The Novel Analyst Podcast: Creative Writing Advice & Author Interviews

22 - The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald - Finding your Perfect Prose. 

Fitzgerald's classic chronicle of the Jazz age is often praised for its wonderful prose. In this episode, I examine what makes his prose so stylistically appealing - and we look at how you can write better prose. Keep beating on, boats against the current!

Shownotes:

Twitter: @JedHerne

Email: jed.herne1 [at] gmail.com

Website: novelanalyst.com

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21 - The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman - Meaningful Endings and the Truth. 

Truth. It's one of the most important aspects of story - especially of stories that are fantastical. In this episode, I explore how Gaiman created a truthful, meaningful, and emotional resonant ending to his Hugo and Newberry award-winning novel: The Graveyard Book. (Includes bonus singing from yours truly) Enjoy!

Shownotes:

Twitter: @JedHerne

Email: jed.herne1 [at] gmail.com

Website: novelanalyst.com

Join my VIP email list: novelanalyst.com/email

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20 - Elantris by Brandon Sanderson - Avalanche Endings. 

If you want to learn how to write explosive, fast-paced, balastic endings, Elantris is an excellent novel to study - which is what I do in this episode! Enjoy!

Shownotes:

Twitter: @JedHerne

Email: jed.herne1 [at] gmail.com

Website: novelanalyst.com

Join my VIP email list: novelanalyst.com/email

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

19 - Skulduggery Pleasant by Derek Landy - The Art of Naming. 

In this episode, I look at how Derek uses names to craft compelling, fleshed-out, interesting characters. Enjoy!

Shownotes:

Derek’s tactics for creating awesome characters (video) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VB5o1uAqodA

Superhero nation article on names: http://www.superheronation.com/2007/10/15/character-naming-superheroes-and-otherwise/

Random name generators:

https://www.behindthename.com/random/

https://www.fantasynamegenerators.com/

Twitter: @JedHerne

Email: [email protected]

Website: novelanalyst.com

Join my VIP email list: novelanalyst.com/email

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

18 - Warbreaker by Brandon Sanderson - Misfit Characters.

Sometimes the key to compelling characters is to make them NOT fit neatly into your plot. That's what Sanderson does in Warbreaker - a stand-alone fantasy book (that he also gives away for free on his website!). 

Shownotes:

Get Warbreaker for free from Brandon's website: https://brandonsanderson.com/books/warbreaker/warbreaker/

Twitter: @JedHerne

Email: [email protected]

Website: novelanalyst.com

Join my VIP email list: novelanalyst.com/email

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

17 - The Book Thief by Markus Zusak - Crafting Compelling Narrators.

This historical World War II novel by Australian author Markus Zusak has compelling characters, an engaging plot, and wonderful writing. But it's biggest strength is the narrator: the personification of Death. In this episode, I use The Book Thief to break down the key qualities of a compelling narrator. 

Shownotes:

Twitter: @JedHerne

Email: [email protected]

Website: novelanalyst.com

Join my VIP email list: novelanalyst.com/email

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16 - Boone Shepard - The Silhouette and the Sacrifice by Gabriel Bergmoser - Writing Awesome Endings.

I recently read the third and final book in Gabriel Bergmoser's Boone Shepard trilogy - and I loved the ending so much that I'd outlined an episode within hours of finishing the book. Here's my thoughts on how to write great endings. 

Shownotes:

My interview with Gabriel Bergmoser: Episode 5 - Gabriel Bergmoser Interview - Windmills, Boone Shepard, Movie Maintenance, and Red Dragon by Thomas Harris

Twitter: @JedHerne

Email: [email protected]

Website: novelanalyst.com

Join my VIP email list: novelanalyst.com/email

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

15 - 2018 in review - Everything I Read, Favourite Books, and Top Writing Lessons.

With 2018 in the rear view mirror, I recap all 61 books I read last year, and extract key writing lessons I learnt from them. Enjoy this special bonus episode!

Shownotes:

Twitter: @JedHerne

Email: [email protected]

Website: novelanalyst.com

Join my VIP email list: novelanalyst.com/email

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14 - Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes - 6 Steps to make the reader cry.

After reading this amazing book twice (my fave read of 2017!), I finally figured out how to articulate my thoughts about it. It's an amazing read, full of emotion, and in this episode I break down HOW Daniel Keyes achieves this. Enjoy!

Shownotes:

Twitter: @JedHerne

Email: [email protected]

Website: novelanalyst.com

Join my VIP email list: novelanalyst.com/email

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

13 - The Martian by Andy Weir - Problem and Response Story Structure.

I've read this book multiple times and love it more with each re-read. In this episode, I try to figure out why it's so engaging, and end up categorising problems/conflict into 6 distinctive archetypes which can benefit any story. 

Shownotes:

Twitter: @JedHerne

Email: [email protected]

Website: novelanalyst.com

Join my VIP email list: novelanalyst.com/email

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.