Hockey Hunk Season 4 Primer – A Q & A with GRUFFY!
#1 of Hockey Hunk Season 4
Hockey Hunk Q&A and ramble with yours truly Gruffy!
_ Striped fan art by Gritou , who drew this awesome piece of Lord Mistwillow! Thank you again, Gritou!_
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Hehhey, folks!
Season 4 of The Hockey Hunk is in the works, but here's something to keep the pressure off me for a little while - a discussion between Gruffy and Gruffy, talking about what goes on behind the scenes of HH - a nice, long chat about writing, character backgrounds, inspiration, and other things HH - so please, take a chance to see an exclusive, never-before glimpse to the inner workings of the story, to Gruffy's writing methods, and leave your own questions in the comments for swift answers : )
Have a fun and interesting read y'all!
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So, Gruffy, hello!
Hello, Gruffy! So nice to be here with you!
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Why, thank you!
It is my pleasure. I've been wanting to do something like this for a while now!
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A first time for everyone, eh?
Indeed : ) *chuckle*
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So, could you start by telling us when Season 4 is going to premiere?
I'm afraid I can't answer that yet. *chuckle* It's going to take me some more time to formulate the exact course of the season, and then there's the actual writing. *chuckle* But it's not just the writing, of course. Real life has kicked in too, and I am quite busy. But that doesn't mean no Hockey Hunk. Writing the story is part of my almost daily schedule when I am working on it, so it's definitely an integral part of my life by now. There's a whole lot of things going on, of course. Including being hooked on Once Upon a Time and watching the entire season 1 on DVD... 
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So when is it coming???
A couple more weeks, I'd say. That's the closest estimate I can give you at the moment. I don't want to make promises I can't keep. That would be just mean and dumb. But I am here now, to answer any questions you might have, of course.
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Awwwwww shucks!
So let the questions come, tiger to tiger!
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How about a very classic one to begin with? Just where the hell did you get the idea to start writing The Hockey Hunk?
_ I wish there was an easy answer to that. *chuckle* But I'm afraid it's not perfectly simple. It's been such a long time since I started, too, and perhaps time has made the memories fade a little. But let's just call the beginning and the creation of the series a very happy co-incidence of events._
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Did you write the initial story with the plan to expand it into a series?
I think I have to confess a no here. It was just a story about a lion meeting a hot Doberman in a gay bar and the big guy surprises the lion by telling that he would be interested in a hot romp on the bottom. And I think that's it - a fun scenario, like most of my one-shots or one-smuts, as some people call them. It's simply something that happened. I don't mind!
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It's not the first story you wrote that was set in The Ramrod.
I think it was the third one. I think the first one was the one called "Bear With Me" that introduced the setting of the Ramrod - and even Demetrius appeared there, though at the time identified as "that otter with a tongue piercing", but that story of course revolved around a very...oral-fixed bear getting laid in the bar. That was followed by "I Always Know", which was about a random canine scoring some married man's booty in the bar. That was a really quick one, that. *chuckle* "Bear With Me" was quite long and well-received in comparison.
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So did you plan a series of stories set in the Ramrod?
I wouldn't call it a series, really, though some people at the time referred to the first Hockey Hunk story as part of the "Ramrod series" or the like. They were just one-shots that happened to share a common place of origin. *chuckle* Perhaps even lazy of me, so that I wouldn't have to be bothered with coming up with a real reason for two guys to hook up except that they just had happened to walk into a gay bar and maybe were looking for company. Certainly, a very intriguing prospect in the sense that it'd offer me a lot of opportunities to explore different characters who just might happen to enter the place. Of course, I had fun playing with the place, too, and the stereotypical setting, and the clichés attached to the place - the party boys and the leather daddies and whatnot. I've kept that up in HH, too.
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So where did Rory and Victor come in?
I don't know, really. At its best, inspiration simply involves opening my word processor and putting my hands on the keyboard and start writing. Sometimes stories are like - they just happen. Sometimes I plan stories well in advance - I have outlines for several stories written down, great, wonderful stories I enjoy thinking about, but knowing the amount of work they require always makes me feel a bit intimidated. *chuckle* But with the Hockey Hunk, there was none of that, because it just kept on happening and happening and I almost had no control. *snicker*
So call it just a happy series of events that led us there?
