Dear Authors... Prose: ft. Joe Abercrombie

[@jelledesmet7086]

this trend of booktubers getting long interviews, more like chats even, with S-tier writers is pretty amazing.... congrats Merphy!

[@couchpotatoe91]

I'm glad more and more authors realize what a big, free marketing opportunity this is!

[@saadamansayyed]

Its good to see authors are understanding the potential of technology in these times before other "mainstream" fields!

[@billyalarie929]

it's SO fucking cool to me that booktubers are getting to do this 'cause like...... these are genuine and earnest people trying to make a living off of something that is a passion for them, and they're sincerely fans of these authors. and now you have this culture where, likewise, these genuine and earnest authors are noticing that, and WANTING to give these booktubers an opportunity to ask them whatever they want. but usually, from what i've seen, they pull from commenters' questions. which is fine, but limiting oneself to ONLY that, with the occasional "on that note, allow me to interject with my own question to follow that up". i just kinda wish these videos were a good bit longer, so you had an equal amount of questions from the commenters and the authortuber. idk, does that do something negative to the algorithm, to make it, say, an hour and a half, to fit those criteria?

[@r.i.p.4485]

That's not Merphy, that's Natile Portman.😍

[@LymariArzola]

I love it! This interview was great. Fonda Lee on Daniel's channel was great too.

[@UdyKumra]

I love how he always puts his camera below him so it feels like he's looking down on us like the Lord Grimdark he is 😂

[@saadamansayyed]

HAIL LORD GRIMDARK!

[@shosty575]

True tho 😂

[@MetalGildarts]

Breh I see you everywhere 😂

[@jonbaxter2254]

He's a king

[@csd8204]

Uh. Okay.

[@GalacticReads]

"Taking the magical thinking out of writing" - Joe is so right by saying we need to take away the mystique of writing, not waiting for a muse that may never come - and just sitting down and actually writing.

[@DeadMarsh]

This is why I love Joe-and detest Patrick Rothfuss.

[@squamish4244]

@@DeadMarsh I do NOT understand the hype over his books. I find them to be...meh.

[@UdyKumra]

I like how Merphy is slowly becoming a reading AND a writing channel.

[@darkwitnesslxx]

As long as she doesnt pretend shes an editor, like some others, I'm okay with that.

[@antanowrites]

@@darkwitnesslxx has she never written anything then?

[@ronnoc5278]

I'm so happy for you that this happened but also I'm seething with silent jealously.

[@saadamansayyed]

Same. Hard agree!

[@RandomJot]

This was a surprise to be sure, but a welcome one. In the last few years Joe's become my absolute favourite author, the First Law series is phenomenal.

[@texman89]

"The Blade Itself was my first book." Confirmed. Joe sold his soul to a crossroads demon.

[@Morfeusm]

Chase.c.Walker no he *is* a crossroad demon

[@ZFZG]

He knows Master Mirror?

[@weronikaryfka3088]

@@ZFZG my thoughts exaclty hahaha I mean... if he got pudgier and became american I guess he could pass as Gaunter O'Dimm?

[@bestial112233]

The blade itself and the follow up 2 books of the first law quickly became one of my top series ever. Fantastic and intriguing writing, witty dark humor and overall a great amazing read. 10/10 will read again, also for those of you who haven’t given audiobooks a try I seriously recommend you take the time and listen to them in audio format, the narrator makes a incredibly job in bringing the characters to life and keeps you engage giving each character a unique voice. Absolutely brilliant performance.

