Join the community where fantasy writers get weekly accountability, peer feedback, and my direct support - so that you can write a better book and have more fun along the way: bit.ly/fantasy-guild
I'm working towards starting as a game developer, I love writing stories for game projects but I usually can't finish it due to my own limitations, usually the need for art. the thought of writing a novel sounds interesting but I feel like I'd want it to be interactive *somehow* like a game's story would be. do you have any tips for this? the only thing I can come up with is to have the reader pick out of a couple options for the main character's reaction during a chapter and have the reader go to a specific part in the book for the next chapter.
So many awesome resources for education online. It really exposes what a scam "gurus" are with paid courses. Brandon Sanderson's entire BYU course is on his youtube several years over.
As a dude who’s been super interested in fantasy writing, but never actually started, I always find this type of video super interesting, thanks in advance!
Hey you should start it's a fun journey, and can be a big boost to your mental State if you look back in your old writing and see large improvements. Anyway hope you do start writing.
same here, i've always wanted to try writing one even if its just for fun or if its not very good just to see what its like and this video is probably going to help me a lot
This is usually something people pay for. Actually insane that you’ve made this available for free. Shows your passion for writing and sharing information for people to improve, extremely helpful!!
This video helped me immensely. Sometimes you just need someone to give that extra push to just say, "If youre thinking about it all the time, just write it." Im mostly a discovery writer but going to try these outlining methods. Thank you.
I took a shower yesterday playing Smeagle/Gollum's theme to help me figure out how my character slowly becomes darker, 10/10 experience, definitely recommend
I am a successful author in a niche romance genre, having already self-published 10 successful books. I am hoping to expand into a more fantasy-type genre with a second pen-name, and your videos have helped me a great deal. Not only are they helpful in expanding into fantasy writing, they have, in the past, helped me tighten up my own writing style in the books I have written. Thank you so much for all you do!
If you have too many ideas, it can help to pick one and work on it until you get writer's block, then switch to another until you get writer's block on that, going back and forth as often as necessary.
Hey, Jed, just wanted to let you know that I’ve finally finished my first fantasy novel! I had been working on it since last January, and I just released it a week ago. Your videos helped so much, especially toward the beginning of the process! Thanks, Jed!
Been writing my first draft for 6 months now, had a ton of help outlining my ideas. Now I have a plot for one book with enough unused ideas for (potentially) 4 more Godspeed!
I can't express how grateful I am for this guide, I finally found a theme for my novel and it's helping me so much with developing my main character. Top tier content, thank you Jed.
This video gave me a sudden burst of motivation and I felt my creative energy surging through me. I then proceeded to pause the video and pump out and outline and half a first draft for a short visual novel I'm working with my wife on in a few hours. I even got a theme aswell right at the start. It was quite a bit of fun and I managed to relatively quickly get through all of the ideas I had and write them down. Honestly it was quite difficult as I knew that if I stopped before writing every single thing down I wouldn't be able to keep working on it another time. But I did it. So now I know that the next time I get a creative surge I can keep going and keep writing as the story appears before me. Great video thank you for making it.
Instantly clicked on the video, liked, and saved to watch later so I can keep coming back - you’re killing it, Jed! Edit: oh and my copies of kingdom of dragons and across the broken stars came late last year - I’m going to get into them as soon as I’ve finished my Cosmere read!
43:14 Those five core character arc components (ghost, lie, want, need, truth) are almost identical to the process I went through in therapy to unravel my own trauma. This is a very realistic way to progress a fictional persona. It should make for an interesting and believable character.
Jed, when I finally chase my dreams and put finger to keyboard for the first time with intent to create a fantasy world, I will secretly credit you in my mind. You have been the biggest help in building up my motivation to tackle one of the scariest things I've considered; writing a novel. Thanks a lot!
Just wanted to leave a comment and say, amazing video as always. Incredibly helpful. Thanks to this video and others of yours, I've identified that one of my biggest issues is constantly rewriting my first few chapters and never progressing, hopefully moving forward I can use the tips you have discussed here and just write, leaving the rewriting to be done after the first draft is complete. Thank you. Also as a sidenote, in case you're reading this, I got round to starting Kingdom of Dragons on Wednesday and finished it last night, loved it. Not going to lie the ending had me shook, I really thought it was going to go a different way. Thank you, and I'm looking forward to the next in the series.
Thanks man. We appreciate your diligence in keeping us on the right track. And to all the fam in here working on your own stuff. I hope this year is our year to realize the completion of our projects and the beginning of a new and more positive season in our lives ❤
I am so thankfull for all of this! its so helpfull! I curently am towards the begining of my first draft of my first book, and this is exactly what I need. This and your other videos I always find helpfull. thanks!
As someone trying to write some stuff, biggest advice I can give is : First things you do can be bad, this is a very normal thing. First idea that comes to your mind can be bad, Road map you draw for yourself can be bad, Your characters can be bad, Your Main Plot can be bad, Your world building can be bad, Themes of your story can be bad, Your writing style can be bad, Everything you do can be bad. But that's okay! This is a very normal thing! Do you think there is anyone in the world who does something perfectly when they do it for first time? Actual problem here is saying "It's going to be bad anyway, why should I waste time on this?" and "This is too bad, I guess writing is not for me" And not starting your first attempt/ not improving yourself after your first attempt tl;dr: First things you do are very likely to can/will be bad, as long as you WANT and TRY to improve it's not a real problem.
Thank you for writing this; a year ago, I tried my hands at writing, and it failed badly; I couldn't write what I envisioned very well; the characters were flat, their dialogue was terrible, the plot had many plot holes, and my grammar sucked, my second act was too long and boring, I didn't have an outline, the list goes on. To the point that after three months of writing a 98,000-word count, I give up on it. I didn't finish it and instead started reading books on how to write a story. They helped me a lot, and now I am ready to write a short story and slowly build my writing skills. I am going with this mindset of embracing that what I write will be bad, and even if it is bad, learning from it and improve.
