Wizards, Warriors, & Words: A Fantasy Writing Advice Podcast

What to do when your story idea has already been done, when should you introduce the main character, and more!

Support Wizards, Warriors, & Words on Patreon for bonus content: https://www.patreon.com/wizardswarriorswords

Email us your questions: wizardswarriorswords@gmail.com

For more about our hosts and our books:

Dyrk Ashton: paternusbooks.com

Michael R. Fletcher: michaelrfletcher.com

Rob J. Hayes: robjhayes.co.uk

Jed Herne: jedherne.com

Welcome to another game show edition of the pod, where Rob gives us weird reviews and we try to guess whose book they belong to!

Support Wizards, Warriors, & Words on Patreon for bonus content: https://www.patreon.com/wizardswarriorswords  

Email us your questions: wizardswarriorswords@gmail.com

For more about our hosts and our books:

Dyrk Ashton: paternusbooks.com

Michael R. Fletcher: michaelrfletcher.com

Rob J. Hayes: robjhayes.co.uk

Jed Herne: jedherne.com

In today's episode, Michael R. Fletcher takes the lead as we discuss random aspects of the writing life, as well as some deeper thoughts about our philosophies in general. Enjoy!

Support Wizards, Warriors, & Words on Patreon for bonus content: https://www.patreon.com/wizardswarriorswords  

Email us your questions: wizardswarriorswords@gmail.com

For more about our hosts and our books:

Dyrk Ashton: paternusbooks.com

Michael R. Fletcher: michaelrfletcher.com

Rob J. Hayes: robjhayes.co.uk

Jed Herne: jedherne.com

Endings are maybe the most critical part of your story, because they provide meaning to everything that's come before them. In this episode, we discuss how to write good ones - and how to avoid common mistakes. 

Support Wizards, Warriors, & Words on Patreon for bonus content: https://www.patreon.com/wizardswarriorswords  

Email us your questions: wizardswarriorswords@gmail.com

For more about our hosts and our books:

Dyrk Ashton: paternusbooks.com

Michael R. Fletcher: michaelrfletcher.com

Rob J. Hayes: robjhayes.co.uk

Jed Herne: jedherne.com

Following on from last week's episode about first sentences, this week we discuss first chapters. Enjoy!

Support Wizards, Warriors, & Words on Patreon for bonus content: https://www.patreon.com/wizardswarriorswords  

Email us your questions: wizardswarriorswords@gmail.com

For more about our hosts and our books:

Dyrk Ashton: paternusbooks.com

Michael R. Fletcher: michaelrfletcher.com

Rob J. Hayes: robjhayes.co.uk

Jed Herne: jedherne.com

Your opening line might be the most important sentence in your book. You need to hook readers right away, and offer them a compelling reason to keep reading. In this episode, our hosts describe their approaches to doing this. Enjoy!

Support Wizards, Warriors, & Words on Patreon for bonus content: https://www.patreon.com/wizardswarriorswords  

Email us your questions: wizardswarriorswords@gmail.com

For more about our hosts and our books:

Dyrk Ashton: paternusbooks.com

Michael R. Fletcher: michaelrfletcher.com

Rob J. Hayes: robjhayes.co.uk

Jed Herne: jedherne.com

Featured book: The Thunder Heist by Jed Herne

We discuss our different approaches to story structure. Enjoy!

Support Wizards, Warriors, & Words on Patreon for bonus content: https://www.patreon.com/wizardswarriorswords  

Email us your questions: wizardswarriorswords@gmail.com

For more about our hosts and our books:

Dyrk Ashton: paternusbooks.com

Michael R. Fletcher: michaelrfletcher.com

Rob J. Hayes: robjhayes.co.uk

Jed Herne: jedherne.com

Hey everyone! Jed had some annoying medical things this week, so we're doing a mini episode where Rob J. Hayes and Dyrk Ashton discuss the books that have taught them the most about writing. Enjoy!  