[@texman89]

@@bestial112233 I agree. The narrator is Stephen Pacy i beleive. His voice for Glokta is spot on

[@leigh-anjohnson]

TIMESTAMP 00:00 Introducing the legendary Joe Abercrombie (who doesn’t like Grimdark) 01:36 The First Law series, where to start reading 02:57 What is writing prose? The intentional and beautiful prose in Joe’s writing 04:33 Balance the different cultures, customs and minds while maintaining your author voice? 09:07 Q - Your prose feels very intentional. Did that come through revisions, or does it come naturally? 10:02 Joe talks about writing through the lens of the character’s distinct perspective (and starts making sense) 11:16 Write humour and witty characters. 12:47 Merphy uses the term Joe said he didn’t like. Tools for writing Grimdark 16:21 Sculpting prose around a characters personality. 18:35 Meeting and learning your characters. 23:33 Struggling to figure out a character. 28:49 Joe’s writing journey (and not tired of being hyped) 33:04 Q - Do you have any fiction or non-fiction that was useful for honing your craft? 36:08 Thank you Joe!

[@Innoxious]

Thank You so Much for this ❤

[@CaptPicard81]

What a gift, thank you!!

[@niranjanak8070]

When your fav booktuber makes an author interview at the same time you are reading that authors book. ( I am currently reading The Blade Itself and loving it)

[@shosty575]

It just gets better and better

[@saadamansayyed]

Tell me about it.

[@mattpfarr6129]

Ah, that first time experiencing Abercrombie...

[@ZamWeazle]

"I like my thinkers clever and dead" - Joe Abercrombie (From the Daniel Greene interview) 🤣🤣

[@upload2010]

The guy is funny without being condescending and yet sometimes i feel like he's mocking us all hahaha. Witty guy.

[@joanaecho]

It must be the accent hahaha

[@Grace-td5dd]

Welcome to England, enjoy the rain

[@FirstOfTheMagi]

Joe would've been such a kickass Court Jester

[@HPirate91]

"Call me sensei" - Abercrombie. Those bookshelves though...So jealous. Haha

[@MagusMarquillin]

He tilted his camera, yet they seem to go up and up forever. I want to climb them.

[@ryan_17295]

You can find a joe abercrombie bookshelf tour here on youtube. That is an awesome library

[@Barrytheeverchosen]

This is what everyone wants, the close, podcastish, conversational interviews, not the classic form of fast and boring interviews from TV. Mooore! Give us more

[@dipinbk8852]

"Call me sensei" - Joe Abercrombie

[@talesandtails9]

My husband is not a big fantasy reader, but I convinced him to read the First Law trilogy and now he's hooked. He's already up to Red Country. 🤣

[@anthonywritesfantasy]

"As I revise it and come to think more about who the people are, I'll try to make the descriptions more in their... in their Tone." This definitely makes your language stand out! Glokta describing Logen was one of the coolest moments in any scene, ever, because of this very thing. Thank you, Sensei!

[@kattissmall8373]

I found Joe's descriptions of his writing process incredibly useful. Plot and worldbuilding is one thing, but making the characters seem real is another. I am going to try to start writing the characters' dialogue first in every scene to "hear" their voices and then as an exercise describe the world around them as seen through their eyes to discover how they think, feel and react - and then build from there. Getting to know your characters through writing them seems like something that would suit me. I also appreciate how Joe says he does a ton of revision. If you''re getting to know your character as you're writing them I can imagine that you have to go back and change a whole lot. Thank you Merphy for asking the perfect questions and thank you Joe for being so generous with sharing your process. I find you both incredibly inspiring!

[@Michael-tn9wp]

...”it’s stuff I made up in the middle of the night for my own amusement”... That sounds like a fun approach to writing!

[@elchiponr1]

Shouldn't it be the only approach to writing, fantasy anyway?

[@MickeyTrod26]

Murphy is getting into the interview game! I like it! Now we need to get her an interview with the man himself Mr Sanderson!

[@davidhayes6491]

One line that struck me and has always stayed with me from his First Law trilogy was his description of a character, I've long since forgotten which one, who was described as "ugly as incest." What a descriptive turn of words. Who writes like that? Just amazing.

[@lenniejoaquin7091]

I mean Joes place looks so atmospheric, omg its so cool. And Merphy so proud of you to be able to do thisss!! this is amazingg!!

