Explore every episode of the podcast The Fantasy Writing Show with Jed Herne

To celebrate my YouTube channel reaching over 100,000 subscribers, I'm answering 42 of your fantasy writing questions. Enjoy!

Join my free 5-day course to write better fantasy characters: https://jedherne.com/5-day-course

Join my First Chapter Mastery program: https://firstchaptermastery.com/

Apply for my 7-week Fantasy Outlining Bootcamp: https://jedherne.com/outline

Join my Easy Writing Habits course: https://easywritinghabits.com/

Freewrite Traveller (distraction-free writing laptop): https://getfreewrite.com/?rstr=6485 - use my affiliate link for a 5% discount.

ProWritingAid (great editing software): https://jedherne.com/prowritingaid - 10% discount with my affiliate link.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

I surveyed 367 fantasy readers to ask: what's the worst way to start a fantasy novel? In this episode, I share the top 10 most common responses - along with my tips for avoiding these bad opening mistakes.

Want to write a great first chapter in your fantasy novel?

Then check out my First Chapter Mastery program: https://firstchaptermastery.com/

This program also includes the option to get my personal feedback on your writing.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

I asked 348 fantasy readers about their least favourite story elements. In this episode, I share the top 10 most common responses, and provide my own analysis and thoughts on each 'hate.'

Watch the video version on YouTube: https://youtu.be/LU4Z33YshcU?si=O5VfY5hSnJHhVdR1

Apply for my Fantasy Outlining Bootcamp: https://jedherne.com/outline

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This simple technique will add tremendous depth, complexity, and realism to your fantasy characters.

Get my free writing craft book, '5 Lessons That Transformed My Writing': https://jedherne.com/lessons

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Avoid these mistakes to write better antagonists in your fantasy novel.

Apply for my Fantasy Outlining Bootcamp: https://bit.ly/fantasy-bootcamp

Watch the video version of this episode on YouTube: https://youtu.be/oS1Tu-Cg4sg?si=cXnjafZiaEsdTrvH

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode, I explore a simple 6-step process that you can use to easily structure the scenes in your fantasy book.

Get my Notion Scene template: https://bit.ly/scene-template

Watch the video version on YouTube: https://youtu.be/3XxhIGd5R4o?si=g6k8veO1nLs_2Xd3

Apply for my Fantasy Outlining Bootcamp: https://bit.ly/jed-bootcamp

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This is a full masterclass on writing better sentences in your fantasy novel, drawing from my experience of editing around 800,000 words over the past year.

Get ProWritingAid (20% discount with my affiliate link): https://jedherne.com/prowritingaid

Watch the video version of this episode on YouTube: https://youtu.be/hWGBJQxqHkM?si=PwIgA_2fx2SuD4lv

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

"There are four main reasons why you're struggling to finish your fantasy novel, and here's how to fix them." Today, I'm helping you break through your creative blocks and set yourself up to finally finish your debut novel.

Apply for Jed Herne's Fantasy Outlining Bootcamp: https://bit.ly/outlining_bootcamp

Get my Easy Writing Habits course: https://easywritinghabits.com/

Get my word count tracker template: https://jedherne.gumroad.com/l/tracker

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

"Studies show that smell triggers more emotion than any other sense. This is just one of the keys to writing great descriptions in your novel." In today's episode, I share the most common description mistakes I see new fantasy writers making, based on my experience of editing over 751,000+ words of fantasy stories so far this year.

Tools mentioned:

ProWritingAid - get the software here: https://prowritingaid.com/?afid=4301

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

"To become a great writer, study human psychology." When it comes to writing great fantasy novels, you need to write a lot and read a lot. There's no getting around that. However, over my author career, I've discovered several non-writing habits that help me tell better stories.

Many of these are incredibly simple to implement - yet incredibly powerful at the same time.

Join my Easy Writing Habits course: https://easywritinghabits.com/

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

"Small details create big emotions." In today's episode, I share the seven most useful lessons I took from The Emotional Craft of Fiction by Donald Maass, who has run a successful literary agency for over 40 years. Maass' clients include notable fantasy authors like Brent Weeks and Peter McClean, who have sold millions of books.

