Good vs Bad Fantasy Plots: The 5 Key Differences

About this episode

Jed Herne discusses the key differences between good and bad fantasy plots based on his experience and new book.

Read my new book, Plotting Your Fantasy Novel . It just released yesterday! After publishing four fantasy novels, and teaching hundreds of writers in my programs, I’ve realised there are 5 main differences between good fantasy plots and bad fantasy plots. I’ve been thinking about this a lot, because over the past year I’ve spent well over 1000 hours writing Plotting Your Fantasy Novel — my first non-fiction book on the craft of storytelling. If you’re writing a fantasy novel, and you want readers to be utterly captivated by your plot, it’s crucial to understand these 5 differences. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

People in this episode

Host: Jed Herne

Topics covered

• fantasy writing
• plot development
• storytelling
• writing tips
• fiction

Keywords

• fantasy plots
• writing advice
• storytelling techniques
• novel writing
• plotting

Mentioned in this episode

Books & works: Plotting Your Fantasy Novel

More episodes of The Fantasy Writing Show with Jed Herne

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• How to Write the Middle of Your Fantasy Novel (Detailed Guide) · June 2, 2026 · 56 min
• You’re Only Six Months Away from Finishing Your Fantasy Novel · April 14, 2026 · 7 min
• I Read 761 Fantasy First Chapters & Kept Seeing These 5 Mistakes · April 11, 2026 · 23 min
• The 6-Dimension Framework That Creates Truly Realistic Fantasy Cultures · March 4, 2026 · 12 min
• What Pro Fantasy Authors Know That Amateurs Don't · February 14, 2026 · 35 min