Joe Abercrombie chats about The First Law, his writing methods, & more!

We interview Joe Abercrombie, author of The Blade Itself, Before They Are Hanged, Last Argument of Kings, Best Served Cold, The Heroes, Red Country, A Little Madness, The Trouble with Peace, The Wisdom of Crowds, and more! As one of the best fantasy authors writing today, it was an absolute blast to discuss his writing methods, career, and more. Stay tuned for another episode with him next week!
PATREON:
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EMAIL US YOUR QUESTIONS:
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OUR WEBSITE:
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TIMESTAMPS:
0:00 - Intro
2:41 - Creating engaging characters
9:24 - What did Dyrk steal from Joe?
10:37 - Defining character voices during editing
14:00 - How Joe keeps the writing process enjoyable
20:03 - Has Joe ever written a crappy book?
24:01 - Reader expectations and connecting with characters
27:27 - How Joe balanced video editing work with writing
32:40 - Outro/Patreon
FOR MORE ABOUT OUR HOSTS & OUR BOOKS:
Jed Herne: jedherne.com/
Dyrk Ashton: www.paternusbooks.com/
Michael R. Fletcher: michaelrfletcher.com/
Rob J. Hayes: www.robjhayes.co.uk/
This episode was produced and edited by Adrian M. Gibson.
amgibson.com/
Thanks to all of our patrons for funding the show, and an extra-special shoutout to our Legendary Wizard patrons, Taylon, Daniel and Luis!
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[@8OBO8]

Joe is the one of the few guests where I'm not bothered at all when he just completely dominates the conversation and monologues the entire time. I love to hear him talk.

[@Jed_Herne]

I could listen to him talk for 8 hours straight

[@fpgowner]

Completely agree.@@Jed_Herne

[@Toadnahr]

I love how this man can cut right to the heart of things with fewer words and often find myself wishing other authors edited they way he does.

[@Damnedone667]

Mr. Abercrombie, your First Law series is the absolute best setting and best series I've ever read. I've even published a few fantasy books, and you're my absolute favorite living author! H.P. :Lovecraft is my other, and to me, you two are equal, but if I had to give an edge to one of you, I'd say it's you! Cheers Joe!

[@anthempt3edits]

Man, you can just read how giddy you all are to have Joe on. Peaking into Joe’s brain was a treat. It does make me feel a bit better knowing both Jed and Joe are hitting similar word counts to my goals. Closing in on 1,000 subs! Let’s go!!

[@Jed_Herne]

Yeah, hearing Joe talk about how much he writes was actually quite reaffirming. Just goes to show it's about the quality and consistency of your writing. And yep - that 1000 mark is closing in...

[@Nark212]

Big shout out to Rob J Hayes who’s “The War Eternal “series is a must read.

[@Jed_Herne]

One of my faves as well

[@old_manclearwater3438]

I have basically the same feeling about Joe Abercrombie and Kentaro Miura. My two favorites of all time.

[@karimsoliman1611]

You brought Lord Grimdark himself! Awesome job, Jed. Waiting for part 2👍🙌

[@Jed_Herne]

Thanks Karim!

[@mete9730]

Great video and interview!!!! The questions were really good

[@Jed_Herne]

Thanks Mete!

[@istillsuckatguitar]

Not only is he a master of character building, but his development of relationships between the characters puts him at the very top of his field (IMHO).

[@Jed_Herne]

Agreed

[@haldanebdoyle]

Great to see this channel growing in leaps and bounds. The last few episodes have been wonderful.

[@Jed_Herne]

Thanks Shane! Got a really fun video (a non-podcast one) that should hopefully be releasing soon to take things to even bigger heights :)

[@eugenemurphy6037]

Too fun. I just finished the First Law trilogy audiobook for the first-time. Been eagerly drafting since.

[@MrHellgate82]

I was waiting long time for this, Joe is my favourite author 👍

[@Jed_Herne]

Nice!

[@walkerthewastelander964]

I want a First Law video game series. God I would pay anything.