The Emotional Craft of fiction has been one of my favourite writing advice books ever since I first read it in 2019, so there's a lot to unpack in this episode. Enjoy!

Get The Emotional Craft of Fiction here: https://amzn.to/46WqI1U (affliate link)

Apply for Jed Herne's Fantasy Outlining Bootcamp: https://bit.ly/outlining-bootcamp

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

"Don't write what you know. Write what you've felt." In today's episode, Jed shares the most common main character mistakes new fantasy writers make, based on his experience of editing 19 novels and getting on 70+ coaching calls with authors over the last year.

Get Jed's new book, Kingdom of Dragons: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/jedherne/kingdom-of-dragons

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode, I cover seven principles that will make sure readers love your magic system. This is based on my experience of publishing four fantasy novels, and from critiquing hundreds of magic systems from other writers over the last few years.

Get my 'Limitations, Weaknesses, & Consequences' inspiration resource: https://jedherne.com/magiclimits

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"Promise readers a great future...then take it away." Today, Jed shares six tactics for writing more impactful, emotional character deaths in your fantasy novel.

This podcast was originally a YouTube video. Watch that video here:

Apply for my 6-week outlining bootcamp: https://jedherne.com/outline

Get my free book: '5 Lessons That Transformed My Writing': https://jedherne.com/lessons

Join my Easy Writing Habits course: https://easywritinghabits.com/

Apply for my 1-on-1 Story Coaching program: https://jedherne.com/coaching

ABOUT THE SHOW:

Jed Herne is the author of three fantasy novels: Fires of the Dead, Across the Broken Stars, and The Thunder Heist. He also wrote the bestselling video game, Siege of Treboulain. On this podcast, he shares the best writing advice he's learned along the way.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

"I used to hate prologues, but I've changed my mind." Today, I explore the unique narrative advantages a prologue can provide when compared to just starting with chapter one. To do this, I critique the prologues from A Game of Thrones by George R. R. Martin, Never Die by Rob J. Hayes, Dragon Mage by M. L. Spencer, The Lord of the Rings by J. R. R. Tolkein, and Mistborn by Brandon Sanderson.

Check out my next book (Kingdom of Dragons) on Kickstarter: https://bit.ly/kingdom-of-dragons-jed

This podcast was originally a YouTube video. Watch that video here: https://youtu.be/UXXyHybSdvw?si=2YM3fjqLeDl0rjBT

ABOUT THE SHOW:

Jed Herne is the author of three fantasy novels: Fires of the Dead, Across the Broken Stars, and The Thunder Heist. He also wrote the bestselling video game, Siege of Treboulain. On this podcast, he shares the best writing advice he's learned along the way.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This podcast was originally a YouTube video. Watch that video here: https://youtu.be/ivY-_im3NrU?si=RkZkaHSnhc_yo1Gw

Apply for my 6-week outlining bootcamp: https://jedherne.com/outline

Get my free book: '5 Lessons That Transformed My Writing': https://jedherne.com/lessons

Join my Easy Writing Habits course: https://easywritinghabits.com/

ABOUT THE SHOW:

Jed Herne is the author of three fantasy novels: Fires of the Dead, Across the Broken Stars, and The Thunder Heist. He also wrote the bestselling video game, Siege of Treboulain. On this podcast, he shares the best writing advice he's learned along the way.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This podcast was originally a YouTube video. Watch that video here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FQnXGP-So9c

Get my free book: '5 Lessons That Transformed My Writing': https://jedherne.com/lessons

Join my Easy Writing Habits course: https://easywritinghabits.com/

Apply for my 1-on-1 Story Coaching program: https://jedherne.com/coaching

ABOUT THE SHOW:

Jed Herne is the author of three fantasy novels: Fires of the Dead, Across the Broken Stars, and The Thunder Heist. He also wrote the bestselling video game, Siege of Treboulain. On this podcast, he shares the best writing advice he's learned along the way.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This podcast was originally a YouTube video. Watch that video here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EvqVj3RAK4U

