After reading hundreds of fantasy novels and publishing several of my own, I’ve found four key writing principles that consistently make a fantasy world feel truly immersive for readers. So if you want to write a world where readers truly feel like they are inside your setting, then you'll find today's video useful.

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There’s 12 big plot mistakes you might be making in your fantasy novel. After teaching over 200 fantasy writers in my programs, I’ve seen these issues so many times — and I’ve spent hundreds of hours helping writers fix them. That’s because even just one of these problems can destroy your entire story. And after publishing four books myself, I’ve certainly had to solve these issues in my own writing as well.

I also just recently finished the first draft of Plotting Your Fantasy Novel: a 150,000 word non-fiction book for writers.

So I'm kinda obsessed with the craft of plotting!

Today, I’ll show you exactly what these 12 plot mistakes are, and how to fix them — so that you can write a fantasy story that readers love.

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Flaws are the secret to making your fantasy characters relatable and interesting.

Yet most new fantasy writers approach flaws the wrong way.

I certainly made this mistake when I started out! However, after publishing four books and teaching over 200 writers in my programs, I’ve realised there’s a much better way to build meaningful flaws for your characters.

Once you see this, you won’t be able to ever unsee it — and you’ll realise that this approach has created some of the absolute best characters you’ve ever read.

Want to learn more about writing great fantasy characters?

Click here to join my free 5-day character development course.

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After publishing four fantasy novels (along with an interactive fiction novel), and coaching hundreds of writers, I've learned a lot about the craft in the past thirteen years. In today's episode, I'll share the ten biggest lessons I wish I knew before writing my first book. If I knew these lessons sooner, I would have saved myself years of struggle. So if you're looking to write a fantasy book of your own, you'll find this episode very useful.

Click here to join the waitlist for my upcoming book, Plotting Your Fantasy Novel.

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So, you’ve finished the first draft of your fantasy novel, and now you’re thinking, “how do I turn this messy pile of words into a story someone actually wants to read?”

When I finished my first fantasy novel 12 years ago, I had no idea what to do next. I spent four years trying to fix that book, and a lot of the time, it felt like I was making zero progress.

But since then, I’ve developed an editing system that has helped me publish four fantasy novels and get some lovely reviews.

I’ve taught this process to many of the 200+ writers I’ve worked with, and today I’m going to walk you through my entire editing system to help you craft excellent stories.

Get ProWritingAid (my favourite editing software) with a 20% discount on Yearly Premium and Premium Pro licenses: https://prowritingaid.com/pp/jed-herne?utm_source=youtube&utm_medium=partner-influencer&utm_campaign=Jed-Herne-2025&utm_content=guide-to-editing-your-fantasy-novel-video&utm_term=

⏲️ TIMESTAMPS:

00:00 - Introduction

00:35 - The 2 golden rules of editing

03:20 - What to do when you finish your 1st draft

08:59 - 2nd draft: big structural changes

14:54 - 3rd draft: improve characters

20:34 - Find early readers

27:22 - 4th draft: process reader feedback

29:16 - 5th draft: prose polishing

35:48 - 6th draft: proofreading and grammar

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Joe Abercrombie (author of The Blade Itself and many other brilliant stories) joins me to discuss the opening chapters from his new book, The Devils. This is an in-depth deep dive into the techniques Joe uses to hook readers, introduce characters, and develop an interesting fantasy world.

Click here to get my free 5-day character course.

Timestamps:

00:00 - Introduction

01:23 - Writing a great opening hook

10:59 - Does Joe read aloud during editing?  

12:05 - What makes 'good prose'?  

13:34 - Deep dive into Diaz’s character  

22:53 - Chapter transitions and pacing  

25:01 - Introduction of Alex 

30:03 - Using familiar tropes in fresh ways  

34:45 - Making metaphors multilayered  

41:00 - Worldbuilding through POV  

46:40 - Deductive vs inductive worldbuilding  

49:55 - Abercrombie’s anti-worldbuilding approach  

54:17 - How to introduce several characters at once

01:02:33 - Jed's favourite character from The Devils

1:04:55 - What is Joe trying to improve with his writing?

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Today I'm joined by Christopher Ruocchio, author of the Sun Eater series! I share my top 5 storytelling lessons from reading this excellent series, while Christopher shares his top 5 lessons from writing it. This will be a spoiler-free discussion for the first 40 or so minutes, and I learned SO MUCH from this wonderful chat. Enjoy!

00:00 – What is the Sun Eater series about?

02:31 – How to write a great hook

12:16 – The importance of outlining

26:49 – Creating complex characters

34:15 – Constraints as opportunities in writing

38:59 – Don’t be afraid to make bold choices

48:02 – Design to your strengths

1:02:06 – How to write soft magic

1:25:03 – Borrowing expertise to improve authenticity

1:27:50 – How to write a terrifying antagonist

1:41:59 – You don’t trust your readers enough

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