[@areeshafatima8453]

Omg shes getting so big 😭😭 merphy can we go back to 20k when u would reply to all my comments 😢😢

[@merphynapier42]

I still read them all!

[@rachelsanders3537]

Awww she replied! That’s so sweet

[@Morfeusm]

Merphy Napier awwwwww 🥺😍

[@goldtooth]

She replied!

[@Amanda_the_Librarian]

He is such a class act.

[@astraestus8828]

Look at Merphy getting all these author interviews!!

[@fragwagon]

As a beginner writer, I have learned more useful info from this interview than from hours of 'advice KZbin'. Subscribed!

[@quastor749]

I want a bookshelf like Joe has

[@PhilipChaseTheBestofFantasy]

Excellent interview! Great questions, and Abercrombie’s interviews seem to be nearly as entertaining and full of insights as his books. Thanks!

[@zemphis7149]

Imagine if people actually talked like fantasy characters

[@saadamansayyed]

Lol 🤣😂

[@Morfeusm]

NaNi? 🥺

[@leonmayne797]

'Twould be a wondrous thing indeed.

[@ottovonbaden6353]

Hey. You. You're finally awake.

[@saadamansayyed]

A man ignited the embers of the chat to craft the finest day in history of humankind ever.

[@ducky36F]

"I advise everybody to go out and immediately buy my books" To late already own them all 😂

[@becklebooks]

I love the "not a big fan of the term". So tongue in cheek and dry, it's what I enjoy a lot about his humour and characterisation. :P His writing is so intentional and clever, this was a wonderful interview! Joe's mother saying "get to the truth of it" when it comes to prose and description is almost the origin of Logen's iconic statement: 'you've gotta be realistic'. LOVE THAT. :D

[@dukeofdenver]

I hope these interviews won't end after Covid goes away. They've been great

[@m.k.8352]

Dosn't like the term 'grimdark' but is referred to as 'Lord Grimdark'.

[@JoeK7]

You did a great job on the interview Merphy! On behalf of all us viewers, congrats and thank you!

[@trumanb4758]

Best JA interview I've seen. As you say at the end, 'so insightful'.

[@karlhelenius1614]

Thank you both of you. This kind of content is what I alweays hope for when I turn on my computer. Excellent interview, excellent content. More of this, and Abercrombie, thank you for the boks, all of them. Napier, thank you for your channel. This was an amazing and interesting interview, more of these.

[@cherylwilson7336]

I loved the writing tips! Thank you for interviewing this author! Please interview more authors about the specific aspect of writing that you feel makes them notable!

[@mekialovedat]

I really like this interview

[@KneeDownFPV]

I really enjoyed the flow of this interview. I find too many youtubers like to interrupt a lot while the author likes to tell stories. You let him go on when he wanted to and you jumped into the discussion in really natural places.

[@VoidSplendor]

This is such an awesome opportunity for you, Merphy! I'm glad its you that interviewed Joe. I'm definitely enjoying The First Law trilogy so I'm excited to read the other stuff he's writing. Have a great day everyone.

[@truthjustice61]

What a treat. Thank you so much. Intelligent questions, intelligent answers. Brilliant.

[@tonel.9967]

As a person with rheumatoid arthritis, I really appreciated Glotka :D

[@billyalarie929]

YOUR REACTION TO FINDING OUT TBI WAS HIS FIRST so, so pure!

[@marin3933]

Holy moly Im proud as a fan to see Merph get so big to have an interview with someone like Abercrombie 🤗🤗

[@ericduey9556]

I love the idea of doing "Dear Author" videos with established authors. Thanks for the content, and I would love to see more!

[@hexipo2352]

This is (perhaps unintentionally) the most helpful video I’ve ever watched about writing character voice !!

[@ComandaKronikk]

SAME

[@Bookdragon11]

He seems like a really nice and kind man 😃. And the interview was so good I wanted it to be longer 🥲👌👌😁.

