The Jed Herne Show

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.

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

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

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

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

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

This is a full guide to writing captivating character arcs in your fantasy novel. Apply for my Fantasy Outlining Bootcamp: https://jedherne.com/outlineGet my '5 Days to Better Fantasy Characters' course: https://character-course.carrd.co/

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

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/W2ZR5UT3OUoApply for my Fantasy Outlining Bootcamp: https://jedherne.com/outline