Influences – Joe Abercrombie
I thought it was about time I brought back this occasional series and looked at another author who has played a big part in shaping the writer I am today. I’m a firm believer that if you want to write, first you must read.
After heavily consuming fantasy fiction in the 1970s and 1980s, I actually fell out of love with reading the genre in the mid-1990s. I preferred to read sci-fi written by Iain M Banks, humorous books such as Bridget Jones’s Diary by Helen Fielding, and detective novels like Ian Rankin’s superb Rebus series. However, when I decided I wanted to try my hand at writing my own fiction, I knew I would be going back to my first love and it had to be the fantasy genre.
I spent the next few years writing my first novel, The Final Seer, which went through a number of iterations as I learned my craft the hard way, one massive mistake at a time. Once complete in 2011, I queried the novel with the literary agent John Jarrold. Although he rightly turned me down he must have seen something in my writing, because in his rejection email he advised me to take a look at some of the modern popular writers in the genre. One of those he mentioned was Joe Abercrombie. I dutifully walked into Waterstones and picked up a selection of books, my haul including The Blade Itself, the first book in Abercrombie’s The First Law trilogy.
I was in a bit of a quandary as John had been my preferred agent. Naturally I was disappointed at being rejected but his response had been encouraging enough that I thought I should begin to approach other agents to try and get represented. That changed when I opened The Blade Itself and entered Abercrombie’s world weary grimdark setting.
I instantly fell in love with Abercrombie’s writing and, since I was now reading with a more critical eye, trying to understand what made a novel work, this was the first book where I realised the importance of voice in a story. Abercrombie’s storytelling pulls you in right from the opening page and that’s because he has an incredible author voice. Put another way, no one else writes like Joe Abercrombie.
The Blade Itself had another important lesson to teach me. It felt modern. The dialogue was sharp, the action scenes were visceral, tempered by the darkest of dark humour, and each character was intriguing and complex, trying to make difficult and often unpleasant choices in order to survive. It was a world away from the black and white, good versus evil fantasy stories I had read when I was younger.
As I considered all these things and looked again at my own novel, I came to a harsh but necessary realisation. The Final Seer wasn’t good enough. The Blade Itself showed me that the standard was incredibly high and my own writing was nowhere near that level. Bearing in mind it had taken five and a half years for me to write my first book, this was not welcome news. But it was important I understood why John had turned it down. The fantasy genre had moved on and, unconsciously, my own storytelling reflected too many of the hallmarks of 1970s and 1980s fantasy.
I set aside that novel and started writing a completely different story. That was back in 2011, when I began writing the novel Hall of Bones. I actually tried writing those early chapters mimicking Abercrombie’s style and the results were absolutely dreadful. I quickly realised it wasn’t enough to try and write like someone else. I needed to ensure my stories had my own voice – I had to write like Tim Hardie.
I think this is one of the most confusing and difficult lessons to try and learn as a new writer. No one can define voice but you definitely know it when you read it. I went back to the start of Hall of Bones and tried to free myself from the habit of emulating other authors. Your literary influences will always be there, but the important thing is to make this your own story – one only you can tell. In my case I immersed myself in my characters, giving them control over the tale through their interactions and choices. I instantly knew something had changed and that period, when those first chapters came together, was an exciting time for me as an author.
I was still learning my craft and it took me until 2015 to finish writing Hall of Bones and produce a version of the novel I was happy with. With some trepidation, I submitted the initial chapters to John Jarrold that autumn. A few weeks later he asked me for the full manuscript and by the end of the year I’d signed with the agency.
Being a writer is a strange mix of self-confidence in your ability to pursue the craft and execute your personal vision, combined with a willingness to listen to critique and criticism and apply this to your work. John Jarrold’s helpful advice in 2011 was important – I simply wasn’t ready. His book recommendations were also vital. The Blade Itself changed me as an author, and for that I’ll be forever grateful.
