Free Company Interview Series
I’ve been sitting here in the FC Tavern, waiting on another of the Powers That Be to interview him. Ah, here he is! Hello The_Hawk! Have a beer. Glad you are able to do this interview with me. Let’s get started, shall we?
1. When did you first join the Free Company?
Book III, about 100 posts in (it's hard to believe that was almost two years ago!). I'd only been around for about a month when Lord Durham announced the next installment in the Free Company saga. It looked like it might be fun, so I approached him with an idea for a grizzled pirate-turned-legitimate-sailor that would become Jonasz 'the Cyprian' Piediwicz. Though I've never hit the point where I'm posting virtually every day (at least, not for very long), I think I've been fairly active ever since.
2. What did you think when LD asked you to be one of the Powers That Be?
I'm not sure he ever asked. As you might know, we lost a lot of major contributors towards the beginning of Book V. LD had already tapped me to write one of the historical characters, so I volunteered to pick up some of the slack... before I knew it, I was writing half a dozen major plot characters, and couldn't really avoid being involved in the planning. Why LD kept me on I still don't understand, though.
3. I've asked the others, now I'm asking you. What do you think is the most dramatic storyline in the current book?
We've got some excellent subplots going, but I have to say I'm most looking forward to seeing the main Siege of Belgrade storyline play out. It's hard to predict, of course, but I think it could contend with the Siege of Constantinople in Book IV in terms of quality writing.
4. Again, just like the others, did you ever think the FC would go to a sixth book?
Well, I know after Book III fizzled out, there was a lot of doubt about continuing. Though we finished off Book V, there was some question there, too, when it looked like we only had a handful of authors left. On the other hand, after Book IV, which came off swimmingly, everyone was eager to keep going. Me, I've always envisioned an FC which is like the Dread Pirate Roberts -- different people may fill the shoes, but the story and the mystique remain. So, I could see the FC going on forever. I've already got plot ideas through Book X. But we'll have to see... LD's retirement may have thrown a monkey-wrench into those plans.
5. Each book there is a host of new writers who join briefly, and then fade away quickly. What do you think causes this phenomenon?
That's a great question, and I wish I had a great answer for it. I think part of it stems from what people think AARs should be; most readers, I imagine, like a paced AAR which they can follow over time. It's tough to keep up with ten or twenty posts a day, and we usually get that many in the first hour or two after we start a new Book. It can be intimidating, to be sure -- but things usually settle down after a week or two, people figure out what subplots they'd like their characters to pursue, and things start progressing at a more measured pace.
6. What characters are you writing for primarily? And which characters did you personally create?
Ah, it's quite a laundry list. My main character is Maria de Medici, who's essentially the Free Company admiral. She's mine, as are my grunts -- Carl,
Alexander and George. They weren't supposed to be much more than foils to
begin with, but they've been getting personalities as time goes on. Then we
have Janos Hunyadi, the Hungarian general, who is historical. I've also been writing for Venerio lo Grato, AKA Akbar, AKA Fallen Angel, one of the Book's chief villains. I inherited him from HolisticGod in Book V, and I've been having a lot of fun with him this time around.
7. Another one of those I've asked the others; Which people do you feel you interact with in character the best in the FC?
Hmm, that's a tough one. My characters always got on well with those of stnylan, and we had some good subplots planned out -- he's headed for more
Victorian pastures, though, I gather. Of the authors that are still around, I'd say Valdemar. After three Books as lovers, his Frederik and my Maria had better be interacting well. Those are challenging posts to write, though -- it departs so significantly from the usual battles-or-machinations I'm used to writing about.
8. As one of the PTB, just how active are you in the decision making process of what is going on and what will be going on, et al?
I would say "fairly". Behind-the-scenes plotting is one thing I really enjoy; people who've received my rambling, several-page emails full of plot ideas can attest to this. Ultimately, though, final decisions have been reserved for LD -- he's decided what will work and what won't.
