hii, i know youāve prob got way bigger things to worry abt, but i rly love your writing. like itās so good. i was just kinda wonderingā¦ after everything are you gonna write for the hughes brothers? no pressure or anything just curious :)
No worries. Yeah, thereās a lot going on right now in my life (which is kind of why I havenāt been posting much), but Iām still here.
First, I really want to finish my Willy series. I made a promise to myself that I wouldnāt start anything new until itās completed, and I fully intend to keep that promise.
As for the whole Hughes situation, Iām going to be honest. I always assumed they leaned heavily Republican. To me, it never felt like a secret. The people they associate with, certain comments, the overall atmosphere around them, it all pointed in that direction. So I understand why people are upset, but I canāt say Iām personally surprised.
That might also be because Iāve been part of the hockey world for over twenty years. I played myself, and my fiancĆ© still works in a European league, so Iāve spent most of my life around hockey players. After a while, you learn how to read the culture and the patterns within it.
That being said, yes, I will continue writing about them.
I completely respect anyone who decides not to. Writing is deeply personal, and everyone has their own boundaries. If stepping away feels right for someone, that is entirely valid.
For me, however, Iāve always drawn a clear line between real life and fiction. I might reference real events or people in passing, but the emotional depth, the character development, the reactions, the dynamics, all of that is created by me. When I write about Jack, for example, I am not picturing the real person in front of me. I construct a character inspired by him, but shaped entirely by my own imagination.
Sometimes that version may resemble reality; sometimes it may not. Thatās the nature of fiction. My goal has never been to replicate a real personality with complete accuracy. My goal is to build a compelling story and a world that feels authentic within itself.
What has always inspired me is the narrative of three brothers in the NHL, a close-knit family, that dynamic of ambition and loyalty. That foundation remains interesting to me, regardless of politics.
Iām also European, so Iām not living within the day-to-day reality of American politics. Perhaps that makes it easier for me to separate those aspects. From the beginning, I wrote with the assumption that they held conservative views, so my creative process was never dependent on a specific political image of them.
Even if I were to shift my focus to another player, it honestly wouldnāt guarantee anything.
For example, if I switched to someone like Celebrini, I would probably have the same feeling I have with the Hughes brothers. He grew up in the same hockey culture. His friend group leans very conservative, his best friend is from a Republican family, and from what Iāve seen, his environment is not that different. There is always a real possibility that his personal views might not fully align with mine either.
And I could continue that line of thought with plenty of other players. Realistically, almost everyone in this league comes from a similar background and culture. The chances of finding someone who perfectly matches every personal value are quite small. At some point, you would constantly be switching, and that just doesnāt feel sustainable.
That being said, I completely understand if someone chooses to move on to a different player because it helps their creative process. If that gives them peace of mind or makes writing easier, then thatās genuinely a good thing. Creativity should feel safe and inspiring.
For me, though, I tend to have this cautious feeling with almost every player in the league. Maybe that comes from having spent so many years in hockey and knowing the culture from the inside. Maybe itās just experience, or maybe itās a bit of healthy skepticism. Either way, it doesnāt really change how I write.
My stories are still my stories. The characters are still shaped by me. And that separation is what allows me to keep creating without feeling like Iām compromising myself.
For me, the solution is not to constantly search for a āperfectā option, but to continue creating the versions of characters that exist within my own fictional universe. I could, of course, invent a completely original hockey protagonist, and I deeply admire writers who build entire worlds from scratch. However, worldbuilding at that level requires a specific skill set and time commitment. At this point, I use real players as inspiration, not as exact representations.
So yes, I will continue writing. Yes, I will still accept requests.
But first, Iām going back to my Swedish god and finally finishing his story. š«¶