Get my free book: '5 Lessons That Transformed My Writing': https://jedherne.com/lessons

Join my Easy Writing Habits course: https://easywritinghabits.com/

Apply for my 1-on-1 Story Coaching program: https://jedherne.com/coaching

ABOUT THE SHOW:

Jed Herne is the author of three fantasy novels: Fires of the Dead, Across the Broken Stars, and The Thunder Heist. He also wrote the bestselling video game, Siege of Treboulain. On this podcast, he shares the best writing advice he's learned along the way.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This podcast was originally a YouTube video. Watch that video here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RVDJpn0oGac

Get my free book: '5 Lessons That Transformed My Writing': https://jedherne.com/lessons

Join my Easy Writing Habits course: https://easywritinghabits.com/

Apply for my 1-on-1 Story Coaching program: https://jedherne.com/coaching

ABOUT THE SHOW:

Jed Herne is the author of three fantasy novels: Fires of the Dead, Across the Broken Stars, and The Thunder Heist. He also wrote the bestselling video game, Siege of Treboulain. On this podcast, he shares the best writing advice he's learned along the way.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This podcast was originally a YouTube video. Watch that video here: https://youtu.be/cGqO-9c-X9A

Get my free book: '5 Lessons That Transformed My Writing': https://jedherne.com/lessons

Join my Easy Writing Habits course: https://easywritinghabits.com/

Apply for my 1-on-1 Story Coaching program: https://jedherne.com/coaching

ABOUT THE SHOW:

Jed Herne is the author of three fantasy novels: Fires of the Dead, Across the Broken Stars, and The Thunder Heist. He also wrote the bestselling video game, Siege of Treboulain. On this podcast, he shares the best writing advice he's learned along the way.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This podcast was originally a YouTube video. Watch that video here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mO2vx_0TG34

Get my free book: '5 Lessons That Transformed My Writing': https://jedherne.com/lessons

Join my Easy Writing Habits course: https://easywritinghabits.com/

Apply for my 1-on-1 Story Coaching program: https://jedherne.com/coaching

ABOUT THE SHOW:

Jed Herne is the author of three fantasy novels: Fires of the Dead, Across the Broken Stars, and The Thunder Heist. He also wrote the bestselling video game, Siege of Treboulain. On this podcast, he shares the best writing advice he's learned along the way.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This podcast was originally a YouTube video. Watch that video here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sbsHUrYzLfI

Check out my Fantasy Worldbuilder website: https://fantasyworldbuilder.com/

Get my free book: '5 Lessons That Transformed My Writing': https://jedherne.com/lessons

Join my Easy Writing Habits course: https://easywritinghabits.com/

Apply for my 1-on-1 Story Coaching program: https://jedherne.com/coaching

ABOUT THE SHOW:

Jed Herne is the author of three fantasy novels: Fires of the Dead, Across the Broken Stars, and The Thunder Heist. He also wrote the bestselling video game, Siege of Treboulain. On this podcast, he shares the best writing advice he's learned along the way.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This podcast was originally a YouTube video. Watch that video here: https://youtu.be/4BbY4MukWeA

Get my free book: '5 Lessons That Transformed My Writing': https://jedherne.com/lessons

Join my Easy Writing Habits course: https://easywritinghabits.com/

Apply for my 1-on-1 Story Coaching program: https://jedherne.com/coaching

ABOUT THE SHOW:

Jed Herne is the author of three fantasy novels: Fires of the Dead, Across the Broken Stars, and The Thunder Heist. He also wrote the bestselling video game, Siege of Treboulain. On this podcast, he shares the best writing advice he's learned along the way.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode, I share 15 advanced worldbuilding techniques I learned from publishing four fantasy books, along with my interactive fantasy novel, Siege of Treboulain. I consider these techniques ‘advanced’ because I don’t often hear them discussed. However, I have found them extremely powerful, so by the end of this podcast, you should have lots of inspiration for your own writing.