[@rachelsanders3537]

I am such a fan of where channels like yours are going with this type of content! Thank you!

[@pcvsk8]

Thank you Merphy and Abercrombie-sensei for the insightful conversation!

[@deahalis7933]

can we take a second to appreciate how impressed Merphy looks at Joe Abercrombie?? You genuinely deserved this interview

[@astraestus8828]

This interview makes me wanna pick up The First Law like asap.

[@astraestus8828]

This should have way more views.

[@goldtooth]

Merph - I'm SO HAPPY that you landed this interview!!! Congrats!!!

[@ArcadeJackson-us7mq]

I just hear Clover whenever Joe talks.

[@dmbfreak123]

This was a great interview, very insightful. Great job! I have always want to read his books, after watching this I bought the First Law Trilogy. Can't wait to dive in.

[@roshnichoudhary6314]

"Sensei, call me sensei" I'm blown away !!!!!!!!!!!

[@lilrosetattoo]

So glad to hear an established authors process. It is VERY similar to mine. Dialogue first. Build out scenes from there. Then hone in on revision. Gives me hope that one day I’ll also be professionally published.

[@louwburger3701]

I'm addicted to your channel!

[@ainsleyzirkle2485]

Me too! I love the way you talk about books and reading!

[@Nasser851000]

Didnt expect this but I love it :D

[@joshwilliams4286]

I totally thought of Dave Bautista in Blade Runner when I started reading Broad’s POV!!!

[@Susaninha1D]

I know it is not the point but you look absolutely beautiful!

[@rhyleygrant5660]

300 pages into the trouble with peace so good its my favourite joe Abercrombie book

[@flyingsquirrel1486]

best interview with Joe I've seen so far, going into an interview with a specific theme. Murphy is an amazing interviewer she was able to connect the best to Joe out of anyone I've seen

[@thomaswootress-reidt101]

Favorite working author. Thanks for the interview Merphy.

[@mattwatts1181]

The Blood Meridian influence on Red Country was very strong - and I think Joe has a homage to McCarthy's "legion of horribles" paragraph.

[@Nasser851000]

Lord Grimdark strikes again!

[@Nasser851000]

first to escape the horrors of the world and into fantasy/sci worlds

[@saadamansayyed]

Escapism × 💯 like me

[@jeanerasmus7]

Joe is like that cool uncle that only shows up in cookouts.

[@Ozgipsy]

That was really something. I read The Blade Itself on your recommendation, great read. He’s a nice guy.

[@Adamanthil]

This is an amazing interview! Just loved the questions and insight.

[@Beril_.]

He is one of my favorite authors and I loved this!

[@hmathsamaths9495]

Thanks so much Marphy!

[@joshuastclairmusic]

This is absolutely golden. Much like Sanderson, I'm loving Joe Abercrombie and his engagement with the community/sharing of insights and I can't wait to read his books! Thanks heaps :)

[@ajmalaika1287]

Also agree my writing is often affected by what I'm reading like I picked up I started switching between first and third person because the book I was reading was in first person

[@christhewritingjester3164]

29:25 lol that reaction! I feel it too!

[@M.H.I.A.F.T.]

I went to a signing event Joe did a few years back. He was awesome and very gracious.

[@Nkanyiso_K]

I feel like those were perfect tips, thanks for a great interview

[@GetWriteOnIn]

What a great interview! I'll never forget the first time I picked up The Blade Itself, right after it had come out, when I was on my lunch break working at Borders. Wanted an entertaining read for the break, ended up buying the book before I went back to work, and I had to wait for the rest of them from there! Lucky people, those that get to have all three books off the bat! Loved listening to this interview, Joe is seriously such an incredible writer and I love hearing him talk about his craft.

