The Fantasy Writing Show with Jed Herne

There’s 12 big plot mistakes you might be making in your fantasy novel. After teaching over 200 fantasy writers in my programs, I’ve seen these issues so many times — and I’ve spent hundreds of hours helping writers fix them. That’s because even just one of these problems can destroy your entire story. And after publishing four books myself, I’ve certainly had to solve these issues in my own writing as well. I also just recently finished the first draft of Plotting Your Fantasy Novel: a 150,000 word non-fiction book for writers.So I'm kinda obsessed with the craft of plotting!Today, I’ll show you exactly what these 12 plot mistakes are, and how to fix them — so that you can write a fantasy story that readers love. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Flaws are the secret to making your fantasy characters relatable and interesting. Yet most new fantasy writers approach flaws the wrong way. I certainly made this mistake when I started out! However, after publishing four books and teaching over 200 writers in my programs, I’ve realised there’s a much better way to build meaningful flaws for your characters.Once you see this, you won’t be able to ever unsee it — and you’ll realise that this approach has created some of the absolute best characters you’ve ever read.Want to learn more about writing great fantasy characters? Click here to join my free 5-day character development course. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

After publishing four fantasy novels (along with an interactive fiction novel), and coaching hundreds of writers, I've learned a lot about the craft in the past thirteen years. In today's episode, I'll share the ten biggest lessons I wish I knew before writing my first book. If I knew these lessons sooner, I would have saved myself years of struggle. So if you're looking to write a fantasy book of your own, you'll find this episode very useful. Click here to join the waitlist for my upcoming book, Plotting Your Fantasy Novel. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

So, you’ve finished the first draft of your fantasy novel, and now you’re thinking, “how do I turn this messy pile of words into a story someone actually wants to read?” When I finished my first fantasy novel 12 years ago, I had no idea what to do next. I spent four years trying to fix that book, and a lot of the time, it felt like I was making zero progress.But since then, I’ve developed an editing system that has helped me publish four fantasy novels and get some lovely reviews.I’ve taught this process to many of the 200+ writers I’ve worked with, and today I’m going to walk you through my entire editing system to help you craft excellent stories.Get ProWritingAid (my favourite editing software) with a 20% discount on Yearly Premium and Premium Pro licenses: https://prowritingaid.com/pp/jed-herne?utm_source=youtube&utm_medium=partner-influencer&utm_campaign=Jed-Herne-2025&utm_content=guide-to-editing-your-fantasy-novel-video&utm_term=⏲️ TIMESTAMPS:00:00 - Introduction00:35 - The 2 golden rules of editing03:20 - What to do when you finish your 1st draft08:59 - 2nd draft: big structural changes14:54 - 3rd draft: improve characters20:34 - Find early readers27:22 - 4th draft: process reader feedback29:16 - 5th draft: prose polishing35:48 - 6th draft: proofreading and grammar Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Today I’m going to show you six ridiculously simple ways to improve your fantasy novel. What’s great about these techniques is that they only take a few minutes to implement, but they can have a massive positive impact on your readers’ experience. I know this because I’ve used them in my own published fantasy novels, and I’ve seen amazing results teaching them to many of the writers I’ve worked with. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Joe Abercrombie (author of The Blade Itself and many other brilliant stories) joins me to discuss the opening chapters from his new book, The Devils. This is an in-depth deep dive into the techniques Joe uses to hook readers, introduce characters, and develop an interesting fantasy world. Click here to get my free 5-day character course.Timestamps:00:00 - Introduction01:23 - Writing a great opening hook10:59 - Does Joe read aloud during editing?  12:05 - What makes 'good prose'?  13:34 - Deep dive into Diaz’s character  22:53 - Chapter transitions and pacing  25:01 - Introduction of Alex 30:03 - Using familiar tropes in fresh ways  34:45 - Making metaphors multilayered  41:00 - Worldbuilding through POV  46:40 - Deductive vs inductive worldbuilding  49:55 - Abercrombie’s anti-worldbuilding approach  54:17 - How to introduce several characters at once01:02:33 - Jed's favourite character from The Devils1:04:55 - What is Joe trying to improve with his writing? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Today I'm joined by Christopher Ruocchio, author of the Sun Eater series! I share my top 5 storytelling lessons from reading this excellent series, while Christopher shares his top 5 lessons from writing it. This will be a spoiler-free discussion for the first 40 or so minutes, and I learned SO MUCH from this wonderful chat. Enjoy!00:00 – What is the Sun Eater series about?02:31 – How to write a great hook12:16 – The importance of outlining26:49 – Creating complex characters34:15 – Constraints as opportunities in writing38:59 – Don’t be afraid to make bold choices48:02 – Design to your strengths1:02:06 – How to write soft magic1:25:03 – Borrowing expertise to improve authenticity1:27:50 – How to write a terrifying antagonist1:41:59 – You don’t trust your readers enough Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this podcast, I explain the Pyramid of Prose -- a concept I wish someone had taught me when I started writing my first novel 13 years ago. Why is that? Well, 'prose' refers to the specific words you use to transmit your story from your mind into the reader's mind. It's crucial to master, because if you can't express your ideas on the page in an effective and emotionally compelling way, then none of the other elements of your story will work. So today, I'll be drawing from my experience (of publishing four fantasy books and coaching over 180 writers in my different programs) to walk you through the seven levels of this pyramid to perfect your prose, with lots of examples along the way.Get ProWritingAid (my favourite editing tool) with a 20% discount: https://prowritingaid.com/pp/jed-herne?utm_source=youtube&utm_medium=partner-influencer&utm_campaign=Jed-Herne-2025&utm_content=7-levels-of-prose-video&utm_term= (Use the code JED20 to activate the discount.)Thanks to ProWritingAid for sponsoring this episode!Note: The code 'JED20' is valid for 20% off Yearly Premium and Premium Pro licenses. It does not apply to monthly or Lifetime licenses.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In over 12 years of writing fantasy novels, the Hourglass Outlining Method is the single most useful tool I’ve developed.It’s the main reason why I’ve been able to publish my four fantasy novels, and I’ve also seen this method create amazing results for the 35 writers who’ve done my 7-week Fantasy Outlining Bootcamp.“This course was revelatory for me, and it was by far the best decision I’ve ever made in my writing journey.” - Matt Fagan“This is the best investment I’ve ever made in my writing.” - Christine“It has been immensely helpful in ways that I couldn’t even imagine.” - StephSo in this podcast, I’m going to show you how to use the Hourglass Outlining Method to plan your fantasy book, so that you can write captivating characters and gripping plots — along with enjoying a few other storytelling advantages that you might not expect.Watch the video version of this on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n6MwsZsjyoc&ab_channel=JedHerne Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode, I share 9 common side character mistakes that I often see new fantasy writers make. Learn how to avoid these, and you'll have a much better chance of creating side characters who feel realistic, interesting, and three-dimensional. If you want to write better side characters, click here to check out my free character development course: https://jedherne.com/character-course. Over 3000 writers have taken the course so far. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.