Joe Abercrombie Shows Me How He Wrote The Devils

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.

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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?

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