Support Wizards, Warriors, & Words on Patreon for bonus content: https://www.patreon.com/wizardswarriorswords  

Email us your questions: wizardswarriorswords@gmail.com

For more about our hosts and our books:

Dyrk Ashton: paternusbooks.com

Michael R. Fletcher: michaelrfletcher.com

Rob J. Hayes: robjhayes.co.uk

Jed Herne: jedherne.com

Support the show on patreon for exclusive bonuses! www.patreon.com/wizardswarriorswords . In this episode, we discuss chapter structure. Do we aim for a certain length? How should they start? How should they end? Are cliffhangers smart, or are they gimmicky? All those answers and more in this show - enjoy!

For more about our hosts and our books:

Dyrk Ashton: paternusbooks.com

Michael R. Fletcher: michaelrfletcher.com

Rob J. Hayes: robjhayes.co.uk

Jed Herne: jedherne.com

Support the show on patreon for exclusive bonuses! www.patreon.com/wizardswarriorswords . What is grimdark fantasy, and what do our hosts think about it? Our books are often labelled as 'grimdark' (especially Michael R. Fletcher's), so how do we respond to this?

For more about our hosts and our books:

Dyrk Ashton: paternusbooks.com

Michael R. Fletcher: michaelrfletcher.com

Rob J. Hayes: robjhayes.co.uk

Jed Herne: jedherne.com

We discuss tropes vs. unique content, long book series, staying focussed while writing, and constructing a fellowship of characters. Enjoy! And if you have more questions for us, feel free to submit them at: wizardswarriorswords@gmail.com

For more about our hosts and our books:

Dyrk Ashton: paternusbooks.com

Michael R. Fletcher: michaelrfletcher.com

Rob J. Hayes: robjhayes.co.uk

Jed Herne: jedherne.com

Get the complete Paternus trilogy audiobook for free with our special link: www.audibletrial.com/words . Welcome to the bad reviews game show, where we read bad reviews and try to guess whose books they're for!

For more about our hosts and our books:

Dyrk Ashton: paternusbooks.com

Michael R. Fletcher: michaelrfletcher.com

Rob J. Hayes: robjhayes.co.uk

Jed Herne: jedherne.com

With 2020 in the rear-view mirror, the Wizards, Warriors, & Words crew discusses what we did this year, our proudest writing accomplishments, our most effective marketing tactics, the most useful writing lessons we learned, our favourite books read, and what's ahead for 2021. Thank you for making the first season of WWW such a fun ride - and here's to the new year ahead!

For more about our hosts and our books:

Dyrk Ashton: paternusbooks.com

Michael R. Fletcher: michaelrfletcher.com

Rob J. Hayes: robjhayes.co.uk

Jed Herne: jedherne.com

This is a short extract from a recent episode with Adrian Tchaikovsky (author of Children of Time, Shadows of the Apt, The Doors of Eden, and more). Listen to the full episode here: https://anchor.fm/wizardswarriorswords/episodes/1-21-Adrian-Tchaikovsky-Q--A-enpbpk. 

What did you think of this 'quick bites' edition of the podcast? Let Jed know by emailing wizardswarriorswords@gmail.com .

We answer your listener questions, again! (Featuring Anna Smith Spark as a bonus guest). More questions? Email us at wizardswarriorswords(at)gmail.com

For more about our hosts and our books:

Dyrk Ashton: paternusbooks.com

Michael R. Fletcher: michaelrfletcher.com

Rob J. Hayes: robjhayes.co.uk

Jed Herne: jedherne.com

Arthur C. Clark award-winning author Adrian Tchaikovsky (Children of Time, Shadows of the Apt, The Doors of Eden) answers a whole bunch of questions from our hosts!

For more about our hosts and our books:

Dyrk Ashton: paternusbooks.com

Michael R. Fletcher: michaelrfletcher.com

Rob J. Hayes: robjhayes.co.uk

Jed Herne: jedherne.com

Anna Smith Spark (author of grimdark fantasy book, The Court of Broken Knives) joins us to talk about her unique and celebrated prose styling, along with sharing her advice for improving your prose in general.

For more about our hosts and our books:

Dyrk Ashton: paternusbooks.com

Michael R. Fletcher: michaelrfletcher.com

Rob J. Hayes: robjhayes.co.uk

Jed Herne: jedherne.com

Arthur C. Clark award-winning author Adrian Tchaikovsky (Children of Time, Shadows of the Apt, The Doors of Eden) joins us again to discuss how to create amazing fantasy and sci-fi worlds. Enjoy!