Perhaps so! *chuckle* But there's more to it than that, and I can talk about that more later. But to return to the very genesis of the story, I must admit that first, it was just another one-shot, one of the many I had written at the moment. One of the quicker ones, too. But I guess that once we got to chapter 2 and actually met the characters in a non-sexual setting, I think that's where the characters really came alive. And they got their names, too. *chuckle*
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Where did you get the names? I'm so damn curious!
I've got two main methods for naming characters - one is the pure inspiration technique, which means just choosing a name, and the second one is the...hehe..."chronological" technique, if we might call it that. I've got a web page I go to, which lists the most popular names given in the US, divided by decade - so, if I might want to write a story about a thirty-something guys, I just go there to see what were the most popular names given to males during the period 1981-1990, and then I'll just browse the list and feel out for the most appropriate names. *chuckle* I tend to avoid the most popular ones, though, because if everyone was called Michael and John in my stories, that'd lead into confusion.
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That's probably oddly geeky, but I recognize the fact that while the most popular names are the same a year after year, there are always different trends and fads - different names were fashionable in the 1970's than the ones that are given to kids today. So there's an added factor of realism, and simply staring at that big, huge list of names acts as a reminder of how many different names there are in the first place. *snicker*
But to get back to the world of Hockey Hunk, I think the origins of the names for Victor and Rory were quite incidental and inspired. I've played with the idea that maybe Rory is named after The Doctor's companion, in Doctor Who...*snicker* but I'm not sure if I should commit myself to that thought. Maybe I was influenced by hearing that name so often on the show. I can't remember any particular reason for choosing Victor as the Dobie's name. It's a nice slightly old-fashioned name, I think. But Rory's last name is a bit more straightforward a thing - I got that name from the catalogue of the exo planets, which are usually called Gliese-something. *chuckle* Soooo geeky.
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_ _ It's quite amazing that a simple "one-smut" has become a 100+ chapter plot and character - driven story that's affected so many people.
I think that the key to that was the bookstore, really. *chuckle*
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Oh?
Well, if we think about every primary element of the story, the first one I thought up was probably a bookstore called The Albrecht Brothers. That happened much before the story. Much earlier. *chuckle* I had this idea about the bookstore, but I didn't really have a plot or characters to go with that. But I did envision it to be a bit different from how the store is presented in the current story, of course - more musty and old-fashioned. The current store is actually very modern, except for the downstairs that is deliberately old-fashioned to reflect the second-hand nature of the merchandise there.
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Hahah, thinking about this really makes me realize how long it has been since I've written properly about the bookstore. We've been away for all of season three! About time we got back there, I think. Season 4 will probably be a "going to the roots" kind of a thing in that sense, at least part of it. It's about time to meet the rest of the cast properly. Can't let Rory steal all the spotlight, after all.
So does this mean that the bookstore staff was there too, before Rory?
*chuckle* No, they're fresh creations and I came up with them as they appeared for the first time, so the first time you see Mason or Marge, for example, that's the first time I thought about them, and that's how you get them. *chuckle* However, the names of Mason and Crystal are something I stole from a list of "Might be used" names for another story I planned at one point way before The Hockey Hunk. So the characters are new, but the names are..."old" in that sense.
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Well don't just stop there...
*chuckle* This brings us to the fun point of Lord Mistwillow, who is actually the oldest character in the Hockey Hunk "universe", and whom I came up with way before anything else in the story.
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Wow!
I had this idea about a fantasy book author, and I think that somewhere in my archives exists a couple of pages of a story idea, where Lord Mistwillow would be sitting in a café minding his own business, and then the waiter would recognize him, and his peace would be spoiled. *chuckle* So there's not much to it, except the idea of a fantasy author. And of course, Ms. Lopez...*snicker* her name was there, along with "Mason" and "Crystal", though since they were just a couple of names written down with no character notes or anything of the sort attached to them, so I can't claim that those three characters existed properly before we finally met them in The Hockey Hunk. But we could perhaps call them the very embryonic seeds of something bigger. Just maybe.