Yeah this is the most important piece of advice imo, you have to write your first bad novel(s) so that eventually you can write the good ones. The vast majority of writers go through multiple novels before their first published one
@@RaiDKing999you suggested *Your Characters were flat* . Dialogue terrible - heck *that sounds like 99% of modern Hollywood and current mainstream* garbage. If These professional hacks can do it... *You can do it* So ... Look at the Old classic literatures... *Get writing* . Best of luck to you and everyone:)
@@peckerdecker, can you suggest which old classic literature I should check out? P.S. Started writing again yesterday lol, still, thank you, bro, much appreciated.
23:30 yo! This is to me the most important piece of advice right here! I pantsed 50k words three times before i finally stopped and made an outline. Just like he said, i threw down everything i could think of. Though honestly i felt i was gonna use everything. But once i had that i brainstormed the timeline for my book and that really helped me get it right. Any idea i had, i just put it somewhere on the time line. A few words. A sentence. A name. When it was all said and done i had about 40% of what i was originally going to use and half of that was added to the environment and foreshadowing. Now my story is moving along and is so much easier to adjust things because I'm so obsessed with my story that most of my free thought goes to its development.
Almost finished with my second draft of my first novel and Jed, your videos have been so helpful over the last year of drinking through the firehose. You might find me in your coaching program one of these days, but until then, thanks and keep up the good content!
I'm so glad I found your videos. I've never had an interest in writing. Till half way thru January. Random thought. Couldn't stop thinking it. And now I'm at almost 30k words. I listen to your advice as I go.
I've been writing 12 years, never reached a polished, completely done manuscript. I was worried this was going to be just another video about the practical steps of writing a book, but you always bring such unique points and detailed advice ❤ I think this is going to help.
Huh, I'm 20 minutes in on my first watch and can already tell I'll be rewatching this a fair bit in the future. Of the points you've raised so far, I'm certainly not lacking in inspiration and am definitely disabused of the idea that my work is in any way original. Outlining is something I need to work on. I have the broad strokes of one story laid out and I'm working on filling the gaps as I go. My other story is one I'm basically writing by stream of consciousness and might wind up as a web serial. I'm definitely gonna need to find some time later and finish the rest of this.
Gotta hand it to you Jed, a 2 hour masterclass on writing a book for free is an incredibly kind thing for you to do (you could have just as easily locked this behind another paywall). Between this and the lectures Brandon Sanderson is doing there is a TON of studying new writers can do. Much appreciated, and happy writing!
Jed! Thank you SOOOO much for sharing your knowledge with us. I'm in the process of outlining my 2nd novel as a new writer. I was so confused before and I finally feel like I can tackle it now. I pantsed my first novel and made a lot of mistakes, I'm excited to do better this time. Your videos help so so much!
Thanks for the outline structures! As a writer I have always struggled to strike a balance between adjusting to a very detailed outline and sudden changes of heart on how to direct the story. The 9 points structure you included in the video forces you to have a basic outline yet makes room for the spontaneity that must accompany any creative process
Hi Jed, thank you so much for sharing your knowledge. I am in the midst of writing my first novel (though already in my late forties), I'm doing it in my mother tongue (German), but I still love watching your videos. Your enthusiasm is contagious!
I usually don't comment, but I wanted to appreciate your work. It's super cool that you share your knowledge for free. You deserve more views. Have a good day ❤
i love watching these because they allow me to apply these concepts to my story in my head, even if its not fully written down yet. i would love to be able to write down my own story one day and have someone look over it and give me advice
I thank you for providing me with these wonderful tips and guidelines for finishing a fantasy novel, Jed. I'm in the process of writing my first 2025 fantasy novel, which I have been struggling with as of late after written 34k words on the first draft. I do plan to continue pushing myself in completing the draft, so I can let it rest and read it through from a reader perspective with a different font. Note: this novel I'm working on is not my very first book, as I've written more or less 2,730,000 words in past ten years of writing stories. (This is not to brag out greatness, since most of the stories were badly written, which I've thankfully been able to shuffle in my desk, saving them for another time if I need to return to them and learn more from.) I've been enjoying the process and I am still learning every bits of pieces on how to: structure a novel, outline it, etc. And I say this to you, any writer who is new to the craft of storytelling: keep improving your work. Never let self-doubt overtake you. Keep focusing on writing your story, whether it ends up good or bad. Writing is a learning curve, just like any other thing you might do in your spare time.
I began my first fantasy novel (that I actually plan on finishing) this month, and I am excited! I want to have the first draft done by the end of 2025, and I am two chapters in. Ready to watch through this video, Jed, and thank you so much for all the excellent advice!
This is absolutely amazing. As a teen writer, I have always struggled to find time and motivation to sit down and write a novel, (even though I have tried since I was 8 years old). I've really found it difficult to refine my ideas, would love to hear your advice...
This channel has helped me so much this last year or so. I have learned more than I ever could have dreamed and I k own there's still so much more to learn. PS love your books Jed. ❤
1:33:00 we have this concept in programming as well, but slightly different! Rubber duck debugging is the process where you explain the problem you are having with your code to a rubber duck, and in doing that, you find a solution! I've found the editing section of this video really useful. For context, I've been working on a series of books (they're on the shorter side, I think the current version of the first book is at 32,000 words). And until this video, I wasn't quite sure how to approach editing, so I ended up in a mix of broad strokes and specific things. It's certainly made the editing process annoying, because there are times where I just change a few small things and other times where I re-write whole chapters. But now with an actual structure to build off from (without having to discover it for myself), I feel more confident once my current editing cycle is complete. Working on the next 10 books is going to be smoother sailing. (don't ask me why I've first drafted the entire series, fortunately it only took a year and a half.) Oh yes speaking on the why my series is so completely written and on the final stuff about what really matters, I've been trying to write this series essentially for 8 years or so. My initial attempt was on Wattpad, and I think each book was like... around 1000 words long. I had other attempts, but they never got past the first book. It was only after I read Animorphs that I got inspired to try again, but with a proper plan in mind and with some of the goal of outlining, which has only improved as I progressed. Seriously, the difference between how I've approached the first and 13th books is vast, and when I did an entire series re-read, I recall that book 10 was the first one where I thought "Yeah, this is okay for a first draft" (the first book also stood out only because I had done some editing on it). In the end though, this massive project is mostly being done to satisfy my 14-year-old self, the one who wanted to record the little game my friends and I played onto paper. I have had great pleasure in just knowing that I've finally told the story with elements that I would have liked to see, and that the story is okay at the very least.