For more about our hosts and our books:

Michael R. Fletcher: michaelrfletcher.com

Rob J. Hayes: robjhayes.co.uk

Jed Herne: jedherne.com

For most of the genre's history, fantasy books were usually set in analogs of medieval England. Today's episode explores why it might be a good idea to write about different types of worlds, and how you can do it. Enjoy!

For more about our hosts and our books:

Dyrk Ashton: paternusbooks.com

Gareth Hanrahan: garhanrahan.com

Michael R. Fletcher: michaelrfletcher.com

Rob J. Hayes: robjhayes.co.uk

Jed Herne: jedherne.com

Arthur C. Clark award-winning author Adrian Tchaikovsky (Children of Time, Shadows of the Apt, The Doors of Eden) joins the Wizards, Warriors, and Words team to share his secrets for writing fantasy and sci-fi animals.

For more about our hosts and our books:

Michael R. Fletcher: michaelrfletcher.com

Rob J. Hayes: robjhayes.co.uk

Jed Herne: jedherne.com

Newsflash: there's a lot of words in a book. How are you going to write them all, while keeping your sanity? In today's episode, we talk routines, motivation, and word counts. Enjoy!

For more about our hosts and our books:

Gareth Hanrahan: garhanrahan.com

Michael R. Fletcher: michaelrfletcher.com

Rob J. Hayes: robjhayes.co.uk

Jed Herne: jedherne.com

Books have words, and a lot of those are contained within dialogue. In today's episode, our hosts share some surprising tips for crafting engaging dialogue. Enjoy!

For more about our hosts and our books:

Dyrk Ashton: paternusbooks.com

Michael R. Fletcher: michaelrfletcher.com

Rob J. Hayes: robjhayes.co.uk

Jed Herne: jedherne.com

Today we're talking all about gods and monsters ... and who better to join us than Gareth Hanrahan, author of The Gutter Prayer and The Shadow Saint! Gareth is well known for his innovative exploration of gods in fantasy. Our regular host, Dyrk Ashton, isn't too shabby either, thanks to his experience writing the epic urban fantasy Paternus trilogy, which sees hundreds of gods fight for supremacy in the modern day. Enjoy!

For more about our hosts and our books:

Gareth Hanrahan: garhanrahan.com 

Dyrk Ashton: paternusbooks.com

Michael R. Fletcher: michaelrfletcher.com

Rob J. Hayes: robjhayes.co.uk

Jed Herne: jedherne.com

Read The Thunder Heist here: http://bit.ly/ThunderHeist

In today's bonus episode, Jed Herne reads from his new pirate fantasy book, The Thunder Heist (Twisted Seas #1). 

"From the very beginning, it’s clear that you’re going to get a very clever plot, coupled with action-packed, non-stop pacing. The first chapter alone destroyed me in terms of how frantic it was, it felt like a finale and a blockbuster finale at that. If chapter one is a hook, then Herne’s writing style is the line, and together they just pull you through the story with relentless energy." - Bookends & Bagends

Blurb:

A relentless thief. An impossible heist.

Meet Kef Cutmark. Pirate, monster-slayer, scourge of the Twisted Seas.

After a lifetime of running from her past, she’s returned to Zorith – a tangled jungle of a thousand boats, all lashed together to make a floating city-ship. Zorith is powered by a device that draws energy from lightning. Mysterious, unique, and locked in an unbreachable tower, it’s the envy of Zorith’s rivals.

And Kef? She’s here to steal it.

If she can take the device and cripple Zorith, maybe she’ll find justice for all the hurt the city has caused her. But with an unreliable thieving crew, hunters closing in, and her past bearing down upon her, failure looks more likely. And if she fails, she’ll never find peace again.

Grab your copy here: https://jedherne.com/thunder

Jed's pirate fantasy novel, The Thunder Heist, has just released! 

“The Thunder Heist is a high-octane adventure that starts off full throttle and doesn’t let up. As the title might suggest, this is a heist story, and one with a unique target: a lightning tower in the heart of a floating city. There are plenty of twists along the way to keep things interesting and the plot moves along at a good clip making for a fun, fast read.” – BookNest.

