Q: First of all congratulations on your victory. How will it feel to wear the silver medal?
It has come as a bit of a shock. I was making no headway the AAR competitions, so I had my sights set on the Bronze with my TotW efforts.
I can't be objective about Spite of Severus, it's my baby and I love it, but it didn't seem to appeal to the electorate. Nevertheless I continued plugging away because I enjoyed the way the story developed and people posted encouragements.
Q: Why did you choose especially this era, this mod, and this faction?
SeniorBatavianHorse introduced me to the late Empire with his wonderful AARs and his energy on the IBFD forum. After my initial WRE campaign, I looked at the Romano-British and saw that they had an awesome array of heavy cavalry, so I tried the Picts just for the challenge. After losing my first two campaigns within a couple of years I came to the conclusion that the only way to win was to go-for-broke against the Romano-British. It seemed the perfect premise for a story.
I wanted a Roman character because he is easier to write (lots of historical info available to round him out) and “Spite of Severus” just popped into my head unbidden. I was amazed to discover that Septimus Severus actually died in Britannia and that what I thought of as Hadrian's Wall was actually the Wall of Severus (Hadrian's original wall being mostly an earthwork).
Q: Tell us a little about your writing method. F.e. do you come up with the story in advance, or go with the flow of the gameplay? :hmmm:
I need an interesting concept before I can start. Severus the renegade was a god-send because being outside of the game he is free to go anywhere and talk to anyone.
My method is to play the campaign a bit, taking screen-shots. Later I try to imagine why things happened that way, like in a detective story, so I feel as if I am discovering the AAR rather than creating it. I look for pictures to support my draft, I may actually replay battles to get more pictures. Finally, I let the episode rest for a little while, then come back and edit it until it feels right and flows well.
Q: What is your "secret ingredient" to success?
That's like asking centenarians how they have achieved their great age, one puts it down to abstinence and meditation, another to a glass of whisky every day. So I will just have to guess.
I think success comes with being able to bring the characters alive for your readers in a story that feels whole and satisfying. Spite of Severus works better than my previous AAR because it is more consistent and the story can be seen to be heading towards a definite conclusion.
Q: Where does Severus go next?
After the Britannia campaign is completed (with part XX) this story will end. But I am thinking of writing a sequel to cover the later campaign in Gaul. It would have a more detached nature and be written in the third-person.
Q: How would you encourage others to write after action reports?
There is great pleasure to be gained just from making a story, but it's even better when readers express their support. Now that we have a thriving community of writers, it is vital to make your writing attractive to casual readers. So polish those episodes until they shine! Cut away the inessential and make sure everything is clear and reads smoothly.
Q: Anything else you'd like to say?
Can I put my bronze medal on Ebay?