it's brilliant. I can't put the books down. I'm looking forward to reading ALL his material. As a writer myself, I learn a lot from him.
Jed: Oh my God that’s really cool
Joe: Yeah, you’re right
Oh wow. Joe Abercrombie. Amazing! One of the best character writers!
It was a blast!
What I loved the most was the bit around 7 min mark when you were reading the chapter 1. I have a bad habit of feeling like I need to give my readers enough to feel comfortable with the information (without giving things away) and spending a whole paragraph on setting and description. Then you see the rules broken and all the lights come on
What a great idea for a video and also congrats for bringing Joe in. Your channels is really one of a kind.
Thanks so much!
I'm so excited to watch this. I'm currently about a quarter of the way through Last Argument of Kings, and the series is just a masterpiece of character work.
Thank you for your work, and inviting Joe!
All great examples of getting the reader invested and the story moving.
One of my favorite authors with the best audio narration! It would be a dream to narrate one of his books 💪
Fantastic questions! Fantastic interview!
Awesome discussion. You're both very insightful. I'll have to rewatch and take notes
Thanks so much 🙏🏼✨ I really love this breakdown way of teaching.
excellent. more of these type of interviews please
Great work Jed! Your last 3 videos have gone next level. And I always love hearing JA talk. So helpful. Keep it up!
This is an amazing interview. Why don't more creators do this with authors?
Imagine Jon Abercrombie doing a Masterclass in writing.. ❤❤
Amazing advices from a one of a kind writer.
Shakespeare is jolly well underrated if you ask me. Deserves more sales
Well said!
I'm in the middle of reading exactly this book and It's really great to see this.
I have a video Idea: How to Make Crazed Charcters (aka characters with an extreme desire that makes them seem crazy or out of control)
Some examples of characters like this could be:
- Smeagel/Gollum From LOTR (Sauruman could also be considered from his downfall in the third book)
- Lord Shen from from Kung Fu Panda II
- Azula from Avatar: The Last Airbender
I think that these characters can make for very interesting characters when done right.
Also, on a side note, I love your vids!
Cool concept, thanks for the suggestion!
Thanks for making this mate. it really helped me with my work.
This is quality content 🙌 with the GOAT.
This is just an incredibly valuable video- props to you and to Joe for his willingness to do this - much gratitude!
Great! Many thanks for wonderful and extremely useful, motivating interview!
I appreciate this more than you know. I have a similar writing style as I started in screenwriting first. I am always getting bad feedback though and it makes me doubt myself. I will , from now on, write as I want! :)
Love your content, Jed! Getting a lot out of your guest interviews, survey results and tips. Thanks so much! Working on a first draft of my first fantasy book ( first in the series) now!
Fantastic conversation!
Joe is awesome, what a helpful interview!
24:30 love hearing this. As an amateur, I'm happy to hear the way I think about my series isn't novel (for lack of a better word). As I polish my first book, I think of book 1 = worldview change of the 2 MCs and their budding romance, book 2 = war and conflict breaking the current system as understood by the worldview change in 1, book 3 = societal change and upheaval as a result of war, and book 4 = moral implications of society, class, government, and life.
Thanks for wonderful content!
Awesome video! Learned a lot. Thank you both for all the inspiration and advise.
Useful video for newly writers. ❤
Yeah! I've been waiting for this!!😍😍 Thanks both of you~
Dude... This is great.
oh wow what a cool interview! Joe is awesome
Nice vid, mate
I can’t believe you got him on your channel, very lucky. Definitely in my favourite fantasy author, easily in my top 3 authors of all time. Just wanted to say that I sent you an email and wondering if I should resend it or just wait.
Great interview mate, Joe writes character like nobody else. Gunnar, with his spectacles and aching fists really sticks with me. I’ve got to say, your last few uploads have been particularly bloody brilliant and each has tangibly helped with my writing. If you ever want to bounce ideas, or just grab a pint then go ahead and give me a buzz, or drop in to my pharmacy. (Except the pint part, that would mean trouble)
Thanks Paul! Glad to know the videos have helped.
Great video, thanks for sharing.
Thank you so much for making these vids man - keep going
I fucking love Joe Abercrombie. I remember in 2019 I was waiting for the next game of thrones season. I drove an hour to work and back and needed something to occupy my time other than music. I remember Daniel Green and Murphy Napier would constantly compare the first law Trilogy to game of thrones so I listened to a free audiobook on TH-cam and I just loved it. I ended up buying every book in his series on audible and ended up buying 40 other books from different fantasy series and listened to all of them.
The legendary Joe! ❤
Nice, Jed!
Any chance you can upload to ya Audio feeds for us busier folk?!
Love hearing 2 great authors talk.
I'll try to upload it to my podcast today. Might not be super easy to follow along because this episode requires a lot of text references, but it's better than nothing
I Love you for making this video! Forever subscribed
Give us more joe!
This was excellent
Message to joe: thanks for doing this.
Message to jed: thanks for doing this
Let’s go Jed 🎉. Anyway what would you say to someone who has a magic system but it’s just basic powers like fire powers or turning someone invisible. Would you recommend that or try something more unique.