9. What kinds of things go on behind the scenes that the readers, and even the writers, aren't aware of?
Well, it probably won't come as a surprise that we spend plenty of time before the Book even gets underway sketching out a basic plot for it. As
the Book progresses, we add more flesh to it through discussion and research. There's plenty of the latter -- I've heard stories about the binders upon binders of material MrT used to keep on hand. (We're actually still using the basic overarching plot T sketched back at the beginning of Book V, though with a variety of changes.) What may be more surprising is that we get pretty specific at times; both in Books V and VI, by about the halfway point, we were getting down to the minutiae about the Book's conclusion. It's not blow-by-blow, but it's close.
10. What is your favorite character you most enjoy writing for?
With my current batch, I get a lot of enjoyment from all of my characters. It's particularly poignant with Hunyadi and Akbar -- one's a honorable hero, the other a despicable, and ultimately cowardly, villain. Maria's fun because I've had her for so long -- characters with deep histories are always exciting to watch grow and interact. My favorite character of all time, though, would have to be Filippo Maria Visconti, from Book V, though. That's one where I felt my research really paid off. He was totally insane, of course, so he had all of these historical quirks... I derived immense joy from working them into his FC appearances.
11. I know you have some 'grunts' that you write for, such as George, Alexander, and Carl that my character has turned into 'corporals', along with others. How do you feel about that, since you originally intended them to stay as 'grunts'? And do you think overall it was a good idea to promote some of the grunts?
Well, it's good and it's bad. On the one hand, I was hoping to keep them in the background, as characters I could break out when nothing else was going
on.... they were originally intended as foils to Patrick O'Barr, who I killed off at the end of Book V, and I was considering having them fade into the background in Book VI, since I was fully expecting to have a slew of other characters to write for. On the other hand, it plays into an old trend whereby the authors inevitably wind up writing for sergeants or lieutenants -- and such a trend makes it a lot easier for characters to interact on a variety of levels. So essentially being forced to keep them around has given them more fleshed-out personalities. Besides, I like their new role as the unwilling corporals.
12. Having a raft of characters doing different things, do you find it difficult to write for them since they ARE doing such different things?
No, I don't think that, specifically, has ever given me trouble. It can be refreshing, in fact, to jump from character to character and plot to plot --
even if they're involved in the same event, you can give different characters a fresh perspective. I often wish I had more time to devote to individual characters, though.
13. Of the 'regular' writers, which ones do you do you think have really worked hard to contribute and enhance the FC experience?
Well, LD's ability to get people involved is legendary. But this Book in particular, I really have to call you out, Amric, along with redwolf and Valdemar -- you guys have made a heroic effort to keep things afloat when we hit a slow patch. Without your work, the Book likely would've ground to a
halt by now... and your level of involvement is particularly amazing, since you and RW both have only been with us since Book V!
14. Do you think of the Free Company as a community of sorts?
Well, the FC's always struck me as a community within the larger AAR forum
community. There are few projects on these boards where you get to work
quite so closely with other writers in crafting and executing a story. There are folks who come around to these forums chiefly for the FC (myself included). So inevitably it lends itself to a close-knit atmosphere. Folks who haven't given it a shot don't know what they're missing... and contrary to popular belief, they don't need to read six books to jump in. (Yes, that's a shameless plug.
15. What do you think makes the FC so successful for so long?
I think there are a lot of factors that play into it... a well-crafted story, excellent authors, great interaction. And, perhaps most importantly, incredible writing. There are some posts I can think of which easily exceed the vast majority of commercial fiction... and possibly even a lot of real classics of sci-fi and fantasy. Taken as a whole, the Books are easily as good or better than most things on bookshelves today (if longer, and not necessarily always as clean.)
16. If you had to do it all over again, knowing what you know now, would you do it?
Absolutely... though perhaps a little differently. If I had my druthers, I would've kept more people around for Books III, V and VI... but of course, that requires a level of power I can't lay claim to. For my own part, I think I'd try to post more frequently. But really, the FC's been a great experience for me. It's even boosted my ego enough that I occasionally consider forgetting all this lawyer stuff and becoming an author. It'd probably be more fun.
17. And finally, who is The_Hawk<and don't even think of the old saw of legal eagle for lawyer and that is why you chose it!>
I wish I was so subtle. No, my last name's Hawk, so my moniker isn't a real surprise. Who am I? Well, the short version... soon-to-graduate law student, editor-in-chief of the Florida Journal of International Law, aspiring author, and avid game player. Doesn't leave much time for things like "food" or "sleep", of course.