So what happened to this old story?
The same thing that can happen to stories. Sometimes you've got an idea but it isn't up for a story. Or maybe YOU aren't up for a story yet. Sometimes stories make you wait before they start happening properly. Sometimes they never happen. In the case of Mistwillow, his concept remained in my mind, and he simply fit in to the new story of The Hockey Hunk.
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That's a long way in the making, then!
In a sense, yes, but sometimes good things make us wait for them. *Chuckle* Sometimes it's much easier, though. Peter, for example, and Cobb, they're pure inspiration. Perhaps crazy inspiration, too. *snicker*
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You just mentioned two of the perhaps most popular supporting characters of the story. Anything you want to tell about them that we don't know yet?
Well, there's the fact that I came up with Peter while cooking dinner for myself. I was thinking about the story while stirring my food and that's where Peter happened. Guess I was thinking "well if Rory had this complicated friendship with..." and the rest you know. Well, the parts that I've told yet. There's much more to it than that, of course.
Talk about some inspiration!
*chuckle* I know!
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How about Cobb?
Well, he just happened. *Chuckle* I found myself liking the idea of Victor having a twin. It makes for a fun dynamic. And Cobb is just COBB! He's just the kind of a character a story benefits from, because he is disruptive force with no malevolent intent behind his actions. Chaotic, in a way, but funny! And since he has no filter between his brain and his mouth, he can also say things others would never say. It's a good way to rattle the character's minds. *snicker* But I think he is also one of the more spontaneous creations in the series, and I like him for that.
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So how do you usually go on writing a chapter of the story? What goes on before and during the writing process?
Well, it begins months before actually writing the chapter, usually during a season break when I do the actual planning for the basic premise of a season. I write an outline of the season, with possible chapter divisions - yes, those smaller gruffhangers are also well-planned - and once I'm happy with that, I can start with the actual writing of a season! Then we get to the actual work part of writing, which is also where much of the action happens creativity-wise as well, as it happens. *smiles*
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_So, usually you'll find me with an empty Word document, with my season synopsis open in the other file, and I recall what happened in the precious chapter, consult my notes, and then I start writing. Since I know what I have to accomplish with a chapter, I simply start writing with the intention of taking it to the conclusion I need it to have - but what happens in-between is at my discretion. *chuckle* It's where all the fun things happen, obviously, because I get to write the dialogue and Rory's stream of consciousness musings, and integrate all sorts of subconscious and deliberate jokes into the story....it's really when all of it happens. It's quite feverish - writing a chapter can take anything from 1 hour to six hours, depending on how intensively I am working on it. I also have the bad habit of leaving it to the day of publication, so usually what you get to read was written only hours previously. *snicker* It's really my preferred method for the moment, because it allows me to put some real energy into the actual writing process. The planning in advance helps a lot, obviously. I don't think I could do it without, since this is such a complex story, with many layers. _
So there's some heavy duty writing going on until the last minute?
All too often, yes. *Chuckle* But it works for me, and I do enjoy doing it. Makes for a nice, quick afternoon of writing, and then I can just sit back and watch the comments come in.
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There's a lot of feedback on each chapter! Has the feedback made you change things in the story, or perhaps re-consider story points due to reader response?
I have to be awfully selfish while reading the comments, in the sense that no matter what people are saying, I have to stick to what I have planned to it - it would breach my integrity, should I write the story as "per request" - and I get the feeling that it would lead into a story that would soon become bothersome to read. *chuckle* I have to let things happen at their own pace, so that the character and plot development comes through. I do love reading about people's speculations and theories, though, and sometimes, I admit, I feel outright envious over some of the ideas people put forward, they're so good that I get the "awww man why didn't I come up with that! That's great! But my integrity as the author of the story also demands me not to steal those ideas, so it may be a bitter pill, but it also encourages me to write a better story. *chuckle*
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A good example would be Kreos 's fan art of a Haakon and Mason sending Rory a "get well" card that was actually a cheeky photo of the two. That is such a cute idea that I instantly wished I would've done something like that on the story. It was simply so good and fun. *chuckle* But alas, it is not always to be, and hence, I have to keep struggling.
