Flaws are the secret to making your fantasy characters relatable and interesting.

Yet most new fantasy writers approach flaws the wrong way.

I certainly made this mistake when I started out! However, after publishing four books and teaching over 200 writers in my programs, I’ve realised there’s a much better way to build meaningful flaws for your characters.

Once you see this, you won’t be able to ever unsee it — and you’ll realise that this approach has created some of the absolute best characters you’ve ever read.

Want to learn more about writing great fantasy characters?

Click here to join my free 5-day character development course.

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After publishing four fantasy novels (along with an interactive fiction novel), and coaching hundreds of writers, I've learned a lot about the craft in the past thirteen years. In today's episode, I'll share the ten biggest lessons I wish I knew before writing my first book. If I knew these lessons sooner, I would have saved myself years of struggle. So if you're looking to write a fantasy book of your own, you'll find this episode very useful.

Click here to join the waitlist for my upcoming book, Plotting Your Fantasy Novel.

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So, you’ve finished the first draft of your fantasy novel, and now you’re thinking, “how do I turn this messy pile of words into a story someone actually wants to read?”

When I finished my first fantasy novel 12 years ago, I had no idea what to do next. I spent four years trying to fix that book, and a lot of the time, it felt like I was making zero progress.

But since then, I’ve developed an editing system that has helped me publish four fantasy novels and get some lovely reviews.

I’ve taught this process to many of the 200+ writers I’ve worked with, and today I’m going to walk you through my entire editing system to help you craft excellent stories.

Get ProWritingAid (my favourite editing software) with a 20% discount on Yearly Premium and Premium Pro licenses: https://prowritingaid.com/pp/jed-herne?utm_source=youtube&utm_medium=partner-influencer&utm_campaign=Jed-Herne-2025&utm_content=guide-to-editing-your-fantasy-novel-video&utm_term=

⏲️ TIMESTAMPS:

00:00 - Introduction

00:35 - The 2 golden rules of editing

03:20 - What to do when you finish your 1st draft

08:59 - 2nd draft: big structural changes

14:54 - 3rd draft: improve characters

20:34 - Find early readers

27:22 - 4th draft: process reader feedback

29:16 - 5th draft: prose polishing

35:48 - 6th draft: proofreading and grammar

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Joe Abercrombie (author of The Blade Itself and many other brilliant stories) joins me to discuss the opening chapters from his new book, The Devils. This is an in-depth deep dive into the techniques Joe uses to hook readers, introduce characters, and develop an interesting fantasy world.

Click here to get my free 5-day character course.

Timestamps:

00:00 - Introduction

01:23 - Writing a great opening hook

10:59 - Does Joe read aloud during editing?

12:05 - What makes 'good prose'?

13:34 - Deep dive into Diaz’s character

22:53 - Chapter transitions and pacing

25:01 - Introduction of Alex

30:03 - Using familiar tropes in fresh ways

34:45 - Making metaphors multilayered

41:00 - Worldbuilding through POV

46:40 - Deductive vs inductive worldbuilding

49:55 - Abercrombie’s anti-worldbuilding approach

54:17 - How to introduce several characters at once

01:02:33 - Jed's favourite character from The Devils

1:04:55 - What is Joe trying to improve with his writing?

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Today I'm joined by Christopher Ruocchio, author of the Sun Eater series! I share my top 5 storytelling lessons from reading this excellent series, while Christopher shares his top 5 lessons from writing it. This will be a spoiler-free discussion for the first 40 or so minutes, and I learned SO MUCH from this wonderful chat. Enjoy!

00:00 – What is the Sun Eater series about?

02:31 – How to write a great hook

12:16 – The importance of outlining

26:49 – Creating complex characters

34:15 – Constraints as opportunities in writing

38:59 – Don’t be afraid to make bold choices

48:02 – Design to your strengths

1:02:06 – How to write soft magic

1:25:03 – Borrowing expertise to improve authenticity

1:27:50 – How to write a terrifying antagonist

1:41:59 – You don’t trust your readers enough

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In this podcast, I explain the Pyramid of Prose -- a concept I wish someone had taught me when I started writing my first novel 13 years ago. Why is that? Well, 'prose' refers to the specific words you use to transmit your story from your mind into the reader's mind. It's crucial to master, because if you can't express your ideas on the page in an effective and emotionally compelling way, then none of the other elements of your story will work. So today, I'll be drawing from my experience (of publishing four fantasy books and coaching over 180 writers in my different programs) to walk you through the seven levels of this pyramid to perfect your prose, with lots of examples along the way.

Get ProWritingAid (my favourite editing tool) with a 20% discount: https://prowritingaid.com/pp/jed-herne?utm_source=youtube&utm_medium=partner-influencer&utm_campaign=Jed-Herne-2025&utm_content=7-levels-of-prose-video&utm_term= (Use the code JED20 to activate the discount.)

Thanks to ProWritingAid for sponsoring this episode!

Note: The code 'JED20' is valid for 20% off Yearly Premium and Premium Pro licenses. It does not apply to monthly or Lifetime licenses.

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In over 12 years of writing fantasy novels, the Hourglass Outlining Method is the single most useful tool I’ve developed.

It’s the main reason why I’ve been able to publish my four fantasy novels, and I’ve also seen this method create amazing results for the 35 writers who’ve done my 7-week Fantasy Outlining Bootcamp.

“This course was revelatory for me, and it was by far the best decision I’ve ever made in my writing journey.” - Matt Fagan

“This is the best investment I’ve ever made in my writing.” - Christine

“It has been immensely helpful in ways that I couldn’t even imagine.” - Steph

So in this podcast, I’m going to show you how to use the Hourglass Outlining Method to plan your fantasy book, so that you can write captivating characters and gripping plots — along with enjoying a few other storytelling advantages that you might not expect.

Watch the video version of this on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n6MwsZsjyoc&ab_channel=JedHerne

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