The Fantasy Writing Show with Jed Herne

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.

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.

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.