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Do you ever change the plot based on people's speculations? Do you throw people off after you find out that you've been "discovered"?
Sometimes people come awfully close to guessing what someone's motive is or what someone is going to do next, but since it's usually a single voice among the comments, it's not exactly threatening to spoil the surprise for the rest. Besides, that person who guessed it right is bound to feel great for being able to say "NAILED IT" when the guessed plot turn happens. But no, I do not modify the story to simply throw people off my track once they are getting close. That would be just mean. Hence I simply write what I have planned, and I stick to my plans, because that's what a good author does. You write for yourself. But since this story has so many active readers, I do think that I also write for others too, with this one, but I see that as simply as a responsibility for upholding the quality of the story, and staying true to myself, and my story.
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You really get a lot of comments on The Hockey Hunk!
I'm always amazed by how many regular and semi-regulars the story has managed to attract. I am very grateful for everyone who takes the time and effort, and I am especially happy to see that some people also take to commenting other people's comments as well, to make it even more interactive. *Chuckle* I'm sure that talking among each other is much more productive, too, since I have my own vested interests and can't really openly say anything except "Hmmm, that's interesting!" to most of the fun, and sometimes dangerous accurate theories people are proposing, *Chuckle* But yes, I do like the comments, and I hope that they keep coming! Keeps me on my toes, at the very least!
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Where do you get the inspiration for your characters and their life stories? Is any HH character based on yourself or people you know?
I'm sure a lot of the inspiration comes from things that have happened to me - I do imagine that Albrecht Brothers bookshop to appear quite a lot of like a bookstore I visit frequently, when it comes to the fittings and the general arrangement of the floor, but that's just one small things. I'm always amused when writers complain that they don't know what to write about - it's usually a pretty common plot point, too, an author claiming that they can't write because they haven't experienced anything yet. That's nonsense! You can write interesting things about almost everything, especially the small things in life, because they always give you the "wow, I sometimes do that!" feeling that makes it fun. The illusion of real life is maintained, even if the story and characters and situations are purely fictional. Sometimes I just pick up things I see on the news, such as Alex's karaokespinning, which I saw on a news story, and I just had to put it in!
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Hence, I can agree that tiny parts of my life are there, but it's small inconsequential things like that. I'd be shocked if they weren't there. As to the other question, I can't claim anyone to be an author surrogate or a Mary Sue. *chuckle*I'm simply not interesting enough to warrant insertion into a story. *snicker* Of course from a literary point of view, the characters must serve some basic, trope-like purposes in-story, so if Cobb is the "chaotic evil to keep the lovers from apart" and Peter is "the wise friend" and whatnot, I have to keep those roles in mind as well, besides enjoying the simple fact that they are deep, complete characters, with motives and thoughts that I am privy to. *smiles*
Do you have any particular literary influences when it comes to HH or writing in general?
I've enjoyed the furry slice of life web comics "In Search Of (ISO) and Graveyard Greg's Carpe Diem series, which I see as some of the best and funniest examples of furry writing, and slice of life, too. I'm not sure if I should call those as direct influences, but I could say, they are amusing reads, and really something to look up to, when meddling with my own stories. Some good storytelling there, I think, and interesting characters. ISO is also damn funny visually, so very creative, that it adds a whole another layer. But there are layers on HH, too, of course.
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Layers?
Well, there's the story itself, which is the layer of the plot and action, but the characters are another layer, and then there's the composition of the text itself - I could even call that the art of the writing, in the sense that it's not just the story you're telling, but how it is told. All the little puns and in-jokes and how I decide to formulate a sentence, or how Rory always keeps snuffling at things... *chuckle* it really is a lot of things that are going on at the same time. Much of it is just to amuse myself, like most of the in-jokes. Sometimes people call me on them, but for most part, they go past unnoticed. I doubt anyone would have thought that almost all streets in Kirk City are named after characters in the British TV series Downton Abbey and Upstairs, Downstairs, for example. *chuckle*
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That's damn geeky!
