bagrounds.org

5 min read

Home > Videos | ⚔️🗡️🩸 Joe Abercrombie

✍️🎭🧙‍♂️ Joe Abercrombie Shows Me How to Write PERFECT Character Introductions

🤖 AI Summary

  • ⚡ Grip the reader immediately by connecting them to the character voice and concerns without wasting time on excessive exposition [00:51].
  • 🎥 Use a TV editing mindset to enter scenes on action or movement rather than starting with a wide, static description of a room [04:15].
  • 🧠 Avoid describing familiar objects that a character wouldn’t naturally notice, as this breaks the immersion of their point of view [05:20].
  • 🧩 Trust readers to fill in physical details like hair color or setting later; they are better at solving puzzles than being fed every detail upfront [05:01].
  • 🏔️ Prioritize character relationships and internal dialogue over world-building, as the setting should only be a backdrop for human interaction [10:05].
  • 🕰️ Pay off minor mysteries quickly to build trust before asking readers to wait for long-term plot resolutions [13:01].
  • ✍️ Use a specific character pass during editing to replace generic actions like nodding or shrugging with distinct, personality-driven mannerisms [16:21].
  • 🎭 Create characters with internal contradictions to maintain suspense and make their eventual choices more surprising to the audience [20:53].
  • 🔄 Focus on the failure to change or the tendency to fall back into old habits, as this reflects the messy reality of human nature [41:00].
  • 🗣️ Utilize a double act or a sidekick character to verbalize thoughts that would otherwise feel clunky as internal monologue [46:17].

🏆 Joe Abercrombie’s Character Introduction Strategy: The Cheat Sheet

🧠 Core Philosophy: Character Over World

  • 👤 Prioritize Persona: Introduce the character, not the world or the plot. [51:24]
  • 🫵 POV Immersion: Avoid describing things familiar to the character (e.g., their own bedroom). [05:39]
  • 🎭 Ground Running: Establish voice, concerns, and world-view immediately. [00:51]
  • 🧩 Trust Readers: Let the audience solve puzzles; don’t “lay the table” with excessive exposition. [52:05]

🎬 The “TV Editor” Opening Technique

  • ✂️ In Late, Out Early: Start scenes on a “door slam” or mid-movement; skip the wide-shot descriptions. [04:15]
  • 🔍 Micro-Intrigue: Raise small, immediate questions (e.g., “Why is there a dowel in her mouth?”) to hook interest. [06:50]
  • ⏳ Delayed Visuals: Physical details (e.g., hair color) can wait several chapters; focus on internal experience first. [05:01]
  • 🥁 Rhythmic Prose: Utilize the “Long Paragraph, Punchline” structure to emphasize character priorities. [32:16]

🗣️ Crafting Distinctive Voice

  • 🛠️ Character Pass: In final drafts, replace generic actions (nods, shrugs) with personality-specific mannerisms. [16:21]
  • 👯 The Double Act: Use “hype man” companions (e.g., Zuri/Isern) to externalize internal thoughts and humanize cold protagonists. [44:06]
  • ⚖️ Bathos & Contrast: Undermine high-fantasy pomposity with blunt, gritty, or humorous dialogue. [18:23]
  • 🎵 Sensory Bias: Describe settings through the character’s unique bias (e.g., a hellish factory sounds like “music” to an investor). [35:11]

🏗️ Advanced Character Engineering

  • 🔄 Failure to Change: Explore the “endless fight” of character flaws; stagnation is often more realistic than redemption. [40:32]
  • ⚡ Internal Contradictions: Build suspense by giving characters clashing traits (e.g., polished exterior vs. savage capability). [37:17]
  • 🎁 Immediate Payoffs: Don’t keep every exciting thing in reserve; deliver small wins/reveals early to maintain momentum. [12:55]
  • 🧪 Experimental Planning: Write the first few chapters to “find” the voice before finalizing the detailed plot. [22:05]

🚀 Actionable Steps for Writers

  • 📉 Minimize Setting: Aim to delay significant environmental description until character stakes are established. [08:52]
  • 🧪 Constant Calibration: Retroactively adjust character traits in early chapters to make late-book twists more impactful. [20:53]
  • 🗂️ Modular Planning: Break trilogies into 9 parts; ensure each has at least one major action or jeopardy moment. [23:35]
  • 📝 Just Write: You cannot “tweak what’s not there” - prioritize the draft over the perfect plan. [21:44]

🤔 Evaluation

  • ⚖️ While Abercrombie advocates for character-first openings, some traditional fantasy guides like The Rhetoric of Fiction by Wayne C. Booth suggest that establishing the reliable rules of the world early can be essential for reader grounding.
  • 🔍 To gain a deeper understanding, explore the concept of deep point of view and how it differs from traditional limited third person.
  • 📖 Compare this approach with the instructional style found in Wonderbook by Jeff VanderMeer, which emphasizes the visual and structural elements of world-building alongside character.

❓ Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

🚪 Q: How should a writer begin the very first page of a novel?

🚪 A: Start on a movement or a character concern that raises immediate questions for the reader rather than using a slow establishing shot [04:40].

🛠️ Q: What is the most effective way to handle world-building in the opening?

🛠️ A: Introduce the character and their immediate problems first; the reader will naturally catch up on the setting as the plot progresses [51:20].

👥 Q: Why are sidekick characters useful for character introductions?

👥 A: They provide a natural way for the protagonist to vocalize their personality through dialogue, avoiding dense and boring internal monologues [46:17].

📚 Book Recommendations

↔️ Similar

🆚 Contrasting

  • 🏰 The Silmarillion by J.R.R. Tolkien serves as a counterpoint by prioritizing deep myth-making and world history over immediate character intimacy.
  • 🌌 World-Building by Stephen L. Gillett focuses on the scientific and structural creation of alien environments as the primary draw of speculative fiction.

🎨 Creatively Related

  • 🎬 In the Blink of an Eye by Walter Murch examines film editing techniques that mirror Abercrombie’s advice on scene transitions and rhythm.
  • 🎭 The Art of Character by David Corbett details how to build internal contradictions into fictional people to make them feel authentic.

Graph View

Backlinks