[@stews9]

Okay, I'd found Abercrombie's work unreadable. Tried several times to get into, what's it called, Best Served Cold, and just couldn't deal with his attitude. So I avoided his work. This interview, seeing him speak of writing, answering your insightful questions, Merphy, convinces me to give his stuff another shot. Sounds like maybe it was just my mood at the time. We shall see, but thank you. Brava.

[@KierTheScrivener]

I stopped multiple times and just re/wrote full scenes and than came back to watch more. 👏👏👏

[@KristianaCembre]

I just started reading The Blade Itself, what a great book

[@keithshaw3272]

I’ve read the first law and age of madness trilogies. My favorite author by far

[@jonbaxter2254]

I think Glokta is my favourite written character ever. I love him and his wit.

[@Lynn-CA]

A really fascinating man ..... makes me more interested in picking up his books. (Also really nice to hear a northern accent)

[@MishaSalnikov]

This new addition to Dear authors, where you invite actual accomplished authors is amazing! Go Merph!

[@joronah8650]

His ability to write aggressive sex scenes is underrated.. Puts other "erotic" novel authors to shame.

[@BackAlleyTANGO]

Oh agreed! This man writes the best sex scenes I've ever read. xD

[@keirscott-schrueder5625]

Definitely. Even when there was a description of just two people kissing it was really well communicated.

[@alb0zfinest]

Good to know what parts of the book you’re paying special attention to 😉

[@sittingduck6049]

Jay Kristoff writes a good mucky scene ;)

[@noraeld5020]

I was reading best served cold and was *not* expecting it but it was great

[@scottkroesen1800]

Thank you, Merphy. Mr. Abercrombie has become one of my favorite authors, no only in fantasy, in any genre.

[@stevenpremmel4116]

Great interview. I think it's the first interview where Joe's properly talked about his writing process in any depth.

[@adammalone2909]

You and Daniel do more for fantasy than the publishers do. Your combined views with Joe are like 160k, that's more than everything else he's done as far as promotion combined. You two really do more for the genre than I think you realize. Or, maybe you do. Regardless, it's wonderful of you.

[@TheKrazyLobster]

Watching Joe is always a pleasure. Watching Joe AND Merphy? That's a delight.

[@KFoxtheGreat]

This video makes me so happy. I still haven't read The Blade Itself, but every time I see Joe Abercrombie existing in any context it bumps up closer to the top of my tbr list

[@jericosha2842]

I started reading his books because of his interviews. The idea of grim dark unfairly painted an expectation that's simply not true. His characters just feel real and honest and they progress the story almost like it's a slice of life instead of an epic fantasy. Its truly unique. Hope you enjoy it!

[@avantgardenovelist]

I'm on page 19 of TBI and am already so hooked by the writing that I'm ordering every single book ever published by this man at Amazon. he's one of THOSE writers.

[@smashhitts5118]

I don't usually go for the fantasy genre, but a friend lent me the Blade Itself and I gotta say how much I enjoyed it. Very interesting, unique story and really did not feel like reading a lot at all. Again, very enjoyable! Definitely recommend!!

[@TokyoBlue587]

He has become one of my favorite authors. Thanks for this interesting interview.

[@Kissmyasthma16]

I’m finishing The Blade Itself today! Really enjoyed this interview!

[@eldonmacwood]

Joe and I are on the same page when it comes to writing. I will have to check out his books!

[@CupCakeUnleashed]

OMG U DID IT

[@Paul-TheHappyRecluse]

Awesome interview! Joe A gives a lot of great thoughts into his writing process and how character is the heart of any good story. Loved it.

[@jamo6126]

Great interview! I'm no author but i still gained a lot from his insight! This will definitely improve my character building in DnD! :)

[@ajmalaika1287]

HIS FIRST BOOK, NOOOO WAY Also totally agree I can't write multiple stories in chunks I like putting all my energy in one book/series even if it takes a while

[@jonathanwolff7868]

I love this! Thanks for sharing this conversation with us, Merphy :)