Tag: writing advice

53. [Interview] Rob J. Hayes – Writing a Fantasy Trilogy, Overcoming Doubts, and The War Eternal

~ Jed Herne ~ Leave a comment

I chat with Rob for the second time to discuss his latest grimdark fantasy trilogy, The War Eternal. The trilogy follows Eska, a young magician struggling to reconcile her urges for revenge with her longing for human connection. The books include:

  1. Along the Razor’s Edge
  2. The Lessons Never Learned
  3. From Cold Ashes Risen

We also talk about overcoming doubts, Rob’s techniques for building captivating fantasy worlds, and which of his characters he’d share isolation with. Enjoy!

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Show Notes:

My BookNest review of The Lessons Never Learned: https://bit.ly/jedreviews

Rob’s twitter: @RoboftheHayes

Rob’s facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheHeresyWithin

Rob’s blog: http://www.robjhayes.co.uk/

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My twitter: @JedHerne

52. [Interview] S. Andrew Swann – Writing The Sword of the Slayer & lessons learned from publishing 26 fantasy and sci-fi books

~ Jed Herne ~ Leave a comment

S. Andrew Swann is the pen name of Steven Swiniarski. He has published over 26 novels since 1993. His recent works include Sword of the Slayer – an interactive fiction story from Choice of Games.

Watch our video interview below, or click the links to listen in your podcast player of your choice.
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Show Notes:

Steven’s website: sandrewswann.com

Twitter: @SAndrewSwann

Facebook: facebook.com/sandrewswann

Sword of the Slayer: choiceofgames.com/sword-of-the-slayer

Steven’s favorite books:

– American Gods

– Jim Butcher’s Dresden Files

– Peter F. Hamilton’s books

– Hyperion

– The Fireman by Joe Hill

51. Red Country by Joe Abercrombie – Concrete and Specific Setting Descriptions

~ Jed Herne ~ Leave a comment

Red Country by Joe Abercrombie is an innovative and captivating work, merging the fantasy and western genres into something new and fresh. A big part of its success are Abercrombie’s vivid and immersive descriptive language. This episode dissects how to write setting descriptions that make readers feel like they’re part of your story’s world. 

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Show Notes:

My fantasy book, Across the Broken Stars, is free on Amazon until 01/05/2020! Get it here: https://amzn.to/2Ya3WEf

Previous episodes on Joe Abercrombie’s books:

Episode 50: Before They Are Hanged by Joe Abercrombie – A Simple Way to Craft Compelling Characters 

Episode 7: The Heroes by Joe Abercrombie – Exploring Theme 

Episode 2: The Blade Itself by Joe Abercrombie – Characterisation through Contradiction

49. [Interview] Kate Heartfield – Interactive Fiction and The Magician's Workshop

~ Jed Herne ~ 1 Comment

What does it take to write stories where readers’ decisions affect the outcome? Kate Heartfield is an author of several historical fantasy and interactive fiction stories, including The Road to Canterbury, and The Magician’s Workshop, published by Choice of Games. Her fiction has won or been shortlisted for the Nebula, Locus, Aurora and Crawford awards.

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Twitter: @kateheartfield

Website: heartfieldfiction.com

Show Notes:

The Magician’s Workshop – her interactive fiction story set in Renaissance Florence.

Jed’s twitter: @jedherne

Jed’s email: jed.herne1(at)gmail.com

47. [Interview] Rob J. Hayes on Viking Martial Arts, Achieving Success as a Self-Published Fantasy Author, and Turning Messy Drafts into Great Stories

~ Jed Herne ~ Leave a comment

Rob J. Hayes is the author of the Amazon Best Selling The Heresy Within, the SPFBO-winning piratical swashbuckler Where Loyalties Lie, and the critically acclaimed Never Die, amongst many other novels. After doing an episode on Never Die two weeks ago, I’m delighted to follow it up with an interview with the author himself!

