Read my debut fantasy novella! https://amzn.to/33yyvn7

When writing fantasy novels, we often think that world building = making cool creatures, religions, and societies. That’s certainly part of it. But it’s also useful to consider the subtler ways you can create an interesting world for your characters to inhabit. That’s what today’s episode is all about.

***

Join my Reader Club email newsletter for free sci-fi & fantasy stories, and to keep updated about my writing!

https://jedherne.com/club/

***

Website: https://jedherne.com/
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/61535985-jed-herne
Twitter: https://twitter.com/JedHerne
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jedhernewriter [use my automated messenger bot to play a choose your own adventure story right in the app 😉 ]

Read my debut fantasy novella! https://amzn.to/33yyvn7

What if? This powerful question recently helped me take a character from bland to great – and you can use it in your own stories.

My favourite ‘what if’ questions:
1. What if your protagonist’s goal is the opposite of their current one?
2. What if the antagonist is more sympathetic than the protagonist?
3. What if you remove the most interesting character?
4. What if your character does something no one expects them to do?
5. What if your protagonist gives up?
6. What if your antagonist wins?
7. What if your main plot finishes at the midpoint (a la ‘The Moon is a Harsh Mistress’) and the second half is all about the fallout and consequences?

Let me know your ‘what if’ questions!

My podcast on ‘The Moon is a Harsh Mistress’: https://anchor.fm/novelanalyst/episodes/4—The-Moon-is-a-Harsh-Mistress-by-Robert-Heinlein—Writing-an-Amazing-Midpoint-e3ubug

jed.herne1@gmail.com

***

Join my Reader Club email newsletter for free sci-fi & fantasy stories, and to keep updated about my writing!

https://jedherne.com/club/

***

Website: https://jedherne.com/
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/61535985-jed-herne
Twitter: https://twitter.com/JedHerne
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jedhernewriter [use my automated messenger bot to play a choose your own adventure story right in the app 😉 ]

Read my debut fantasy novella! https://amzn.to/33yyvn7

WIN: What’s important now? It’s such a valuable question to deal with feeling overwhelmed – because as an author, there’s a lot of reasons to feel overwhelmed.

***

Join my Reader Club email newsletter for free sci-fi & fantasy stories, and to keep updated about my writing!

https://jedherne.com/club/

***

Website: https://jedherne.com/
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/61535985-jed-herne
Twitter: https://twitter.com/JedHerne
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jedhernewriter [use my automated messenger bot to play a choose your own adventure story right in the app 😉 ]

My Ender’s Game podcast: https://anchor.fm/novelanalyst/episodes/30—Enders-Game-by-Orson-Scott-Card—Writing-Twists-e4iau2

Orson Scott Card’s Ender’s Game is a fantastic demonstration of how you should consider foreshadowing big twists, by providing micro twists earlier in your story.

***

Join my Reader Club email newsletter for free sci-fi & fantasy stories, and to keep updated about my writing!

https://jedherne.com/club/

***

Website: https://jedherne.com/
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/61535985-jed-herne
Twitter: https://twitter.com/JedHerne
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jedhernewriter [use my automated messenger bot to play a choose your own adventure story right in the app 😉 ]

Check out my debut fantasy novella! https://amzn.to/33yyvn7

Whilst working on my upcoming book, I made a big mistake that I want you to avoid.

***

Join my Reader Club email newsletter for free sci-fi & fantasy stories, and to keep updated about my writing!

https://jedherne.com/club/

***

Website: https://jedherne.com/
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/61535985-jed-herne
Twitter: https://twitter.com/JedHerne
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jedhernewriter [use my automated messenger bot to play a choose your own adventure story right in the app 😉 ]

My upcoming fantasy novella, Fires of the Dead: https://jedherne.com/firesofthedead

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!

***

Join my Reader Club email newsletter for free sci-fi & fantasy stories, and to keep updated about my writing!

https://jedherne.com/club/

***

Website: https://jedherne.com/
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/61535985-jed-herne
Twitter: https://twitter.com/JedHerne
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jedhernewriter [use my automated messenger bot to play a choose your own adventure story right in the app 😉 ]

My upcoming fantasy novella, Fires of the Dead: https://jedherne.com/firesofthedead

Sonder: The profound feeling of realizing that everyone, including strangers passed in the street, has a life as complex as one’s own, which they are constantly living despite one’s personal lack of awareness of it.

***

Join my Reader Club email newsletter for free sci-fi & fantasy stories, and to keep updated about my writing!

https://jedherne.com/club/

***

Website: https://jedherne.com/
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/61535985-jed-herne
Twitter: https://twitter.com/JedHerne
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jedhernewriter [use my automated messenger bot to play a choose your own adventure story right in the app 😉 ]

Check out my debut fantasy novella! https://amzn.to/33yyvn7

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.

***

Join my Reader Club email newsletter for free sci-fi & fantasy stories, and to keep updated about my writing!

https://jedherne.com/club/

***

Website: https://jedherne.com/
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/61535985-jed-herne
Twitter: https://twitter.com/JedHerne
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jedhernewriter [use my automated messenger bot to play a choose your own adventure story right in the app 😉 ]

Check out my debut fantasy novella! https://amzn.to/33yyvn7

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

***

Join my Reader Club email newsletter for free sci-fi & fantasy stories, and to keep updated about my writing!

https://jedherne.com/club/

***

Website: https://jedherne.com/
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/61535985-jed-herne
Twitter: https://twitter.com/JedHerne
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jedhernewriter [use my automated messenger bot to play a choose your own adventure story right in the app 😉 ]

Check out my debut fantasy novella! https://amzn.to/33yyvn7
Podcast I did on The Name of the Wind: https://novelanalyst.com/2018/08/07/episode1/

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.

***

Join my Reader Club email newsletter for free sci-fi & fantasy stories, and to keep updated about my writing!

https://jedherne.com/club/

***

Website: https://jedherne.com/
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/61535985-jed-herne
Twitter: https://twitter.com/JedHerne
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jedhernewriter [use my automated messenger bot to play a choose your own adventure story right in the app 😉 ]