Get my free 5-day character writing course: https://jedherne.com/5-day-course

Get ProWritingAid (10% discount with my affiliate link): https://jedherne.com/prowritingaid

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This podcast was originally a YouTube video. Watch that video here: https://youtu.be/hoFl8PGPnhQ

Get my free book: '5 Lessons That Transformed My Writing': https://jedherne.com/lessons

Join my Easy Writing Habits course: https://easywritinghabits.com/

Apply for my 1-on-1 Story Coaching program: https://jedherne.com/coaching

ABOUT THE SHOW:

Jed Herne is the author of three fantasy novels: Fires of the Dead, Across the Broken Stars, and The Thunder Heist. He also wrote the bestselling video game, Siege of Treboulain. On this podcast, he shares the best writing advice he's learned along the way.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This podcast was originally a YouTube video. Watch that video here: https://youtu.be/zX4yGcKUtEM

Get my free book: '5 Lessons That Transformed My Writing': https://jedherne.com/lessons

Join my Easy Writing Habits course: https://easywritinghabits.com/

Apply for my 1-on-1 Story Coaching program: https://jedherne.com/coaching

ABOUT THE SHOW:

Jed Herne is the author of three fantasy novels: Fires of the Dead, Across the Broken Stars, and The Thunder Heist. He also wrote the bestselling video game, Siege of Treboulain. On this podcast, he shares the best writing advice he's learned along the way.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This podcast was originally a YouTube video. Watch that video here: https://youtu.be/-5fjlhJSVbE

Get my free book: '5 Lessons That Transformed My Writing': https://jedherne.com/lessons

Join my Easy Writing Habits course: https://easywritinghabits.com/

Apply for my 1-on-1 Story Coaching program: https://jedherne.com/coaching

ABOUT THE SHOW:

Jed Herne is the author of three fantasy novels: Fires of the Dead, Across the Broken Stars, and The Thunder Heist. He also wrote the bestselling video game, Siege of Treboulain. On this podcast, he shares the best writing advice he's learned along the way.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This podcast was originally a YouTube video. Watch that video here: https://youtu.be/Cxr-TTdqFHs

Get my free book: '5 Lessons That Transformed My Writing': https://jedherne.com/lessons

Join my Easy Writing Habits course: https://easywritinghabits.com/

Apply for my 1-on-1 Story Coaching program: https://jedherne.com/coaching

ABOUT THE SHOW:

Jed Herne is the author of three fantasy novels: Fires of the Dead, Across the Broken Stars, and The Thunder Heist. He also wrote the bestselling video game, Siege of Treboulain. On this podcast, he shares the best writing advice he's learned along the way.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This podcast was originally a YouTube video. Watch that video here: https://youtu.be/Tx4V3g1cMmo

Get my free book: '5 Lessons That Transformed My Writing': https://jedherne.com/lessons

Join my Easy Writing Habits course: https://easywritinghabits.com/

Apply for my 1-on-1 Story Coaching program: https://jedherne.com/coaching

ABOUT THE SHOW:

Jed Herne is the author of three fantasy novels: Fires of the Dead, Across the Broken Stars, and The Thunder Heist. He also wrote the bestselling video game, Siege of Treboulain. On this podcast, he shares the best writing advice he's learned along the way.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This podcast was originally a YouTube video. Watch that video here: https://youtu.be/8SOHaty7soc

Get my free book: '5 Lessons That Transformed My Writing': https://jedherne.com/lessons

Join my Easy Writing Habits course: https://easywritinghabits.com/

Apply for my 1-on-1 Story Coaching program: https://jedherne.com/coaching

ABOUT THE SHOW:

Jed Herne is the author of three fantasy novels: Fires of the Dead, Across the Broken Stars, and The Thunder Heist. He also wrote the bestselling video game, Siege of Treboulain. On this podcast, he shares the best writing advice he's learned along the way.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This podcast was originally a YouTube video. Watch that video here: https://youtu.be/mcmQmyu4Aok

Get my free book: '5 Lessons That Transformed My Writing': https://jedherne.com/lessons