Almost done with the video, and I’m glad even though I didn’t outline, my story atleast looks like I’ve done an outline. (I instead did a timeline) Although my book was made to be 2 books, and multiple PoVs, the video still helped a ton! I really love what I’ve brainstormed as they were annoying to deal with in the beginning, but of course I’ve overcame it and learned how to make it work to hopefully a phenomenal degree. (Referring to my multiple PoVs and future sequel preparation) Thanks for the advice, Jed.
When I started watching these videos I was interested in writing, but didn't know if I could write a whole book, or even of I wanted to. Now I'm outlining a book idea and trying to make it happen. Thank you so much
Great content as always. I agree with so much. I decided to start writing 10 years ago. I've thrown away a lot of crap and changed story lines until I found one that fit. Once you hit that moment it all comes together. I love that other authors I know are very positive about advice and the creative process.
Big thank you to you Jed and greetings from Germany. I’m currently writing my first fantasy story and your work has been extremely helpful to me as a beginner.
I have outlined & planned my first novel, but, to get more experience before I take on such a project, I am outlining a short story/novella that takes place in the same world, with a couple of the same characters.
Ive been trying to make my outline for so long, but I've really been struggling to move past worldbuilding and start with the actual story. Im not sure why exactly but this video has actually helped so much and now i have some ideas for my story and characters!
Wow! Incredible video. I'm already finding so interesting things on your outlining model! I am a Snowflaker, but it's always a "smörgåsbord", so I'll pick all the goodies! :D Great job!
I agree originality is a myth, but, if you take too much inspiration from some novels, the habits from them might take over yours. Even if it's for the start and the story then develops differently, it just feels unsatisfying in some way. I discovered it in my own way, that some breaking points were told in the same style of books I read before, or that I scouted out. I find your video really helpful, as all the points are clear and help writers to focus on their improvements from mistakes, which I certainly had learned from. :) A free, 2hr masterpiece.
I am SO glad I watched this before I started writing my story, I'm still in the world building but I think I'm going to put it on pause. Because this story is supposed to be a 3 book series on a level like LOTR or GoT, with many character POVs and a massive interconnected world and all that... but I should really get some proper writing training first, so I'm just gonna write a standalone book. Thanks Jed!
Went through something similar. Write a couple short stories to find your own writing style and become comfortable with the craft before tackling a project as big as that
I like to end my writing session with a writers brief. Just a couple lines about where I am at and what I want to write in my next session, that way when I come back the next day I dont have any concerns about what to write next; between my outline and my brief and I can just jump right in.
I'm 14, and I just started to get into writing (around 6 months). I have this novel idea that I really, really want to write. But I don't know what to do cause I've never realy written a novel. Thank you so much for this guide!!!
I was at the process of constantly restarting my book (For 20 years, every other year it seemed, back at chapter I), but now... I'm telling myself, no more rewrites. I need to finish my series!
I listened to this while doing chores and it really inspired me to return to my abandoned first draft. What you said about choosing the right idea based on which one occupies your mind in the shower was such an aha moment, cause I've had a lot of doubts about the quality/originality of this story that has demotivated me, yet the two main characters literally will not leave me alone in these quieter moments!😂 I think they're desperate to be released onto the page and who am I to stop them? And besides, like you said, there's hardly any original ideas under the sun so who even gives a fuck if it's derivative?
I am a 13-year-old boy, and while writing is not something I want to be doing when I am older, it is really fun for me. In the 5th grade, I saw my classmates drawing like stick figures and all that with each of them having powers(water, fire, nature, portalization, lava, lightning, darkness, laser, superstrength, heightshifting, metal, Cupids, cloning, and flexibility(14 powers total). We sort of gotten the idea to write a story about it with me as the author. The characters were me and my classmates from each of the nations with different powers. The dark nation was the centre of evilness in book 1, and looking back at it, it was terrible. I failed to showcase the danger and harm that the dark nation could potentially bring and the antagonist were easily defeated without any real challenge. Now that I am in the 6th grade, I decided to write a book 2, with a new nation and element(ice). At this stage, I had better understanding of outlining and planning and definitely grammar. Thanks to Jed, my book 2 would've been a complete disaster. (We were just having fun with this story and I actually don't have plans of releasing it, but I want to showcase how much I improved in my second book.)
A wonderful video Jed, I was thinking of making a similar video, but I think you covered it much more elegantly. Do you think you will ever do a video on how to come up with "practice novels" that actually excite you as the writer and are easier to complete, allowing you to gain experience and skill? Blessings!
22:28 I'm actually doing that, but backwards. I know the main twist of the story and where things lead, but it only happens in last book of (what currently is) a trilogy. I'm working my way back to see what works best, but that really stretches out the writing (and outlining) of book 1. I'm really excited to write it though and I'm not giving up on the idea, regardless of how complex it is.
As a lost person beginning to try writing in their late 20's. It's a deeper question for me about the passion of why I'm doing this. I get paralyzed with trying to formulate or follow rules. These expectations or defined successful paths which i try to follow or learn from. I usually end up burning myself out by processing everything all at once as it comes to me. Reducing my passion as it becomes more of a burden to continue forward. Then the issue of confidence as I rightly don't know anything. Where I can't brainstorm outside the concept or hook. because i don't know what else is more interesting than that hook/concept. Thanks for the video. I did have questions of what it means to Write. Or the core idea that passion plays a role into creation. I guess I needed a nudge to get me started.