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Website: www.robjhayes.co.uk

Twitter: @RoboftheHayes

Show Notes:

My grimdark fantasy novella, Fires of the Dead, just became the #1 bestseller on Amazon’s ‘Fantasy Adventure Fiction’, ‘Sword & Sorcery’, and various other charts. Read it here: https://jedherne.com/firesofthedead 

My Novel Analyst episode 46 on Never Die by Rob J. Hayes: https://anchor.fm/novelanalyst/episodes/46–Never-Die-by-Rob-J–Hayes—Choreographing-Excellent-Ensemble-Casts-easrko 

Novel Analyst episode 41 on The Ember Blade by Chris Wooding: https://anchor.fm/novelanalyst/episodes/41–The-Ember-Blade-by-Chris-Wooding—Nailing-the-Opening-48-Pages-e96cua

8 Top Writing Lessons From 8 Years of Writing

~ Jed Herne ~ Leave a comment

It’s been 8 years since I started writing in 2012. Listen to today’s podcast to discover the 8 biggest lessons I’ve learned.

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Show Notes:

Across the Broken Stars – goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/49125250-across-the-broken-stars

Best writing advice resources:

Anything by K. M. Weiland

Brandon Sanderson’s online lectures

Lessons from the Screenplay

Story by Robert McKee

Dialogue by Robert McKee

The Anatomy of Story by John Truby

The Emotional Craft of Fiction by Donald Maass

(Note: some of those links are affiliate links, which means if you use them, I may receive compensation – at no extra cost to you. It’s a win-win!)

34 – The Language of Dying by Sarah Pinborough – Creating Emotion

~ Jed Herne ~ Leave a comment

The Language of Dying is an elegiac, emotionally moving novella, about a woman whose father is dying. In today’s episode, I dive deep into analysing how the author crafted such a profound emotional experience. If you want your words to move your readers, this episode explains how. 

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Or click here to listen online

My debut fantasy novella, Fires of the Dead, is available on amazon for pre-order! Get it here:  http://bit.ly/firesjedherne

Or use this link to read a free prequel story:https://jedherne.com/dead/

33 – A Canticle for Leibowitz by Walter M. Miller Jr. – Exploring Theme through Structure

~ Jed Herne ~ Leave a comment

My debut fantasy novella, Fires of the Dead, is available on amazon for pre-order! Get it here: https://amzn.to/31KMCUR

Or use this link to read a free sample chapter: https://jedherne.com/dead/

A Canticle for Leibowitz is a 1959 post-apocalyptic sci-fi novel by Walter M. Miller Jr. It’s often described as one of the first post-apocalyptic stories. Without it, there would be no Book of Eli, The Stand, or most other post-apocalyptic tales.

Don’t just take my word for it. It won the 1961 Hugo Award – one of science fiction’s highest honours. Legendary scientist Carl Sagan described it as: “so tautly constructed, so rich in the accommodating details of an unfamiliar society that [it] sweep me along before I have even a chance to be critical”.

It’s a remarkable novel. I don’t have the space in one episode to fully analyse it, so today I’m focusing on just one thing: how it uses an unconventional structure to explore the theme and emotionally gut-punch readers. Enjoy!

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Show Notes:

Fires of the Dead, by Jed Herne – https://jedherne.com/dead/

Watch my YouTube channel for writing advice every weekday:  https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCVjB-qFoNxNbQq0S3boWxIA?view_as=subscriber  

Join my exclusive free Reader Club email newsletter to stay up to date with my writing projects:  https://jedherne.com/club/

Twitter: @jedherne

Email: jed.herne1@gmail.com

29 – The Way of Kings – Stormlight Archive book 1 – by Brandon Sanderson – Crafting Epic Fantasy

~ Jed Herne ~ Leave a comment
What does it mean to craft epic fantasy? How is it different that other forms of fantasy? What are it’s unique strengths, and potential pitfalls? All those questions and more answered in today’s episode, which focuses on The Way of Kings by Brandon Sanderson.
Enjoy!

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Or click here to listen online

Shownotes:
Check out my new youtube channel for writing advice every weekday: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCVjB-qFoNxNbQq0S3boWxIA?view_as=subscriber
Join my exclusive free Reader Club email newsletter to stay up to date with my writing projects: https://jedherne.com/club/
Twitter: @jedherne
Email: jed.herne1@gmail.com

15 – 2018 in review – Everything I Read, Favourite Books, and Top Writing Lessons

~ Jed Herne ~ Leave a comment

With 2018 in the rear view mirror, I recap all 61 books I read last year, and extract key writing lessons I learnt from them. Enjoy this special bonus episode!

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Shownotes:

Get my free short story! A Clockwork Prison

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