Join my Easy Writing Habits course: https://easywritinghabits.com/

Apply for my 1-on-1 Story Coaching program: https://jedherne.com/coaching

ABOUT THE SHOW:

Jed Herne is the author of three fantasy novels: Fires of the Dead, Across the Broken Stars, and The Thunder Heist. He also wrote the bestselling video game, Siege of Treboulain. On this podcast, he shares the best writing advice he's learned along the way.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This podcast was originally a YouTube video. Watch that video here: https://youtu.be/r8xcEQxXyDM

Get my free book: '5 Lessons That Transformed My Writing': https://jedherne.com/lessons

Join my Easy Writing Habits course: https://easywritinghabits.com/

Apply for my 1-on-1 Story Coaching program: https://jedherne.com/coaching

ABOUT THE SHOW:

Jed Herne is the author of three fantasy novels: Fires of the Dead, Across the Broken Stars, and The Thunder Heist. He also wrote the bestselling video game, Siege of Treboulain. On this podcast, he shares the best writing advice he's learned along the way.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This podcast was originally a YouTube video. Watch that video here: https://youtu.be/Xjh2I8-gJSo

Get my free book: '5 Lessons That Transformed My Writing': https://jedherne.com/lessons

Join my Easy Writing Habits course: https://easywritinghabits.com/

Apply for my 1-on-1 Story Coaching program: https://jedherne.com/coaching

ABOUT THE SHOW:

Jed Herne is the author of three fantasy novels: Fires of the Dead, Across the Broken Stars, and The Thunder Heist. He also wrote the bestselling video game, Siege of Treboulain. On this podcast, he shares the best writing advice he's learned along the way.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This podcast was originally a YouTube video. Watch that video here: https://youtu.be/UtsJAfnBzzc

Get my free book: '5 Lessons That Transformed My Writing': https://jedherne.com/lessons

Join my Easy Writing Habits course: https://easywritinghabits.com/

Apply for my 1-on-1 Story Coaching program: https://jedherne.com/coaching

ABOUT THE SHOW:

Jed Herne is the author of three fantasy novels: Fires of the Dead, Across the Broken Stars, and The Thunder Heist. He also wrote the bestselling video game, Siege of Treboulain. On this podcast, he shares the best writing advice he's learned along the way.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode, I'll show you how to lengthen a fantasy novel that's too short, without making it feel boring or slow-paced.

Join my free course on writing better fantasy characters: https://jedherne.com/5-day-course

Watch my 70-minute video on writing character arcs: https://youtu.be/wfoV-e7RMRo?si=sGnBX1m9HkyzEZ0E

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This podcast was originally a YouTube video. Watch that video here: https://youtu.be/4SZX2o8K6Vo

Get my free book: '5 Lessons That Transformed My Writing': https://jedherne.com/lessons

Join my Easy Writing Habits course: https://easywritinghabits.com/

Apply for my 1-on-1 Story Coaching program: https://jedherne.com/coaching

ABOUT THE SHOW:

Jed Herne is the author of three fantasy novels: Fires of the Dead, Across the Broken Stars, and The Thunder Heist. He also wrote the bestselling video game, Siege of Treboulain. On this podcast, he shares the best writing advice he's learned along the way.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

There’s six huge mistakes that will kill your fantasy novel on page one. I know this because I’ve edited fantasy novels for 34 writers over the last year and half. Plus, I’ve read through hundreds of opening pages from other writers who have applied to work with me — and I see these same mistakes over and over again.

I've also personally published four fantasy novels, and over the 12+ years I’ve been writing, I’ve had to learn about many of these mistakes the hard way.

The good news? Once you know how to avoid these 6 errors, you’ll be able to instantly hook your readers on the first page and leave them no choice but to binge through the rest of your novel. 

Join my First Chapter Critique workshop: https://jedherne.com/character-workshop

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode, Jed Herne explains a simple 1-minute habit that helped him write over 1 million words as a fantasy author.

Get my Writing Tracker here: https://jedherne.com/tracker

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This is a full guide to writing captivating character arcs in your fantasy novel.

