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

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-guild

Timestamps:

00:00:00 - Introduction

00:00:45 - 1: PICKING YOUR IDEA

00:01:23 - Finding inspiration

00:04:34 - Trope brainstorm

00:06:49 - Narrowing down to 1 idea

00:08:34 - A harsh truth

00:12:03 - Choosing your scope

00:14:03 - Originality doesn’t exist

00:15:28 - Ideas are cheap

00:16:32 - 2: OUTLINING

00:21:03 - The purpose of outlining

00:23:38 - The Hourglass Method

00:24:12 - Exploring the suburb

00:26:01 - Finding your core (premise, theme)

00:39:47 - Guiding principles document

00:41:00 - Building character arcs

00:51:36 - 9-Point Story Structure

01:17:01 - Final thoughts on structure

01:18:06 - 3: WRITING YOUR 1st DRAFT

01:19:36 - The goal of a 1st draft

01:24:10 - Building good writing habits

01:29:23 - Track your word counts

01:32:12 - Do this when you get stuck

01:40:00 - More tips to make the 1st draft easier

01:47:37 - 4: EDITING

01:50:25 - Make notes on your 1st draft

01:53:15 - The 2nd draft (big changes)

01:54:43 - 3rd draft (specific passes)

01:58:17 - Working with early readers

02:04:29 - 4th draft (incorporate reader comments)

02:05:19 - Hire a pro editor

02:08:17 - The final draft

02:10:54 - ‘Finishing’ a book

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