Just flicked the *back Page of your book* : *Kingdom of Dragons*. Zora is the main character. Zora is an *Arab female name* meaning *dawn & sunrise* The second character is _rovan_ (a Slavic name) Seems Interesting.... Happy New Year 2025 everyone
Ok so I had this series in my head for a long time and I've decided that it would be better in the visual medium so I wanted to write another story that I wasn't quite that inamoured by. This video actually helped me decide that I wanted to make the series I actually want it to make so yeah I'm gonna have to search up how to animate blender because I'm bad at 2D animation. So yea, I will still try to write for the series in my mind but I would love to be able to finally make my little characters move and stuff.
Your videos are really enjoyable to watch :D I have wrote my book series which will have 4 parts. I started writing this in 2022. I'm on my 3rd draft and I'm sure this is the final draft. Then I'll edit this and publish it
hey, i have an idea of writing multiple short stories about the life of multiple characters in a world… then a big novel where a group of protagonists will go on an adventure when they would meet all of those characters (either as enemies or allies). I think it’s a very cool concept since the readers will get a deeper understanding for the characters through those short stories and when the fate of the characters are decided in the main novel, it hit very hard (or when you read the novel, know their fate and read the short stories, they suddenly become more emotional) for instance, in the novel the protagonist team killed a warrior because he ambushed them when they got lost in a forest. then after a few chapters, they found a military base where they would rest and found a woman whose husband just got moved to the frontline. After some interactions, they got her as an ally. so, in the novel. Nothing says the woman and the man in the forest are related, the readers would see that one guy is an enemy appeared purely for the sake of character development and the woman is also similar but in the form of ally instead of enemy. but when readers read the short story about them… they’ll see that they’re a couple who have went through thick and thin on the battlefield before marrying and become husband and wife. The readers learns that the husband simply just mistook the team as the enemies he’s fighting. and the reason why the wife hasn’t figured out is because of the protagonist team’s advanced body disposal technology. it’s not like I my novel is lacking in content and I have to make those short stories to improve it, the novel is already completed and short stories are merely just enhancements. i kinda just want to share this ideal so people can tell me whether it’s good or not. And sorry for my bad English, i am still learning and also is mildly intoxicated at the point this comment was written.
2:02:33 So it seems like the key to not letting feedback hurt your feelings is to just think your writing is complete trash and then when the early readers don't think it's complete trash then whatever feedback they give will feel like high praise
Aspiring Sci-fantasy author here. I've been working on one idea for the past 5 years, and I have a question: Doesn't the "pick your favourite story" piece of advice kind of seem at odds with "it will take you multiple novels to get it right"? Like I said, I have one key idea, and for me, it's _the_ idea. This is the thing I want to show the world. Surely, if it's going to take me ages to refine my craft, I'd want to reserve it until I can trust myself to produce something that lives up to the idea, right? Not sure what to think. What do you say?
I’m currently in the same boat, and it’s hard. It’s the perfectionist mindset to live up to the masterpiece you have envisioned in your head despite not having the skills to do so. And I think it comes down to how much are you willing to put into making that a reality? It’s not going to be perfect (no novel is) but if you’re willing to really chase this idea and put in the effort to make it the best it can be, I believe it’s absolutely possible to make it a good first book. Otherwise, I’d suggest looking at other ways to refine your craft that aren’t so daunting like writing short stories with maybe a throwaway idea you’ve had in the past, or even writing fanfiction on your favorite series if you’re into that kind of thing. Just anything that will give you a better understanding on your writing process to help you when the time comes to write *the* idea. Just some thoughts!
Join the community where fantasy writers get weekly accountability, peer feedback, and my direct support - so that you can write a better book and have more fun along the way: bit.ly/fantasy-guild
I'm working towards starting as a game developer, I love writing stories for game projects but I usually can't finish it due to my own limitations, usually the need for art.
the thought of writing a novel sounds interesting but I feel like I'd want it to be interactive *somehow* like a game's story would be. do you have any tips for this?
the only thing I can come up with is to have the reader pick out of a couple options for the main character's reaction during a chapter and have the reader go to a specific part in the book for the next chapter.
How is this content available for free?? This is nuts. A 2 hour masterclass publicly available at no cost?
Homie Jed is doing gods work.
Brandon Sanderson has a whole writing lecture on TH-cam for free, you should check it out
I know, right? Thanks so much, Jed!
So many awesome resources for education online. It really exposes what a scam "gurus" are with paid courses. Brandon Sanderson's entire BYU course is on his youtube several years over.
Meanwhile your boy jed is doing paid corses with 20 people crammed into the screen...@@jimandrews89
As a dude who’s been super interested in fantasy writing, but never actually started, I always find this type of video super interesting, thanks in advance!
Hey you should start it's a fun journey, and can be a big boost to your mental State if you look back in your old writing and see large improvements. Anyway hope you do start writing.
same here, i've always wanted to try writing one even if its just for fun or if its not very good just to see what its like and this video is probably going to help me a lot
This is usually something people pay for. Actually insane that you’ve made this available for free. Shows your passion for writing and sharing information for people to improve, extremely helpful!!
Wow, more than 2 hours! This will come in handy
Hope it's useful!
@@Jed_Herneit will be! I’m gonna watch this once I’ve got the spare time
This video helped me immensely. Sometimes you just need someone to give that extra push to just say, "If youre thinking about it all the time, just write it." Im mostly a discovery writer but going to try these outlining methods. Thank you.
I took a shower yesterday playing Smeagle/Gollum's theme to help me figure out how my character slowly becomes darker, 10/10 experience, definitely recommend
I am a successful author in a niche romance genre, having already self-published 10 successful books. I am hoping to expand into a more fantasy-type genre with a second pen-name, and your videos have helped me a great deal. Not only are they helpful in expanding into fantasy writing, they have, in the past, helped me tighten up my own writing style in the books I have written. Thank you so much for all you do!