The_Hawk
I’ve been sitting here in the FC Tavern, waiting on another of the Powers That Be to interview him. Ah, here he is! Hello The_Hawk! Have a beer. Glad you are able to do this interview with me. Let’s get started, shall we?
1. When did you first join the Free Company?
Book III, about 100 posts in (it's hard to believe that was almost two years ago!). I'd only been around for about a month when Lord Durham announced the next installment in the Free Company saga. It looked like it might be fun, so I approached him with an idea for a grizzled pirate-turned-legitimate-sailor that would become Jonasz 'the Cyprian' Piediwicz. Though I've never hit the point where I'm posting virtually every day (at least, not for very long), I think I've been fairly active ever since.
2. What did you think when LD asked you to be one of the Powers That Be?
I'm not sure he ever asked. As you might know, we lost a lot of major contributors towards the beginning of Book V. LD had already tapped me to write one of the historical characters, so I volunteered to pick up some of the slack... before I knew it, I was writing half a dozen major plot characters, and couldn't really avoid being involved in the planning. Why LD kept me on I still don't understand, though.
3. I've asked the others, now I'm asking you. What do you think is the most dramatic storyline in the current book?
We've got some excellent subplots going, but I have to say I'm most looking forward to seeing the main Siege of Belgrade storyline play out. It's hard to predict, of course, but I think it could contend with the Siege of Constantinople in Book IV in terms of quality writing.
4. Again, just like the others, did you ever think the FC would go to a sixth book?
Well, I know after Book III fizzled out, there was a lot of doubt about continuing. Though we finished off Book V, there was some question there, too, when it looked like we only had a handful of authors left. On the other hand, after Book IV, which came off swimmingly, everyone was eager to keep going. Me, I've always envisioned an FC which is like the Dread Pirate Roberts -- different people may fill the shoes, but the story and the mystique remain. So, I could see the FC going on forever. I've already got plot ideas through Book X. But we'll have to see... LD's retirement may have thrown a monkey-wrench into those plans.
5. Each book there is a host of new writers who join briefly, and then fade away quickly. What do you think causes this phenomenon?
That's a great question, and I wish I had a great answer for it. I think part of it stems from what people think AARs should be; most readers, I imagine, like a paced AAR which they can follow over time. It's tough to keep up with ten or twenty posts a day, and we usually get that many in the first hour or two after we start a new Book. It can be intimidating, to be sure -- but things usually settle down after a week or two, people figure out what subplots they'd like their characters to pursue, and things start progressing at a more measured pace.
6. What characters are you writing for primarily? And which characters did you personally create?
Ah, it's quite a laundry list. My main character is Maria de Medici, who's essentially the Free Company admiral. She's mine, as are my grunts -- Carl,
Alexander and George. They weren't supposed to be much more than foils to
begin with, but they've been getting personalities as time goes on. Then we
have Janos Hunyadi, the Hungarian general, who is historical. I've also been writing for Venerio lo Grato, AKA Akbar, AKA Fallen Angel, one of the Book's chief villains. I inherited him from HolisticGod in Book V, and I've been having a lot of fun with him this time around.
7. Another one of those I've asked the others; Which people do you feel you interact with in character the best in the FC?
Hmm, that's a tough one. My characters always got on well with those of stnylan, and we had some good subplots planned out -- he's headed for more
Victorian pastures, though, I gather. Of the authors that are still around, I'd say Valdemar. After three Books as lovers, his Frederik and my Maria had better be interacting well. Those are challenging posts to write, though -- it departs so significantly from the usual battles-or-machinations I'm used to writing about.
8. As one of the PTB, just how active are you in the decision making process of what is going on and what will be going on, et al?
I would say "fairly". Behind-the-scenes plotting is one thing I really enjoy; people who've received my rambling, several-page emails full of plot ideas can attest to this. Ultimately, though, final decisions have been reserved for LD -- he's decided what will work and what won't.