Oh I know! That's why it's so much fun : )
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HH takes place in the fictional town of Kirk City! Are your other stories set there as well?
I've sometimes played around with the idea of setting some unrelated stories there, or imply that some of my one-shots take place there, but I haven't gotten around to do that yet. Kirk City isn't a very firm entity in my mind - it just happens to be a conveniently fictional city I can play with, and that's where Rory and friends live. It inhabits the space of Rochester, NY, in the State of New York, in case you want to look it up on a map. *chuckle* There's no particular reason for that, except that I happened to like the location, and with that, it makes sense that Cobb takes a train from Chicago there, for example. It adds flavor to the story, I think, to give it a tangible location geographically. Scary, though, to think that the real city of Rochester happens to have a place called Cobb Hill...that must be an omen!
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You are well-known for writing plot-heavy stories with strong sex on them besides smut. Do you find it difficult to cross between these two "genres"?
Not at all. People tend to come to read my stories for the purposes of getting off, when it happens to be one of my dirty stories, and to have other kind of fun with the other stories, such as HH or one of my long, plot-driven one-shots. It's absolutely no problem for me. I am of course most pleased whenever people praise my more serious stories, rather than my one-smuts. *Chuckle* Call it a little allowance for artistic pride on my part.
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HH does have some sex in it, but it also deals with several strong, dark themes. Do you find any problems balancing the humor and the serious themes?
It's a delicate thing to do, but this story is about so many things that I would do it injustice if I didn't do everything I do with it. There can be sex in one chapter, stupid humor in the next, and extremely dark, seriously adult themes in the next, but that's all life for you. This story is meant to be an illusion of life, after all, and it's all there. Of course, since it's a drama, things have to be a bit more dramatic at all times than they would be in what we call "real life", but that is an allowance I have to make myself, to keep the story interesting. I do intend to keeping it very much real, though. I like the challenge of keeping the story interesting, through laughter, tears, and rolls in the bed.
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Speaking of which, there hasn't been much in the way of that kind of action... *nudge*
Sex in HH happens when the characters are in the position physically and mentally to have it, and season 3 really wasn't that place. *Chuckle* I've a feeling season 4 might be a change for the...better. It's good to remember that season 3 covers only 2-3 weeks in real time, so part of it is just the glacial pace of drama on my part. *Chuckle*
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So, Gruffy, what do you have in mind for season 4?
I have a "to do" list of fun ideas that I want to incorporate to the fabric of the season. It's not a very strict thing -I'd feel bored working on it if everything was set in stone. Things can be changed at my will, of course. *Chuckle* But I do have a general idea where it's going, where I want it to go, and whenever I write a chapter, I have a few tiny little immediate goals to get there. I know that a lot of the chapters are only people talking together, but that's how this story goes on...with people speaking to each other. Though, knowing Rory and Rory's issues, he's usually not talking to people and hence causing drama...*snicker* which is a major theme in the story as a whole, that is, communication and lack of thereof.
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But that doesn't answer the question, now does it now, Gruffy! *glare*
Heheh, well, I do promise that I shall keep all the on-going plotlines alive throughout season 4, expand on them, let us see more of the characters and their thoughts, and see where it takes us. Saying anything else would be simply spoilers.
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So who took the picture of Mason and Haakon????
Wouldn't you want to know?
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You're a mean Gruffy...*pout*
I know, I know, but I am doing you a service by keeping back now. *Chuckle* I assure you, it's quite difficult. Writing the story like I do, I often know about major plot twists months in advance, so I am hard to surprise - but I do enjoy seeing the reader reactions when they finally get to read it all. *smiles*
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So you're not going to give any hints on what will happen during season 4?
At this point, I can't. Sorry!
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Awwwww...
But I do have a lot of fun things planned, and I hope to make season 4 to be as awesome as the rest of the story, or even better! It's gonna be quite juicy, I think!
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Thank you for taking the time to answer the questions, Gruffy!
It's my pleasure. I've been wanting to do something like this for quite some time now, so it was about time! *smiles*
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Cheers, Gruffy! I can't wait for season 4!
Me either. Cheers indeed!
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