That's awesome, good luck with your fantasy project!
If you have too many ideas, it can help to pick one and work on it until you get writer's block, then switch to another until you get writer's block on that, going back and forth as often as necessary.
Hey, Jed, just wanted to let you know that I’ve finally finished my first fantasy novel! I had been working on it since last January, and I just released it a week ago. Your videos helped so much, especially toward the beginning of the process! Thanks, Jed!
Been writing my first draft for 6 months now, had a ton of help outlining my ideas. Now I have a plot for one book with enough unused ideas for (potentially) 4 more
Godspeed!
I've watched your videos for three months now. Your videos have inspired me to begin writing my own dark fantasy/ steampunk book series.
I can't express how grateful I am for this guide, I finally found a theme for my novel and it's helping me so much with developing my main character. Top tier content, thank you Jed.
This video gave me a sudden burst of motivation and I felt my creative energy surging through me. I then proceeded to pause the video and pump out and outline and half a first draft for a short visual novel I'm working with my wife on in a few hours. I even got a theme aswell right at the start.
It was quite a bit of fun and I managed to relatively quickly get through all of the ideas I had and write them down.
Honestly it was quite difficult as I knew that if I stopped before writing every single thing down I wouldn't be able to keep working on it another time. But I did it. So now I know that the next time I get a creative surge I can keep going and keep writing as the story appears before me.
Great video thank you for making it.
Finish your first novel in 2025. Don't overthink it. Just go.
Instantly clicked on the video, liked, and saved to watch later so I can keep coming back - you’re killing it, Jed!
Edit: oh and my copies of kingdom of dragons and across the broken stars came late last year - I’m going to get into them as soon as I’ve finished my Cosmere read!
Thanks man! I was listening to a few of your mixes while editing a while back :). Hope you enjoy the books!
43:14 Those five core character arc components (ghost, lie, want, need, truth) are almost identical to the process I went through in therapy to unravel my own trauma. This is a very realistic way to progress a fictional persona. It should make for an interesting and believable character.
Jed, when I finally chase my dreams and put finger to keyboard for the first time with intent to create a fantasy world, I will secretly credit you in my mind. You have been the biggest help in building up my motivation to tackle one of the scariest things I've considered; writing a novel. Thanks a lot!
Just wanted to leave a comment and say, amazing video as always. Incredibly helpful. Thanks to this video and others of yours, I've identified that one of my biggest issues is constantly rewriting my first few chapters and never progressing, hopefully moving forward I can use the tips you have discussed here and just write, leaving the rewriting to be done after the first draft is complete. Thank you.
Also as a sidenote, in case you're reading this, I got round to starting Kingdom of Dragons on Wednesday and finished it last night, loved it. Not going to lie the ending had me shook, I really thought it was going to go a different way. Thank you, and I'm looking forward to the next in the series.
:)
Thanks man. We appreciate your diligence in keeping us on the right track. And to all the fam in here working on your own stuff. I hope this year is our year to realize the completion of our projects and the beginning of a new and more positive season in our lives ❤
Well said, you too🙏🏻
Always a pleasure listening to your analysis. Need to dust off my MG novel and think about joining the Fantasy Guild.
I am so thankfull for all of this! its so helpfull! I curently am towards the begining of my first draft of my first book, and this is exactly what I need. This and your other videos I always find helpfull. thanks!
As someone trying to write some stuff, biggest advice I can give is :
First things you do can be bad, this is a very normal thing.
First idea that comes to your mind can be bad,
Road map you draw for yourself can be bad,
Your characters can be bad,
Your Main Plot can be bad,
Your world building can be bad,
Themes of your story can be bad,
Your writing style can be bad,
Everything you do can be bad.
But that's okay! This is a very normal thing!
Do you think there is anyone in the world who does something perfectly when they do it for first time?
Actual problem here is saying "It's going to be bad anyway, why should I waste time on this?" and "This is too bad, I guess writing is not for me"
And not starting your first attempt/ not improving yourself after your first attempt
tl;dr: First things you do are very likely to can/will be bad, as long as you WANT and TRY to improve it's not a real problem.
Thank you for writing this; a year ago, I tried my hands at writing, and it failed badly; I couldn't write what I envisioned very well; the characters were flat, their dialogue was terrible, the plot had many plot holes, and my grammar sucked, my second act was too long and boring, I didn't have an outline, the list goes on. To the point that after three months of writing a 98,000-word count, I give up on it. I didn't finish it and instead started reading books on how to write a story. They helped me a lot, and now I am ready to write a short story and slowly build my writing skills. I am going with this mindset of embracing that what I write will be bad, and even if it is bad, learning from it and improve.
Yeah this is the most important piece of advice imo, you have to write your first bad novel(s) so that eventually you can write the good ones. The vast majority of writers go through multiple novels before their first published one
First draft - getting the clay on the table - a mess, but should be fun.
Rewriting, then rewriting, then... that's where the work comes in.
@@RaiDKing999you suggested *Your Characters were flat* . Dialogue terrible - heck *that sounds like 99% of modern Hollywood and current mainstream* garbage.
If These professional hacks can do it...
*You can do it*
So ...
Look at the Old classic literatures...
*Get writing* .
Best of luck to you and everyone:)
@@peckerdecker, can you suggest which old classic literature I should check out? P.S. Started writing again yesterday lol, still, thank you, bro, much appreciated.
Thank you, despite not being a fan of fantasy but of horror this helped me a lot upon finding inspirations and the outlining stage
23:30 yo! This is to me the most important piece of advice right here! I pantsed 50k words three times before i finally stopped and made an outline. Just like he said, i threw down everything i could think of. Though honestly i felt i was gonna use everything. But once i had that i brainstormed the timeline for my book and that really helped me get it right.
Any idea i had, i just put it somewhere on the time line. A few words. A sentence. A name. When it was all said and done i had about 40% of what i was originally going to use and half of that was added to the environment and foreshadowing.