[@cornpiglet9031]

how would you imagine that working? I feel like the thing that makes these books so good is the fact that each character has endless thoughts and internal conflicts which would be impossible to replicate via video game. (not roasting, just genuinely curious as to how you would make a First Law video game)

[@AdoreYouInAshXI]

@@cornpiglet9031 I don't know where you get the idea that it would be impossible to replicate in a game. They're making a film of BSC. They make films and television shows of books that have inner monologues all the time. It would be even easier with a game, given you can give the character multiple choices to choose from in their interactions. You can really make character come alive more in games than in film. We don't get POV chapters from a lot of the characters in Joes books, but they're still fantastic and entertaining to read about without hearing their inner thoughts. I'm not saying it would be easy, but creating a story heavy RPG with many player choices to be made, with the gameplay of something similar to Dark Souls, set in the First Law world would be a pretty epic undertaking. I seriously doubt it'll ever happen though.

[@lilyannecrow8259]

This was great, guys! It was awesome to hear from Joe about his characters. His writing, and his characters, are what inspired me to start my own author career.😃

[@Jed_Herne]

Cheers! He's been a massive inspiration to me as well

[@tiko545]

Very cool! How’s your writing coming along so far?

[@lilyannecrow]

@@tiko545 great, thanks! I have four novels out, and two very close to release. 🙂

[@tiko545]

@@lilyannecrow best of luck and continued success! I started writing my first novel and it's so exciting to see where this journey goes

[@saeedajaib]

Awesome, guys! I totally relate to the part about being more productive when other stuff is going on. When i have nothing to do, there is nothing else getting done. If that makes sense 😅

[@Jed_Herne]

Yup, I know the feeling

[@Omar-tk8wv]

This is so aweeeeeesome

[@Jed_Herne]

cheers

[@chrisplatt6842]

Absolutely loved this episode!

[@Jed_Herne]

Thanks!

[@taylonpruett8968]

loved this episode!!

[@Jed_Herne]

Thanks Taylon!

[@istillsuckatguitar]

Great interview. Thanks.

[@Jed_Herne]

Cheers

[@istillsuckatguitar]

AWESOME!

[@NothingBesideRemains]

Certified nifty!

[@bjnwright]

Good stuff Jed. Very good interview and plenty of insights gained into Joe's writing thoughts and processes here. He's a fricken beast man, absolutely love his work, superb characters, fantasy fiction and humor. Actually returning to these books on Audible at the moment. Fantastic experience with Stephen Pacey narrating. Great combination.

[@Jed_Herne]

Pacey's narration is amazing

[@AB-nr5je]

Late to the party here but, Joe Abercrombie seems to be awesome!

[@Jed_Herne]

To paraphrase Tolkein: a fan of Joe's is never late, nor is he early. He arrives precisely when he means to.

[@Slechy_Lesh]

18:49

[@warbrothers7745]

Not being mean but Joe always comes across like he loves hiimself. In everything he does!! i guess he has the right to.

[@Jed_Herne]

Ha, I think he's certainly earned the right :D

[@Slechy_Lesh]

I think in fact he came across as putting people who were very giddy at ease with a joke

[@braderslooloo]

That's called joking mate

[@Slechy_Lesh]

@@braderslooloo No, joking is a more general term. My emphasis helped specify what was going on in this particular situation.

[@AdoreYouInAshXI]

I think it's his dry, British sense of humor. He can come off as a bit arrogant, but it's done in a way that's sarcastic I believe. It's obvious by his writing that he's very self aware, and I think that plays into his arrogant persona sometimes.

[@AdoreYouInAshXI]

Good Lord, what is the guy in the upper right hand corner chewing on for the entire interview? Lol. So distracting.

[@ochubacollins3181]

Bro there are five freaking squares on there and the one in the corner distracts u?😂😂

[@AdoreYouInAshXI]

@@ochubacollins3181 They're all the same size, and all of them are equally displayed. It's not like his is tiny, and hidden in the corner lol, don't be ridiculous. So yes.