Joe Abercrombie (author of The Blade Itself and many other brilliant stories) joins me to discuss the opening chapters from his new book, The Devils. This is an in-depth deep dive into the techniques Joe uses to hook readers, introduce characters, and develop an interesting fantasy world.

Click here to get my free 5-day character course.

Timestamps:

00:00 - Introduction

01:23 - Writing a great opening hook

10:59 - Does Joe read aloud during editing?

12:05 - What makes 'good prose'?

13:34 - Deep dive into Diaz’s character

22:53 - Chapter transitions and pacing

25:01 - Introduction of Alex

30:03 - Using familiar tropes in fresh ways

34:45 - Making metaphors multilayered

41:00 - Worldbuilding through POV

46:40 - Deductive vs inductive worldbuilding

49:55 - Abercrombie’s anti-worldbuilding approach

54:17 - How to introduce several characters at once

01:02:33 - Jed's favourite character from The Devils

1:04:55 - What is Joe trying to improve with his writing?

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Joe Abercrombie Shows Me How He Wrote The Devils