9. What kinds of things go on behind the scenes that the readers, and even the writers, aren't aware of?
Well, it probably won't come as a surprise that we spend plenty of time before the Book even gets underway sketching out a basic plot for it. As
the Book progresses, we add more flesh to it through discussion and research. There's plenty of the latter -- I've heard stories about the binders upon binders of material MrT used to keep on hand. (We're actually still using the basic overarching plot T sketched back at the beginning of Book V, though with a variety of changes.) What may be more surprising is that we get pretty specific at times; both in Books V and VI, by about the halfway point, we were getting down to the minutiae about the Book's conclusion. It's not blow-by-blow, but it's close.
10. What is your favorite character you most enjoy writing for?
With my current batch, I get a lot of enjoyment from all of my characters. It's particularly poignant with Hunyadi and Akbar -- one's a honorable hero, the other a despicable, and ultimately cowardly, villain. Maria's fun because I've had her for so long -- characters with deep histories are always exciting to watch grow and interact. My favorite character of all time, though, would have to be Filippo Maria Visconti, from Book V, though. That's one where I felt my research really paid off. He was totally insane, of course, so he had all of these historical quirks... I derived immense joy from working them into his FC appearances.
11. I know you have some 'grunts' that you write for, such as George, Alexander, and Carl that my character has turned into 'corporals', along with others. How do you feel about that, since you originally intended them to stay as 'grunts'? And do you think overall it was a good idea to promote some of the grunts?
Well, it's good and it's bad. On the one hand, I was hoping to keep them in the background, as characters I could break out when nothing else was going
on.... they were originally intended as foils to Patrick O'Barr, who I killed off at the end of Book V, and I was considering having them fade into the background in Book VI, since I was fully expecting to have a slew of other characters to write for. On the other hand, it plays into an old trend whereby the authors inevitably wind up writing for sergeants or lieutenants -- and such a trend makes it a lot easier for characters to interact on a variety of levels. So essentially being forced to keep them around has given them more fleshed-out personalities. Besides, I like their new role as the unwilling corporals.
12. Having a raft of characters doing different things, do you find it difficult to write for them since they ARE doing such different things?
No, I don't think that, specifically, has ever given me trouble. It can be refreshing, in fact, to jump from character to character and plot to plot --
even if they're involved in the same event, you can give different characters a fresh perspective. I often wish I had more time to devote to individual characters, though.
13. Of the 'regular' writers, which ones do you do you think have really worked hard to contribute and enhance the FC experience?
Well, LD's ability to get people involved is legendary. But this Book in particular, I really have to call you out, Amric, along with redwolf and Valdemar -- you guys have made a heroic effort to keep things afloat when we hit a slow patch. Without your work, the Book likely would've ground to a
halt by now... and your level of involvement is particularly amazing, since you and RW both have only been with us since Book V!
14. Do you think of the Free Company as a community of sorts?
Well, the FC's always struck me as a community within the larger AAR forum
community. There are few projects on these boards where you get to work
quite so closely with other writers in crafting and executing a story. There are folks who come around to these forums chiefly for the FC (myself included). So inevitably it lends itself to a close-knit atmosphere. Folks who haven't given it a shot don't know what they're missing... and contrary to popular belief, they don't need to read six books to jump in. (Yes, that's a shameless plug.
15. What do you think makes the FC so successful for so long?
I think there are a lot of factors that play into it... a well-crafted story, excellent authors, great interaction. And, perhaps most importantly, incredible writing. There are some posts I can think of which easily exceed the vast majority of commercial fiction... and possibly even a lot of real classics of sci-fi and fantasy. Taken as a whole, the Books are easily as good or better than most things on bookshelves today (if longer, and not necessarily always as clean.)
16. If you had to do it all over again, knowing what you know now, would you do it?
Absolutely... though perhaps a little differently. If I had my druthers, I would've kept more people around for Books III, V and VI... but of course, that requires a level of power I can't lay claim to. For my own part, I think I'd try to post more frequently. But really, the FC's been a great experience for me. It's even boosted my ego enough that I occasionally consider forgetting all this lawyer stuff and becoming an author. It'd probably be more fun.
17. And finally, who is The_Hawk<and don't even think of the old saw of legal eagle for lawyer and that is why you chose it!>
I wish I was so subtle. No, my last name's Hawk, so my moniker isn't a real surprise. Who am I? Well, the short version... soon-to-graduate law student, editor-in-chief of the Florida Journal of International Law, aspiring author, and avid game player. Doesn't leave much time for things like "food" or "sleep", of course.
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