Thanks everyone for checking out the AAR and for all the encouragement! Extra special thanks to Judas Maccabeus for selecting it as the weekly showcase! It's actually very appropriate, because his "Trees of Autumn" was a major inspiration for me to take the plunge into the dangerous world of serious AARs.
A character-driven AAR has always been something I wanted to try, but for whatever reason it was a long time in coming. After finishing "Bearly Surviving" I was pretty much all "one-linered out" and was ready to finally give it a shot.
The original plan, believe it or not, was to write one as Apulia. I decided against it when I just couldn't connect with any of the characters (except for the bastard child). I didn't understand the historical context of all these Normans in Italy either, which certainly didn't help.
If I have a motto for AAR writing, it's "when in doubt, Russia." When a Moscow game proved interesting, I knew I was all set.
Each update in the AAR consists of 3 or 4 scenes, each one following a different character. This style of multiple viewpoints and plot lines is a lot of fun to write and I think it gives readers more chances to connect with different characters. Another advantage is it lets me play around with different tones within the same post. The biggest danger is keeping everything straight and continuity: sometimes I have to go back several pages to make sure I'm not making some huge logical error.
I think the other unique aspect of "New Jerusalem" is that there is more of a focus on the human cost of conquest and on individual motives. I wanted to avoid the idea that characters only think in terms of "what's best for my nation." More often characters have irrational personal agendas that come into conflict with the greater good of Moscow. I'm also sometimes surprised at how much a character can grow and become very interesting when given space to do so, so I try to give that space.
Looks like it's time for me to get another update going. Thanks again, everyone!