Now my story is moving along and is so much easier to adjust things because I'm so obsessed with my story that most of my free thought goes to its development.
That last sentence resonates deeply with me
Almost finished with my second draft of my first novel and Jed, your videos have been so helpful over the last year of drinking through the firehose. You might find me in your coaching program one of these days, but until then, thanks and keep up the good content!
I'm so glad I found your videos. I've never had an interest in writing. Till half way thru January. Random thought. Couldn't stop thinking it. And now I'm at almost 30k words. I listen to your advice as I go.
As someone who’s just beginning the outlining process, I find this very useful and it makes me excited for the future of my project.
I've been writing 12 years, never reached a polished, completely done manuscript. I was worried this was going to be just another video about the practical steps of writing a book, but you always bring such unique points and detailed advice ❤ I think this is going to help.
Huh, I'm 20 minutes in on my first watch and can already tell I'll be rewatching this a fair bit in the future. Of the points you've raised so far, I'm certainly not lacking in inspiration and am definitely disabused of the idea that my work is in any way original. Outlining is something I need to work on. I have the broad strokes of one story laid out and I'm working on filling the gaps as I go. My other story is one I'm basically writing by stream of consciousness and might wind up as a web serial. I'm definitely gonna need to find some time later and finish the rest of this.
The amount of work you put in your videos never stop to amaze me.
I don’t know how he has time to make these amazing videos and write his great novels
Gotta hand it to you Jed, a 2 hour masterclass on writing a book for free is an incredibly kind thing for you to do (you could have just as easily locked this behind another paywall). Between this and the lectures Brandon Sanderson is doing there is a TON of studying new writers can do. Much appreciated, and happy writing!
Just when we needed him the most, the goat dropped😭
Jed! Thank you SOOOO much for sharing your knowledge with us. I'm in the process of outlining my 2nd novel as a new writer. I was so confused before and I finally feel like I can tackle it now. I pantsed my first novel and made a lot of mistakes, I'm excited to do better this time. Your videos help so so much!
Best of luck!
Thanks for the outline structures! As a writer I have always struggled to strike a balance between adjusting to a very detailed outline and sudden changes of heart on how to direct the story. The 9 points structure you included in the video forces you to have a basic outline yet makes room for the spontaneity that must accompany any creative process
Wow, this helped my book SO MUCH! I didn’t watch the full video yet and already feel like I made a huge breakthrough!!!!!!!!
Hi Jed, thank you so much for sharing your knowledge. I am in the midst of writing my first novel (though already in my late forties), I'm doing it in my mother tongue (German), but I still love watching your videos. Your enthusiasm is contagious!
I usually don't comment, but I wanted to appreciate your work. It's super cool that you share your knowledge for free. You deserve more views. Have a good day ❤
i love watching these because they allow me to apply these concepts to my story in my head, even if its not fully written down yet. i would love to be able to write down my own story one day and have someone look over it and give me advice
I thank you for providing me with these wonderful tips and guidelines for finishing a fantasy novel, Jed. I'm in the process of writing my first 2025 fantasy novel, which I have been struggling with as of late after written 34k words on the first draft. I do plan to continue pushing myself in completing the draft, so I can let it rest and read it through from a reader perspective with a different font.
Note: this novel I'm working on is not my very first book, as I've written more or less 2,730,000 words in past ten years of writing stories. (This is not to brag out greatness, since most of the stories were badly written, which I've thankfully been able to shuffle in my desk, saving them for another time if I need to return to them and learn more from.) I've been enjoying the process and I am still learning every bits of pieces on how to: structure a novel, outline it, etc.
And I say this to you, any writer who is new to the craft of storytelling: keep improving your work. Never let self-doubt overtake you. Keep focusing on writing your story, whether it ends up good or bad. Writing is a learning curve, just like any other thing you might do in your spare time.
I began my first fantasy novel (that I actually plan on finishing) this month, and I am excited! I want to have the first draft done by the end of 2025, and I am two chapters in. Ready to watch through this video, Jed, and thank you so much for all the excellent advice!
this is going to be a banger i can already tell
This will be my go to Novel Guide forever
As always, your content is top tier. Thank you for the wisdom and advice. I am hoping to finally write my book this year. I’m done waiting.
This is absolutely amazing. As a teen writer, I have always struggled to find time and motivation to sit down and write a novel, (even though I have tried since I was 8 years old). I've really found it difficult to refine my ideas, would love to hear your advice...
As a 14/15 yo writer, this is something that I was looking for ages. Thank you ( sorry for my English, I'm not very good yet:)
This channel has helped me so much this last year or so. I have learned more than I ever could have dreamed and I k own there's still so much more to learn.
PS love your books Jed.
❤
1:33:00 we have this concept in programming as well, but slightly different! Rubber duck debugging is the process where you explain the problem you are having with your code to a rubber duck, and in doing that, you find a solution!
I've found the editing section of this video really useful. For context, I've been working on a series of books (they're on the shorter side, I think the current version of the first book is at 32,000 words). And until this video, I wasn't quite sure how to approach editing, so I ended up in a mix of broad strokes and specific things. It's certainly made the editing process annoying, because there are times where I just change a few small things and other times where I re-write whole chapters. But now with an actual structure to build off from (without having to discover it for myself), I feel more confident once my current editing cycle is complete. Working on the next 10 books is going to be smoother sailing. (don't ask me why I've first drafted the entire series, fortunately it only took a year and a half.)
Oh yes speaking on the why my series is so completely written and on the final stuff about what really matters, I've been trying to write this series essentially for 8 years or so. My initial attempt was on Wattpad, and I think each book was like... around 1000 words long. I had other attempts, but they never got past the first book. It was only after I read Animorphs that I got inspired to try again, but with a proper plan in mind and with some of the goal of outlining, which has only improved as I progressed. Seriously, the difference between how I've approached the first and 13th books is vast, and when I did an entire series re-read, I recall that book 10 was the first one where I thought "Yeah, this is okay for a first draft" (the first book also stood out only because I had done some editing on it). In the end though, this massive project is mostly being done to satisfy my 14-year-old self, the one who wanted to record the little game my friends and I played onto paper. I have had great pleasure in just knowing that I've finally told the story with elements that I would have liked to see, and that the story is okay at the very least.