Apply for my Fantasy Outlining Bootcamp: https://jedherne.com/outline

Get my '5 Days to Better Fantasy Characters' course: https://character-course.carrd.co/

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

If you're a new fantasy writer, you're probably making critical conflict mistakes in your novel that are killing the tension and making your story fall flat. In this episode, Jed covers the five most common conflict mistakes he sees new writers making, along with how to fix them.

Apply for Jed's Fantasy Outlining Bootcamp: http://jedherne.com/outline

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

I asked 348 fantasy readers about their favourite story elements. In this episode, I share the top 10 most common responses, and provide my own analysis and thoughts on each 'love.'

Watch the video version on YouTube: https://youtu.be/W2ZR5UT3OUo

Apply for my Fantasy Outlining Bootcamp: https://jedherne.com/outline

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.” - Steph

So 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.

In this episode, I share a 7-step framework for writing interesting character relationships in your fantasy novel.

If you would like my personal help to write a great fantasy novel, check out my Fantasy Outlining Bootcamp: https://jedherne.com/outline

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode, Jed Herne shares five principles to write better antagonists in your fantasy novel.

Want to write better characters? Check out Jed's free 5-day course: https://jedherne.com/5-day-course

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Today's episode is a deep dive to help you write more immersive, realistic, and unique fantasy cities. Before I became a full-time author, I was an architect. So as you can probably imagine, I've got a LOT to say on this topic - including some ideas you might not have heard before. Enjoy!

Get 'The Ultimate Guide to Rebuilding a Civilization' with a 10% discount: https://jedherne.com/rebuild (then use code JED10 before May 25th)

Thanks to Hungry Minds Publishing for sponsoring this podcast!

PS: I'd highly suggest watching the video version of this on my YouTube channel, because there's a lot of maps, artwork, and other graphics I use throughout. Click here to watch the video.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Have you ever found yourself writing a scene in your fantasy novel that just felt a little boring?

Well, there’s a simple approach you can use to fix that and make any scene more exciting.

I call this the SLED method.

And it’s a technique I’ve used again and again through the last 12 years of my writing career, in which time I’ve published four fantasy novels and a video game.

It hasn’t just worked for me. I’ve taught 150+ fantasy writers in my different classes and programs, and this has given me a lot of experience of using the SLED method to troubleshoot scenes and help to improve them.

So today, I’ll show you how to use it to make any scene more exciting, because knowing how to write great scenes is the foundation of writing a great novel.

***

Get my free 5-day character development course: www.jedherne.com/character-course

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

There’s 10 big dialogue mistakes that new fantasy writers tend to make. I know that because I’ve now read through hundreds and hundreds of applications for the writing classes and programs I run, and I see these issues come up all the time. And from my own experience of publishing four fantasy novels and a video game, I’ve had to learn about these mistakes the hard way.

So in this podcast, I’m going to show you what the mistakes are, and how to fix them, with tangible ‘before and after’ examples along the way.

***

Get my free 5-day character development course: www.jedherne.com/character-course

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Writing your fantasy novel can be hard. But after publishing four of my own fantasy novels, and after helping lots of other writers finish their books, I’ve found 10 simple cheat codes that make the process easier and more enjoyable — while also helping you craft better stories. 

***

Join the Fantasy Writer's Guild: my community where fantasy writers get weekly accountability, peer feedback, and my direct support - so that you can write a better book and have more fun along the way:

www.jedherne.com/guild

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The fantasy genre is full of brilliant mentor characters who force protagonists to grow, teach us valuable life lessons, and serve as deeply memorable, emotionally compelling figures.

These characters often become the moral spine of a story, shaping how protagonists see the world. But despite their power, mentor characters are rarely discussed.

They’re either written as tired tropes, or treated as story furniture: there to deliver wisdom, die early, and disappear.

What a wasted opportunity!

Because when you write a mentor well, you elevate your entire story. You create someone readers remember, even when they're no longer on the page.

So in today’s podcast, I’m breaking down six mentor archetypes that can help you do exactly that.

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