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

Listen to this episode from The Fantasy Writing Show with Jed Herne on Spotify. 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.