Really good video, I've been stuck trying to write a web novel for a couple months now and your videos have been a great help.
I completely endorse this awesome guide for any writers that want to bring their story to life. Great video!
You brought up a cool idea for a competition, give a few writer the same prompt and then see who writes the best outline or story
Almost done with the video, and I’m glad even though I didn’t outline, my story atleast looks like I’ve done an outline. (I instead did a timeline) Although my book was made to be 2 books, and multiple PoVs, the video still helped a ton! I really love what I’ve brainstormed as they were annoying to deal with in the beginning, but of course I’ve overcame it and learned how to make it work to hopefully a phenomenal degree. (Referring to my multiple PoVs and future sequel preparation) Thanks for the advice, Jed.
When I started watching these videos I was interested in writing, but didn't know if I could write a whole book, or even of I wanted to. Now I'm outlining a book idea and trying to make it happen. Thank you so much
Great content as always. I agree with so much. I decided to start writing 10 years ago. I've thrown away a lot of crap and changed story lines until I found one that fit. Once you hit that moment it all comes together. I love that other authors I know are very positive about advice and the creative process.
Would love to see this put into podcast form, thanks in advance for the countless hours I’m going to be spending watching and rewatching this
Here's the podcast link: open.spotify.com/show/12jYwO7vsMGKNoz2k221cP?si=2b2bd2759a7245c9
@@Jed_Herne thanks
Big thank you to you Jed and greetings from Germany. I’m currently writing my first fantasy story and your work has been extremely helpful to me as a beginner.
Can you publish a book in two languages at the same time? I intended to publish my book in both French and English.
I have outlined & planned my first novel, but, to get more experience before I take on such a project, I am outlining a short story/novella that takes place in the same world, with a couple of the same characters.
AAAH this video just gave me so much motivation 💗
Ive been trying to make my outline for so long, but I've really been struggling to move past worldbuilding and start with the actual story. Im not sure why exactly but this video has actually helped so much and now i have some ideas for my story and characters!
I'm glad it sparked some inspiration!
Wow! Incredible video. I'm already finding so interesting things on your outlining model! I am a Snowflaker, but it's always a "smörgåsbord", so I'll pick all the goodies! :D Great job!
Omg, thank you! It’s like you’ve read my mind. I’ve been wanting to write one for years but it can turn overwhelming quickly
Thank you for the helpful tips you've given over the years ❤
I agree originality is a myth, but, if you take too much inspiration from some novels, the habits from them might take over yours. Even if it's for the start and the story then develops differently, it just feels unsatisfying in some way. I discovered it in my own way, that some breaking points were told in the same style of books I read before, or that I scouted out.
I find your video really helpful, as all the points are clear and help writers to focus on their improvements from mistakes, which I certainly had learned from. :)
A free, 2hr masterpiece.
I am SO glad I watched this before I started writing my story, I'm still in the world building but I think I'm going to put it on pause. Because this story is supposed to be a 3 book series on a level like LOTR or GoT, with many character POVs and a massive interconnected world and all that... but I should really get some proper writing training first, so I'm just gonna write a standalone book.
Thanks Jed!
Went through something similar. Write a couple short stories to find your own writing style and become comfortable with the craft before tackling a project as big as that
I always find that your videos motivate me to write. Thanks for doing what you do!
YAY TYSM! SO EXCITED TO USE THIS TO WRITE MY STORY! :D
Three cheers for Jed, he made writing so much easier!
I like to end my writing session with a writers brief. Just a couple lines about where I am at and what I want to write in my next session, that way when I come back the next day I dont have any concerns about what to write next; between my outline and my brief and I can just jump right in.
Great call! I should have mentioned this, because I sometimes do this at the end of my writing as well.
I'm 14, and I just started to get into writing (around 6 months). I have this novel idea that I really, really want to write. But I don't know what to do cause I've never realy written a novel. Thank you so much for this guide!!!
I was at the process of constantly restarting my book (For 20 years, every other year it seemed, back at chapter I), but now... I'm telling myself, no more rewrites. I need to finish my series!
1:36:15 As a plumber, I can confirm that we DO indeed get plumber's block.
I listened to this while doing chores and it really inspired me to return to my abandoned first draft. What you said about choosing the right idea based on which one occupies your mind in the shower was such an aha moment, cause I've had a lot of doubts about the quality/originality of this story that has demotivated me, yet the two main characters literally will not leave me alone in these quieter moments!😂 I think they're desperate to be released onto the page and who am I to stop them? And besides, like you said, there's hardly any original ideas under the sun so who even gives a fuck if it's derivative?
I wish I would have had this 2 years ago. Thanks again for another great vid!
I am a 13-year-old boy, and while writing is not something I want to be doing when I am older, it is really fun for me. In the 5th grade, I saw my classmates drawing like stick figures and all that with each of them having powers(water, fire, nature, portalization, lava, lightning, darkness, laser, superstrength, heightshifting, metal, Cupids, cloning, and flexibility(14 powers total). We sort of gotten the idea to write a story about it with me as the author. The characters were me and my classmates from each of the nations with different powers. The dark nation was the centre of evilness in book 1, and looking back at it, it was terrible. I failed to showcase the danger and harm that the dark nation could potentially bring and the antagonist were easily defeated without any real challenge. Now that I am in the 6th grade, I decided to write a book 2, with a new nation and element(ice). At this stage, I had better understanding of outlining and planning and definitely grammar. Thanks to Jed, my book 2 would've been a complete disaster.
(We were just having fun with this story and I actually don't have plans of releasing it, but I want to showcase how much I improved in my second book.)
