Share
The Fantasy Writing Show with Jed Herne
How to Write Your First Fantasy Novel in 2025 (Full Guide)
In this episode, I share my full step-by-step process for writing a great fantasy novel. After publishing four fantasy books (and after helping many other writers finish their own stories), I've got a lot of share when it comes to the craft of storytelling. This podcast compresses the most critical lessons I've learned from 12 years of experience so far. Enjoy!
Join my accountability & support community for fantasy writers: https://bit.ly/fantasy-guild
Timestamps:
00:00:00 - Introduction
00:00:45 - 1: PICKING YOUR IDEA
00:01:23 - Finding inspiration
00:04:34 - Trope brainstorm
00:06:49 - Narrowing down to 1 idea
00:08:34 - A harsh truth
00:12:03 - Choosing your scope
00:14:03 - Originality doesn’t exist
00:15:28 - Ideas are cheap
00:16:32 - 2: OUTLINING
00:21:03 - The purpose of outlining
00:23:38 - The Hourglass Method
00:24:12 - Exploring the suburb
00:26:01 - Finding your core (premise, theme)
00:39:47 - Guiding principles document
00:41:00 - Building character arcs
00:51:36 - 9-Point Story Structure
01:17:01 - Final thoughts on structure
01:18:06 - 3: WRITING YOUR 1st DRAFT
01:19:36 - The goal of a 1st draft
01:24:10 - Building good writing habits
01:29:23 - Track your word counts
01:32:12 - Do this when you get stuck
01:40:00 - More tips to make the 1st draft easier
01:47:37 - 4: EDITING
01:50:25 - Make notes on your 1st draft
01:53:15 - The 2nd draft (big changes)
01:54:43 - 3rd draft (specific passes)
01:58:17 - Working with early readers
02:04:29 - 4th draft (incorporate reader comments)
02:05:19 - Hire a pro editor
02:08:17 - The final draft
02:10:54 - ‘Finishing’ a book
Want to improve your writing even further? Then read my new book, Plotting Your Fantasy Novel.
More episodes
View all episodes
The Only 4 Causes of Writer's Block (And How to Fix It)
21:46|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.The Easy Way to Name Your Fantasy Characters (The Naming Diamond)
24:29|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/characterI Helped a Stranger Write & Publish a Fantasy Novel (Full Case Study)
29:17|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.I Wrote a Fantasy Novel in 42 Days (And You Can, Too)
19:17|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.How to Write the Middle of Your Fantasy Novel (Detailed Guide)
55:49|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.You’re Only Six Months Away from Finishing Your Fantasy Novel
06:42|In today's short episode, I share my thoughts on how to become a more consistent writer — and why most writers don't understand 'consistency' the correct way. Read Plotting Your Fantasy Novel: www.jedherne.com/plotI Read 761 Fantasy First Chapters & Kept Seeing These 5 Mistakes
22:37|There’s 5 critical first chapter mistakes I see new fantasy writers make all the time. I know about these because when writers apply for my classes or coaching programs, they have to send me an application that includes their first chapter. I've now read 761 first chapters from these applications. That’s a lot of data for me to learn from! So today, I want to share what I’ve learned with you, so that you can avoid these mistakes and instead write an amazing first chapter that makes people beg to read the rest of your book.Want to improve your writing even further? Read my new book, Plotting Your Fantasy Novel.Good vs Bad Fantasy Plots: The 5 Key Differences
18:10|Read my new book, Plotting Your Fantasy Novel. It just released yesterday!After publishing four fantasy novels, and teaching hundreds of writers in my programs, I’ve realised there are 5 main differences between good fantasy plots and bad fantasy plots. I’ve been thinking about this a lot, because over the past year I’ve spent well over 1000 hours writing Plotting Your Fantasy Novel — my first non-fiction book on the craft of storytelling. If you’re writing a fantasy novel, and you want readers to be utterly captivated by your plot, it’s crucial to understand these 5 differences.The 6-Dimension Framework That Creates Truly Realistic Fantasy Cultures
12:02|Have you ever struggled to write about a fantasy culture that feels meaningfully different from your own? Because of the societies we grow up in, we all have these inbuilt assumptions about the way things are. However, the best worldbuilders know how to get outside of those assumptions, so that they can create unique, different, realistic, and immersive cultures. My friend recently showed me a useful framework for doing this. In today's podcast, I talk about the six key dimensions of culture, and how you can use these to improve your worldbuilding. Use the country comparison tool I mentioned: https://www.theculturefactor.com/country-comparison-tool