For many readers, magic is what draws them to fantasy. Our hosts share their unique perspectives on what it takes to craft interesting, unique, and suspensful magic systems that add a layer of richness to a fantasy world.

For more about our hosts and our books:

Dyrk Ashton: paternusbooks.com

Michael R. Fletcher: michaelrfletcher.com

Rob J. Hayes: robjhayes.co.uk

Jed Herne: jedherne.com

Today we're joined by fantasy author RJ Barker (Author of The Bone Ships and The Wounded Kingdom series) for a Q&A about her writing process. Enjoy!

Check out Black Stone Heart here: https://amzn.to/311O9rY (affiliate link)

In this bonus episode, Michael R. Fletcher reads the opening of his grimdark fantasy story, Black Stone Heart. Enjoy!

Blurb:

A broken man, Khraen awakens alone and lost. His stone heart has been shattered, littered across the world. With each piece, he regains some small shard of the man he once was.

He follows the trail, fragment by fragment, remembering his terrible past.

There was a woman.

There was a sword.

There was an end to sorrow.

Khraen walks the obsidian path.

In this episode, we finally get around to answering your questions! We had a blast doing this, so we want to do more Q & A episodes. Send your questions to wizardswarriorswords@gmail.com and we'll try to answer them in a future episode!

For more about our hosts and our books:

Dyrk Ashton: paternusbooks.com

Michael R. Fletcher: michaelrfletcher.com

Rob J. Hayes: robjhayes.co.uk

Jed Herne: jedherne.com

Blam! Whack! Pow! In today's episode, we're joined by fantasy author RJ Barker (Author of The Bone Ships and The Wounded Kingdom series) to talk about fight scenes. 

Featured book: War of Gods by Dyrk Ashton ->  https://amzn.to/33hPDjn

Twitter:

RJ: @dedbutdrmng

Jed: @JedHerne

Dyrk: @UnDyrk

Rob: @RobOfTheHayes

Michael: @FletcherMR

Contact us:

Send us questions/thoughts by emailing wizardswarriorswords@gmail.com .  Jed reads and replies to every email. We might even answer your question on the show!

For more about our hosts and our books:

Dyrk Ashton: paternusbooks.com

Michael R. Fletcher: michaelrfletcher.com

Rob J. Hayes: robjhayes.co.uk

Jed Herne: jedherne.com

Today we're joined by fantasy author RJ Barker (Author of The Bone Ships and The Wounded Kingdom series) to discuss how tense and POV can serve our stories. RJ will also be back next week for another episode! Enjoy!

Featured book: The Bone Ships by RJ Barker -> http://bit.ly/boneshipsRJ

Twitter:

RJ: @dedbutdrmng

Jed: @JedHerne

Dyrk: @UnDyrk

Rob: @RobOfTheHayes

Michael: @FletcherMR

Contact us:

Send us questions/thoughts by emailing wizardswarriorswords@gmail.com .  Jed reads and replies to every email. We might even answer your question on the show!

For more about our hosts and our books:

Dyrk Ashton: paternusbooks.com

Michael R. Fletcher: michaelrfletcher.com

Rob J. Hayes: robjhayes.co.uk

Jed Herne: jedherne.com

We give a lot of attention to our main characters, but what about the cast that surrounds them? In this episode, we discuss how to create three-dimensional, interesting secondary characters.

Featured book: Fires of the Dead by Jed Herne -> https://jedherne.com/firesofthedead/

Contact us:

Send us questions/thoughts by emailing wizardswarriorswords@gmail.com .  Jed reads and replies to every email. We might even answer your question on the show!

For more about our hosts and our books:

Dyrk Ashton: paternusbooks.com

Michael R. Fletcher: michaelrfletcher.com

Rob J. Hayes: robjhayes.co.uk

Jed Herne: jedherne.com

Flaws play a crucial role in developing good characters. In this episode, we discuss how we build flaws to make our characters more interesting, relatable, and complex. 

Featured book: Black Stone Heart by Michael R. Fletcher -> https://bit.ly/BlackStoneHeart

Contact us:

Send us questions/thoughts by emailing wizardswarriorswords@gmail.com .  Jed reads and replies to every email. We might even answer your question on the show!