This is going to be peak!
Just finished the video and 10/10 great tips in this definitely helps.
I definitely need this
This video is gonna blow up on November 1st this year.
On the point of the shower test, I unfortunately am unable to focus on the things I want to write about and instead end up thinking about tacos
Understandable, but who’s to say the main character can’t be a taco?
@ I just meant it as a “I have a hard time focusing on one thing for long periods of time in the shower” lol
@@CookieMage27 ahhh so an adhd taco main character
@ anything I say in defense will get added to the character description so yeah sure
A wonderful video Jed, I was thinking of making a similar video, but I think you covered it much more elegantly. Do you think you will ever do a video on how to come up with "practice novels" that actually excite you as the writer and are easier to complete, allowing you to gain experience and skill? Blessings!
This is GOLD! thank you
Well, time to finish my books then
Thanks for the help along the way
22:28 I'm actually doing that, but backwards. I know the main twist of the story and where things lead, but it only happens in last book of (what currently is) a trilogy. I'm working my way back to see what works best, but that really stretches out the writing (and outlining) of book 1.
I'm really excited to write it though and I'm not giving up on the idea, regardless of how complex it is.
As a lost person beginning to try writing in their late 20's. It's a deeper question for me about the passion of why I'm doing this.
I get paralyzed with trying to formulate or follow rules. These expectations or defined successful paths which i try to follow or learn from.
I usually end up burning myself out by processing everything all at once as it comes to me. Reducing my passion as it becomes more of a burden to continue forward.
Then the issue of confidence as I rightly don't know anything. Where I can't brainstorm outside the concept or hook. because i don't know what else is more interesting than that hook/concept.
Thanks for the video. I did have questions of what it means to Write. Or the core idea that passion plays a role into creation.
I guess I needed a nudge to get me started.
3:53 harry potter, percy jackson, sky high and marvel.... How did we have the same childhood despite a decent age difference lmao
Same generation
0:29 the Moist Critikal things
Just flicked the *back Page of your book* :
*Kingdom of Dragons*.
Zora is the main character. Zora is an *Arab female name* meaning *dawn & sunrise*
The second character is _rovan_ (a Slavic name)
Seems Interesting....
Happy New Year 2025 everyone
Ok so I had this series in my head for a long time and I've decided that it would be better in the visual medium so I wanted to write another story that I wasn't quite that inamoured by. This video actually helped me decide that I wanted to make the series I actually want it to make so yeah I'm gonna have to search up how to animate blender because I'm bad at 2D animation. So yea, I will still try to write for the series in my mind but I would love to be able to finally make my little characters move and stuff.
Your videos are really enjoyable to watch :D
I have wrote my book series which will have 4 parts. I started writing this in 2022. I'm on my 3rd draft and I'm sure this is the final draft. Then I'll edit this and publish it
Right on time. Thanks
Thanks Jed!
hey, i have an idea of writing multiple short stories about the life of multiple characters in a world… then a big novel where a group of protagonists will go on an adventure when they would meet all of those characters (either as enemies or allies).
I think it’s a very cool concept since the readers will get a deeper understanding for the characters through those short stories and when the fate of the characters are decided in the main novel, it hit very hard (or when you read the novel, know their fate and read the short stories, they suddenly become more emotional)
for instance, in the novel the protagonist team killed a warrior because he ambushed them when they got lost in a forest. then after a few chapters, they found a military base where they would rest and found a woman whose husband just got moved to the frontline. After some interactions, they got her as an ally.
so, in the novel. Nothing says the woman and the man in the forest are related, the readers would see that one guy is an enemy appeared purely for the sake of character development and the woman is also similar but in the form of ally instead of enemy.
but when readers read the short story about them… they’ll see that they’re a couple who have went through thick and thin on the battlefield before marrying and become husband and wife. The readers learns that the husband simply just mistook the team as the enemies he’s fighting. and the reason why the wife hasn’t figured out is because of the protagonist team’s advanced body disposal technology.
it’s not like I my novel is lacking in content and I have to make those short stories to improve it, the novel is already completed and short stories are merely just enhancements.
i kinda just want to share this ideal so people can tell me whether it’s good or not. And sorry for my bad English, i am still learning and also is mildly intoxicated at the point this comment was written.
Great video. Thank you
Would love to be the voices of your books! Love kingdom of dragons! If you ever think of doing an audiobook, I’m your guy.
2:02:33 So it seems like the key to not letting feedback hurt your feelings is to just think your writing is complete trash and then when the early readers don't think it's complete trash then whatever feedback they give will feel like high praise
I am writing a book and i am going to watch this)
Oh my God I love you Jed
This is exactly what I need
The sleep one got me right in the chest. Because here I am sleep-deprived and watching this video, lol
Aspiring Sci-fantasy author here. I've been working on one idea for the past 5 years, and I have a question: Doesn't the "pick your favourite story" piece of advice kind of seem at odds with "it will take you multiple novels to get it right"?
Like I said, I have one key idea, and for me, it's _the_ idea. This is the thing I want to show the world. Surely, if it's going to take me ages to refine my craft, I'd want to reserve it until I can trust myself to produce something that lives up to the idea, right?
Not sure what to think. What do you say?
I’m currently in the same boat, and it’s hard. It’s the perfectionist mindset to live up to the masterpiece you have envisioned in your head despite not having the skills to do so. And I think it comes down to how much are you willing to put into making that a reality? It’s not going to be perfect (no novel is) but if you’re willing to really chase this idea and put in the effort to make it the best it can be, I believe it’s absolutely possible to make it a good first book. Otherwise, I’d suggest looking at other ways to refine your craft that aren’t so daunting like writing short stories with maybe a throwaway idea you’ve had in the past, or even writing fanfiction on your favorite series if you’re into that kind of thing. Just anything that will give you a better understanding on your writing process to help you when the time comes to write *the* idea. Just some thoughts!
🤝🤝🤝