Aren't tropes just the worst? In this episode, I call out the most heinous ones - I bet you won't guess what common trope I detest!

Read my debut fantasy book, Fires of the Dead: http://bit.ly/FiresOfTheDead

For free fantasy & sci-fi stories, exclusive behind-the-scenes content, and to stay updated with my writing, join my free email newsletter: https://jedherne.com/club/

Aren't tropes just the worst? In this episode, I call out the most heinous ones - I bet you won't guess what common trope I detest!

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Read my debut fantasy book, Fires of the Dead: http://bit.ly/FiresOfTheDead

For free fantasy & sci-fi stories, exclusive behind-the-scenes content, and to stay updated with my writing, join my free email newsletter: https://jedherne.com/club/

Goodwill Hunting is one of the most emotionally resonant films I've seen. It has a way of getting under your skin and making viewers care. Today's episode analyses how it achieves this, drawing upon theories from The Emotional Craft of Fiction by Donald Maass. 

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Read my debut fantasy book, Fires of the Dead: http://bit.ly/FiresOfTheDead  

For free fantasy & sci-fi stories, exclusive behind-the-scenes content, and to stay updated with my writing, join my free email newsletter: https://jedherne.com/club/ 

Readers can only read forwards. Writers can cheat. Use this to your advantage, authors!

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Read my debut fantasy book, Fires of the Dead: http://bit.ly/FiresOfTheDead  

For free fantasy & sci-fi stories, exclusive behind-the-scenes content, and to stay updated with my writing, join my free email newsletter: https://jedherne.com/club/ 

Gabriel Bergmoser said that The Name of the Wind somehow makes a man playing an instrument more suspenseful than a man fighting a dragon. That's not an insult. That's a compliment, because Patrick Rothfuss' incredible fantasy novel is a masterclass in making small stakes feel huge. 

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Podcast I did analysing The Name of the Wind in more detail:  https://novelanalyst.com/2018/08/07/episode1/

For free fantasy & sci-fi stories, exclusive behind-the-scenes content, and to stay updated with my writing, join my free email newsletter: https://jedherne.com/club/ 

 For readers to appreciate how far characters have come, you need to show how far they've gone. This episode describes how.

Read my debut fantasy book, Fires of the Dead: http://bit.ly/FiresOfTheDead  

For free fantasy & sci-fi stories, exclusive behind-the-scenes content, and to stay updated with my writing, join my free email newsletter: https://jedherne.com/club/ 

Happy Saturday! Something special for you today :)

I recently gave an in-depth creative writing workshop to an audience of 10 year-olds. They were amazing! Such good questions, and such attentive engagement. In this workshop, I discussed the main tenants of good stories:

Character - who is happens to, and who makes things happen

For free fantasy & sci-fi stories, exclusive behind-the-scenes content, and to stay updated with my writing, join my free email newsletter: https://jedherne.com/club/

In The Emotional Craft of Fiction, a wonderful writing advice book, legendary literary agent Donald Maass outlines how writers can make readers feel emotion. As he says: "readers can read a novel, or they can experience it."  One technique to achieve this emotional engagement is to consider plot vs. emotional goals. Having both is the key to empathy. In today's episode, we'll examine how Toy Story achieves this. 

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Read my debut fantasy book, Fires of the Dead: http://bit.ly/FiresOfTheDead    

For free fantasy & sci-fi stories, exclusive behind-the-scenes content, and to stay updated with my writing, join my free email newsletter: https://jedherne.com/club/ 

According to Gary Chapman's book, The Five Love Languages, we each have unique ways of showing and giving appreciation. These are:

2 - Words of Affirmation 

3 - Touch

4 - Gifts

5 - Acts of Service

As an author, you can use these love languages to create more complex, interesting, and realistic characters. 

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Read my debut fantasy book, Fires of the Dead: http://bit.ly/FiresOfTheDead   

While I don't believe in writer's block, I do believe that procrastination exists. However, I don't want it to exist, so in this episode I'll outline a four-step approach to diagnose and solve the enemy of productivity. This four-step approach has the handy acronym of DUST.

Read my debut fantasy book, Fires of the Dead: http://bit.ly/FiresOfTheDead