For more about our hosts and our books:

Dyrk Ashton: paternusbooks.com

Michael R. Fletcher: michaelrfletcher.com

Rob J. Hayes: robjhayes.co.uk

Jed Herne: jedherne.com

You've finished your first draft. Now what? In this episode, we discuss how we take our books from 1st draft to final publication. 

Featured book: The Sword of Kaigen by M. L. Wang -> https://bit.ly/SwordOfKaigen

Contact us:

Send us questions/thoughts by emailing wizardswarriorswords@gmail.com .  Jed reads and replies to every email. We might even answer your question on the show!

For more about our hosts and our books:

Dyrk Ashton: paternusbooks.com

Michael R. Fletcher: michaelrfletcher.com

Rob J. Hayes: robjhayes.co.uk

Jed Herne: jedherne.com

Fantasy authors are well-known for long series - but how do you write sequels that add to a story, rather than making it worse?

Contact us:

Send us questions/thoughts by emailing wizardswarriorswords@gmail.com .  Jed reads and replies to every email. We might even answer your question on the show!

For more about our hosts and our books:

Dyrk Ashton: paternusbooks.com

Michael R. Fletcher: michaelrfletcher.com

Rob J. Hayes: robjhayes.co.uk

Jed Herne: jedherne.com

With more publishing options available to modern writers than ever before, which is the right choice for you? Our hosts discuss publishing, based on experiences in both the traditional and indie world. 

Featured book:

Across the Broken Stars by Jed Herne

Contact us:

Send us questions/thoughts by emailing wizardswarriorswords@gmail.com .  Jed reads and replies to every email. We might even answer your question on the show!

For more about our hosts and our books:

Dyrk Ashton: paternusbooks.com

Michael R. Fletcher: michaelrfletcher.com

Rob J. Hayes: robjhayes.co.uk

Jed Herne: jedherne.com

Arguably the reason why a lot of us choose to write fantasy is the joy of constructing a brand new world. In this episode, our hosts discuss how to build more interesting worlds. 

Featured book:

Chasing Graves by Ben Galley

Contact us:

Send us questions/thoughts by emailing wizardswarriorswords@gmail.com .  Jed reads and replies to every email. We might even answer your question on the show!

For more about our hosts and our books:

Dyrk Ashton: paternusbooks.com

Michael R. Fletcher: michaelrfletcher.com

Rob J. Hayes: robjhayes.co.uk

Jed Herne: jedherne.com

How can you hook readers, set up character arcs, and get your story off to a great start? That's what we discuss in this episode. 

Featured book:

Black Stone Heart by Michael R. Fletcher. Read it here: https://bit.ly/blackstoneheart

Contact us:

Send us questions/thoughts by emailing wizardswarriorswords@gmail.com .  Jed reads and replies to every email. We might even answer your question on the show!

For more about our hosts and our books:

Dyrk Ashton: paternusbooks.com

Michael R. Fletcher: michaelrfletcher.com

Rob J. Hayes: robjhayes.co.uk

Jed Herne: jedherne.com

Our hosts share their best tips for writing memorable characters.

Featured book:

War of Gods (Paternus # 3) by Dyrk Ashton. Read it here: https://bit.ly/warofgods

Contact us:

Send us questions/thoughts by emailing wizardswarriorswords@gmail.com .  Jed reads and replies to every email. We might even answer your question on the show!

For more about our hosts and our books:

Dyrk Ashton: paternusbooks.com

Michael R. Fletcher: michaelrfletcher.com

Rob J. Hayes: robjhayes.co.uk

Jed Herne: jedherne.com

Visit our new Patreon page to support the show: bit.ly/w3podcast (and get sweet bonuses!)

When you join our Patreon page, you'll get cool bonuses in exchange for a monthly donation (like free books, ad-free episodes, priority Q & A access, and even editorial feedback on your own stories!). Don't worry - the show won't be disapearing behind a paywall. And it's not mandatory to support us on Patreon by any means. But if you can afford it and you enjoy what we do, it's the best way to help support us, which will let the show continue to grow :). Thanks for being awesome!