This is just my POV but I feel like... just start thinking about how access to these powers would change a culture that used them. Think about how technology changed our lives. If you described it to someone from any number of past eras it would seem like magic. The system itself is just how the people you are writing are using the magic. You can set rules they don't know on it, but those might come about through thinking about interactions between your characters and these rules!
@@rookbirdblues thanks for the advice i will definitely try to apply it to my writing. Agian thanks
I actually talked about this exact thing (do magic systems need to be unique?) on a recent interview with 2 to Ramble. Should be posted on their channel in the next few weeks.
@@Jed_Herne thank you You are my writing idol you have no idea how cool this is that you responded. I will definitely check it out
What is your favorite Joe Abercrombie book Jed? I'm just looking for recommendations
I've got an emotional breakdown finding out that Savine is daughter of my FABOURITE CHARACTER HELP. Caught a spoiler but no regrets, except for a feel like I will faint ahahhaa
Bill, "Who are these upstarts, crowing too confidently?"
5:03 Respectfully, hard disagree. If you haven't described a character for 7 chapters, then all of a sudden they have red hair, I'm gonna be annoyed. I already created a character in my head by then. There should be a statue of limitations on character description.
Yeah I think this is one of those things that comes down to the preference of the individual reader. Personally, I agree that trickling the descriptions in later is 100% fine - I'll draw in the hair colour or whatever, whenever I'm told what it is, but only if I'm told when it matters. I'm far more likely to put the book down before I get there, if there's a big chunk of description every time there's a new character, because until their hair colour matters to the story or their relationship with another character, I'm not going to actually pay attention to it anyway. Depends how much the character's appearance matters to the reader, I think. I don't really get too specific with what they look like in my head, & I'll make something up as I go anyway which can change along the way. But I agree not everyone reads the same way.
Sighed up for the workshop, I am so excited lol. Does it matter that my first chapter is still first draft?
You should checkout my books, though mine haven't sold at all. Anyway great interview and insights in this wonderful video.
Thank youuuuu
2:22 Oh he made a story about Shulk from Xenoblade
Nice!
OH SHIIIIIIIIIIIIIIT
We need a counter for the number of times Jed said "like" in this video.
When i think of character introductions well i have a lot i think of birdidile he has many and in each one the people he presents himself to are terrified of him
"I learned how to write from Joe."
"Who's Joe?"
"...Joe Abercrombie."
Make a video on plot twists
To be honest, I am only 16 trying to write a good story. My only problem is starting the first scene. My story is in a Japanese town following the main Character, Ren. He becomes a prisoner of war by getting captured by the main villain. He would soon lose everything, his weapon, love interest goes missing, and many other things I won't get into.
Basically I was wondering if you could do a video on how to start a story? It would help me and many younger writers, thanks.
What would be your best advice for someone who has never written a book before? Because I’ve wanted to write for a long time but can’t seem to get started. I have a cool idea that I’m sure can be turned into a great story but it’s hard to envision it all with no experience writing.
The most important thing at this stage is to get over your apprehension of sitting in front of the keyboard.
Just start. Don't worry if it's any good, don't worry about typos, don't worry that it doesn't feel quite right.
Just start.
Your only job is to vomit the words on the page.
I'd recommend outlining. It will be a good navigation tool to beat the story into shape once you're done.
Read stories in the style of what you want to make. Your brain will unconsciously absorb all that and run it through a blender to spark creative ideas for you.
Develop a writing routine. You will fail several times, but keep returning to it. (It took years for me before I got consistent at it)
Start writing. Chances are what you'll write at the start will be bad, the important part is to keep going. The more you write the more you'll pick up how to write well.
There's no special thing you need to do before starting; a writing course can be handy, but it's not necessary.
Everyone starts somewhere.
@@dukeofdenver thank you you for your advice I will certainly try this.
@@RayPoreon Thank you , I will definitely take this into consideration.
What duke of denver said!
Abercrombie owes so much to James Ellroy.
dropping the F bomb in the first paragraph is an interesting choice lol
hey I'm writing my own book and i could use a professional writer to give me some pointers if you would have the time please let me know.
👍🏻
He's always comparing writing books to TV and theatre, as if he didn't fully realize a book isn't a worse medium than visual media. It has some disadvantages, sure, but it has its own advantages (which obviously should be used by a skilled author). Joe doesn't seem to realize it. OH, the setting isn't that important in the theatre. Yes, because we can see it. We can't see it in the book. Setting is actually very important. BUT! That doesn't mean describing everything in detail, no. It's about creating the atmosphere. Theatre and TV can do that visually - through the use of colours, pictures, lighting (plus music!). It is just there and you don't even realize how important it is for evoking certain feelings in you. The book has to use words. I know, people hate reading words nowadays and that's, I think, is the main problem with literature today - as few words as possible, as transparent style as possible... I feel like it's not development, it's regression of the art/craft of literature.
Like many authors today, Joe tries to make his books as similar to a televised or staged drama as possible, seeing only the shortcomings of literature that he needs to overcome and ignoring the potential this craft offers.
I inhale Xbox controllers.
first
90% of writing is in the rewriting.
Just get a crappy first draft out
Lmao you didnt even bother to learn how to pronounce the characters names correctly.
Yeah watching it back, I realised I said 'Rikke' like twenty different ways, lol