Fantasy Writing - TEN lessons from Sarah J Maas

Explore the opening scene of the court and roses through a first-person narrator, highlighting survival, sensory detail, inner monologue, foreshadowing, and show-don't-tell writing.

Builds action from scene description into a real event, introducing a major complication with a silent wolf. Uses inner monologue, breath, and the arrow as symbolism to heighten tension.

In this lecture, analyze how Fail's character unfolds through the event of meeting a direwolf; she fights, shows bravery, and demonstrates competence by skinning the wolf.

Identify the inciting incident and related events, such as midway turning points, crisis, climax, and resolution, showing how each chapter reveals character and propels the fantasy adventure.

Explore how structure and content shape fantasy scenes by separating location, action, and emotion, and apply show don't tell techniques to vivid character experiences.

Explore Kurt Vonnegut's single best piece of writing advice: every sentence reveals character or advances the action, shaping immersive fiction.

Explore how narrative point of view and scene work together in fantasy writing, from first-person and third-person close to external narrators, with scenes perceived through a character.

Blend the outer world of action and sensory detail with the character's inner thoughts and emotions. Maintain balance to prevent reader confusion and alienation, guiding immersive fiction.

Explore how exposition and progression illuminate fantasy writing by revealing village hierarchy, family dynamics, and the character's evolving responses to a wolf.

Learn how style and voice define fantasy writing, balancing sentence length and diction across narrator and character perspectives, and apply analysis to craft your own scene.

analyze and synthesize fiction writing by examining character, event structure, narrative scene, exposition, progression, and inner and outer voice to draft and refine a novel.

Learn how to transform a rough first draft into a polished second draft through structured analysis and notes, boosting morale while balancing character consciousness, scene detail, and narrative progression.

A mistreated stable boy finds a rare book and a mysterious wizard who teaches him to read, naming him Falcon and revealing reading as power.

Analyze a chapter from a writer you admire to learn lessons on character, event, structure, and voice; synthesize your own chapter in that style and apply workshop practice.