Advertise on podcast: The Fantasy Writing Show with Jed Herne

There are seven levers that control the pacing of your fantasy novel. In today's episode, I discuss how these seven levers work, and how you can use them to create perfect pacing within your writing. Knowing how to get the right pace for your plot is a critical skill, so I think you'll find today's episode very useful. Join the waitlist for Plotting Your Fantasy Novel: www.jedherne.com/plot Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Your title is usually the first impression readers have of your story. So if your title sucks, readers will forget about your book without a second thought. But if your title is great, your book will stand out from the crowd and readers will be desperate to know more. After publishing four books and working with hundreds of writers in my programs, I've discovered five principles that consistently lead to great titles. Today, I’ll be covering these principles, and then I'll be critiquing several titles from the members of my Fantasy Writer’s Guild, so that you can see these principles in action. Join the Fantasy Writer's Guild: jedherne.com/guild Watch my Siege of Treboulain video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cgzMpZlS3UU Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Most authors will tell you, “Ideas don't really matter. Any idea can be turned into a good story if you're skilled enough.” Personally, I think that’s bad advice. If you start with a weak idea, it puts flaws into your story right from the beginning, and you might only discover those flaws months later — while you’re in the middle of the first draft. After working with hundreds of writers to help them develop their fantasy novels, I’ve seen that it’s way easier to write an incredible book when you start with a strong story concept. This makes you more excited to write … and makes readers more eager to pick up your book. So in today's episode, I'll be sharing the seven key elements of a great fantasy story idea. Make sure you include these in your own work, and you'll find it much easier to write a great fantasy novel. *** Join the waitlist for Plotting Your Fantasy Novel (my upcoming book): jedherne.com/plot Listen to my 2 to Ramble episode about the Sun Eater series: https://open.spotify.com/episode/1NrEhYZsqk5kaqAQSqLsqG?si=6eb7ae3fe4e14a8c Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

There's a simple warm up and cool down routine that will help you quickly get into the flow of writing every day — along with helping you maintain long-term creativity and consistency. In this podcast, I break down the six steps behind this process. Knowing how to get into the 'writing state' every day is a big reason why I've been able to publish my fantasy novels. And from teaching this process to many of the writers I've worked with, I've seen so many writers improve their daily word counts and finish their novels faster than they ever imagined. Want to get weekly accountability and my personal support to help you write your fantasy novel? Apply to join the Fantasy Writer's Guild: jedherne.com/guild Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

After reading hundreds of fantasy novels and publishing several of my own, I’ve found four key writing principles that consistently make a fantasy world feel truly immersive for readers. So if you want to write a world where readers truly feel like they are inside your setting, then you'll find today's video useful. This podcast was originally a video. Click here if you want to watch the video. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

When it comes to writing a book, there are 5 key differences between good fantasy worldbuilding and bad fantasy worldbuilding. Understanding these differences will help you write more immersive, interesting fantasy worlds. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In today's episode, I'm interviewed by Joe Sidery as part of ProWritingAid's Novel November challenge. We discuss my early days as a writer (including the most miserable 3-month period of my life, which served as my catalyst to pursue writing full-time), how I grew my author platform, and what I've learned from coaching 200+ writers. We also discuss many aspects of the craft: choosing the right POV, writing battle/fight scenes, overcoming writer's block, and more. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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 - Introduction 00:35 - The 2 golden rules of editing 03:20 - What to do when you finish your 1st draft 08:59 - 2nd draft: big structural changes 14:54 - 3rd draft: improve characters 20:34 - Find early readers 27:22 - 4th draft: process reader feedback 29:16 - 5th draft: prose polishing 35:48 - 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 - Introduction 01:23 - Writing a great opening hook 10:59 - 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 once 01:02:33 - Jed's favourite character from The Devils 1:04:55 - 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 hook 12:16 – The importance of outlining 26:49 – Creating complex characters 34:15 – Constraints as opportunities in writing 38:59 – Don’t be afraid to make bold choices 48:02 – Design to your strengths 1:02:06 – How to write soft magic 1:25:03 – Borrowing expertise to improve authenticity 1:27:50 – How to write a terrifying antagonist 1:41:59 – 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.