How to Write Your First Fantasy Novel in 2025 (Full Guide)

01/02/2025 2h 16min
How to Write Your First Fantasy Novel in 2025 (Full Guide)

Listen "How to Write Your First Fantasy Novel in 2025 (Full Guide)"

Episode Synopsis

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-guildTimestamps:00:00:00 - Introduction00:00:45 - 1: PICKING YOUR IDEA00:01:23 - Finding inspiration00:04:34 - Trope brainstorm00:06:49 - Narrowing down to 1 idea00:08:34 - A harsh truth00:12:03 - Choosing your scope00:14:03 - Originality doesn’t exist00:15:28 - Ideas are cheap00:16:32 - 2: OUTLINING00:21:03 - The purpose of outlining00:23:38 - The Hourglass Method00:24:12 - Exploring the suburb00:26:01 - Finding your core (premise, theme)00:39:47 - Guiding principles document00:41:00 - Building character arcs00:51:36 - 9-Point Story Structure01:17:01 - Final thoughts on structure01:18:06 - 3: WRITING YOUR 1st DRAFT01:19:36 - The goal of a 1st draft01:24:10 - Building good writing habits01:29:23 - Track your word counts01:32:12 - Do this when you get stuck01:40:00 - More tips to make the 1st draft easier01:47:37 - 4: EDITING01:50:25 - Make notes on your 1st draft01:53:15 - The 2nd draft (big changes)01:54:43 - 3rd draft (specific passes)01:58:17 - Working with early readers02:04:29 - 4th draft (incorporate reader comments)02:05:19 - Hire a pro editor02:08:17 - The final draft02:10:54 - ‘Finishing’ a book Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

More episodes of the podcast The Fantasy Writing Show with Jed Herne