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The Fantasy Writing Show with Jed Herne: Daily Summaries Delivered
by Jed Herne
Hi! My name is Jed Herne, and on this podcast, I share the best fantasy writing advice that I've learned from publishing four fantasy novels and coaching 170+ writers in my different classes and programs. My books include Kingdom of Dragons, The Thunder Heist, Across the Broken Stars, and Fires of the Dead. I also wrote Siege of Treboulain - an interactive epic fantasy novel, published by Choice of Games. I also created the Wizards, Warriors, & Words, and Novel Analyst podcasts. Expect to learn about plotting, character development, worldbuilding, magic systems, and lots more.
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- 1 weeks ago22 min
How to Describe Your Fantasy Novel in 1 Sentence
If you’ve ever told someone you’re writing a novel, you’ve probably been asked that horrible question of: “So what’s your book about?” When I was starting out as a fantasy writer, I would fumble this question so badly! It didn’t matter if I’d spent months (or even years) thinking about my story. All of a sudden, I’d be stumbling over my words, completely losing my grasp of the English language, and I’d describe my book in the most boring and confusing way possible. But fortunately, over the last fourteen years of writing — having now published quite a few fantasy novels — I’ve gotten much better at pitching my stories in a concise and engaging way.So today, I’m going to give you a simple 4-step process which makes it easy to write a great 1-sentence premise to describe your fantasy story. > Click here to get my free premise-building worksheet. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
- 3 weeks ago15 min
This 1 Change Makes Your Fantasy Prose 10x Stronger
There’s one simple change that will make your fantasy prose 10x more immersive and engaging for readers. This change follows something I call The Anchor Principle.Today, I’ll show you how I applied this principle to edit a scene for one of my writing students. Then I’ll show you the same passage in his final published book, so that you can see how he implemented this simple change to massively improve his prose. Once you learn how to use this Anchor Principle I’m about to show you, it’s going to make your writing so much stronger moving forward.Want me to personally help you write a great fantasy novel? Join my 12-Week Fantasy Writing Bootcamp.Read Michael Johnson's book, Children of Ziwei. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
- Aug 19, 202616 min
The Advanced Character Design Technique All Fantasy Writers Should Know
Want to write excellent fantasy characters with real depth to them? Then you might want to use a technique I call Dyadic Character Design. I would consider this to be one of the more advanced character-building techniques I’ve learned over the last fourteen years of writing. It’s helped me a lot with the four novels I’ve published, and it’s also helped many of my writing students as well. In today's episode, I’ll even show you how one of my students used it in the book he just published.Want me to personally help you write a great fantasy novel? Join my 12-Week Fantasy Writing Bootcamp.Read The Blood Map by my student, Peter Christensen: https://geni.us/blood-map Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
- Jul 26, 202621 min
The Only 4 Causes of Writer's Block (And How to Fix It)
Over the last 14 years of writing, I’ve found that there are really only four causes of writers block. Today, I want to help you understand what these four causes are (and how to fix them) so that you never get stuck when you’re writing a story. For a bit of context, over the past 14 years I’ve written 9 fantasy books, 4 of which are currently published. I’ve also released an interactive fiction novel, and I’ve also published a nonfiction book, Plotting Your Fantasy Novel, which was a #1 Amazon Best Seller during launch week. So while I’m certainly not the most prolific writer in the world, I think I’ve generally done a good job of avoiding writers’ block, and I want to share that experience with you today. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
- Jul 8, 202624 min
The Easy Way to Name Your Fantasy Characters (The Naming Diamond)
Have you ever struggled to find the right names for your fantasy characters? Maybe you feel like - until you find that perfect name - you can’t start writing their story? Well, over the last fourteen years I’ve been writing, I’ve felt that way plenty of times. But after publishing five books, I’ve developed a system I call the Naming Diamond, which makes it easy to create names that perfectly suit your characters. In today's episode, I'll show you how to use this tool.Join 5,000+ writers who have taken my free 5-day character development course: https://jedherne.com/character Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
- Jun 19, 202629 min
I Helped a Stranger Write & Publish a Fantasy Novel (Full Case Study)
Today, I'm joined by Michael Johnson. Three years ago, he joined my Story Coaching program to get my help with his first fantasy novel. That book — Children of Ziwei — is now published! In this episode, I wanted to share Michael’s journey with you, so that you can see what it takes to go from idea to published book. Most importantly, you'll see how Michael overcame the creative challenges he faced along the way. This episode includes real clips from our coaching calls, so that you can see exactly how we fixed his story’s biggest problems and brought his book to life. So if you’re going through the process of writing a fantasy novel as well, you’re going to find this video extremely useful. Watch the video version of this episode.Want my personal help with your writing? Apply for my 12-week Fantasy Writing Bootcamp. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
- Jun 8, 202619 min
I Wrote a Fantasy Novel in 42 Days (And You Can, Too)
I wrote the first draft of The Thunder Heist in 42 days, which by my standards is a pretty quick project! But I haven't always been a fast writer. In fact, my first novel took me 360 days to write the first draft. So in today's podcast, I’m going to explain the 5 factors that helped me write the first draft so fast, so that you can speed up the time it takes to bring your own novels to life. Want to improve your writing even further? Read my new book, Plotting Your Fantasy Novel. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
- Jun 2, 202655 min
How to Write the Middle of Your Fantasy Novel (Detailed Guide)
Writing the middle of your fantasy novel is hard. Lots of people talk about how to write a great opening, or how to write a great ending. Yet hardly anyone discusses the middle, and that’s a massive problem, because not knowing what to do with your middle is maybe the biggest reason why you’ll get stuck with your story.But that won’t happen to you, because in today's episode, I’m going to show you how to master the middle, so that you can confidently get from the start to the finish of your first draft, without giving up halfway through!Here's what we'll cover today:First, I’ll explain the two common pieces of writing advice that are secretly sabotaging your middles.Then, I’ll explain the better approach (which I’ve taught to many of my students, helping them master the middles of their stories).Next, I’ll plot a new fantasy novel in real-time, so that you can see how to actually build the middle of your own story.Lastly, I'll cover some important mindset and troubleshooting tips for getting through the middle of your first draft.Want to improve your writing even further? Read my new book, Plotting Your Fantasy Novel. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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About The Fantasy Writing Show with Jed Herne
Hi! My name is Jed Herne, and on this podcast, I share the best fantasy writing advice that I've learned from publishing four fantasy novels and coaching 170+ writers in my different classes and programs. My books include Kingdom of Dragons, The Thunder Heist, Across the Broken Stars, and Fires of the Dead. I also wrote Siege of Treboulain - an interactive epic fantasy novel, published by Choice of Games. I also created the Wizards, Warriors, & Words, and Novel Analyst podcasts. Expect to learn about plotting, character development, worldbuilding, magic systems, and lots more.
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