Review by Katey Stoetzel. Narrated by Jon Negroni. You can read the written version of this review here.

Review by Katey Stoetzel. Narrated by Jon Negroni. You can read the written version of this review <a href="https://inbetweendrafts.com/she-said-review/">here</a>.

Whether you're a beginner fantasy writer or maybe even a barbarian, Fantasy Writing for Barbarians can help take your story to some exciting new worlds. Hosted by Jon Negroni and produced by Natalia Emmons and Bridget Serdock.

Whether you're a beginner fantasy writer or maybe even a barbarian, Fantasy Writing for Barbarians can help take your story to some exciting new worlds. Hosted by Jon Negroni and produced by Natalia Emmons and Bridget Serdock.

Fantasy Writing for Barbarians

InBetweenDrafts is a new destination for the endlessly curious. Founded by the former editors at The Young Folks, we cover the latest news and entertainment across film, books, television, games, music, and more.

InBetweenDrafts is a new destination for the endlessly curious. Founded by the former editors at The Young Folks, we cover the latest news and entertainment across film, books, television, games, music, and more.

InBetweenDrafts

'She Said' Review

How do you write an entire fantasy party when you’re only inside one character’s head? And how do you make every member of an ensemble feel important without constantly switching perspectives?

This week on Fantasy Writing For Barbarians, Jon Negroni answers a listener question from a longtime Dungeon Master who’s struggling to translate the collaborative storytelling of Dungeons & Dragons into a fantasy novel written in close third person. He breaks down the difference between giving characters useful skills and giving them meaningful dramatic agency, explains when switching POVs is worth the trouble, and makes the case for choosing viewpoint characters based on what they have at stake rather than how much information they possess.

Have a question or topic you want me to get into for the show? Email us at fantasywritingforbarbarians@gmail.com or join our Discord (https://discord.gg/wG5g8RR4m2) and let us know what's on your mind.

Fantasy Writing for Barbarians‘ host is Jon Negroni, author of The Pixar Theory, Killerjoy, and more. You can read some of his original short fiction for free over on Cetera Magazine. Our producers are Natalia Emmons and Bridget Serdock. You can find all our episodes and various podcast app options here.

Intro music: "Adventures in Adventureland" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

How do you write an entire fantasy party when you&rsquo;re only inside one character&rsquo;s head? And how do you make every member of an ensemble feel important without constantly switching perspectives?
This week on Fantasy Writing For Barbarians, Jon Negroni answers a listener question from a longtime Dungeon Master who&rsquo;s struggling to translate the collaborative storytelling of Dungeons &amp; Dragons into a fantasy novel written in close third person. He breaks down the difference between giving characters useful skills and giving them meaningful dramatic agency, explains when switching POVs is worth the trouble, and makes the case for choosing viewpoint characters based on what they have at stake rather than how much information they possess.
Have a question or topic you want me to get into for the show? Email us at fantasywritingforbarbarians@gmail.com&nbsp;or&nbsp;join our Discord (<a href="https://discord.gg/wG5g8RR4m2)">https://discord.gg/wG5g8RR4m2)</a> and let us know what's on your mind.
Fantasy Writing for Barbarians&lsquo; host is&nbsp;<a href="https://inbetweendrafts.com/author/jonnegroni/">Jon Negroni</a>, author of&nbsp;The Pixar Theory,&nbsp;Killerjoy, and more. You can read some of his original short fiction for free over on <a href="https://ceteramagazine.com">Cetera Magazine</a>. Our producers are Natalia Emmons and Bridget Serdock. You can find all our episodes and various podcast app options <a href="https://omny.fm/shows/in-between-drafts/playlists/fantasy-writing-for-barbarians">here</a>.
Intro music: "Adventures in Adventureland" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License <a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/</a>

How to Make Every Character Matter (Without Switching POVs)

Today on Fantasy Writing for Barbarians, Jon talks about the frustrating gap between recognizing that your work could be better and actually knowing how to improve it. He breaks revision down from the scene level to the paragraph and sentence levels, explains why developing an “ear for story” differs from polishing prose, and makes the case for learning storytelling while you draft instead of blindly assembling thousands of words.

Have a question or topic you want me to get into for the show? Email us at fantasywritingforbarbarians@gmail.com or join our Discord (https://discord.gg/wG5g8RR4m2) and let us know what's on your mind.

Fantasy Writing for Barbarians‘ host is Jon Negroni, author of The Pixar Theory, Killerjoy, and more. You can read some of his original short fiction for free over on Cetera Magazine. Our producers are Natalia Emmons and Bridget Serdock. You can find all our episodes and various podcast app options here.

Intro music: "Adventures in Adventureland" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Today on Fantasy Writing for Barbarians,&nbsp;Jon talks about the frustrating gap between recognizing that your work could be better and actually knowing how to improve it. He breaks revision down from the scene level to the paragraph and sentence levels, explains why developing an &ldquo;ear for story&rdquo; differs from polishing prose, and makes the case for learning storytelling while you draft instead of blindly assembling thousands of words.
Have a question or topic you want me to get into for the show? Email us at fantasywritingforbarbarians@gmail.com&nbsp;or&nbsp;join our Discord (<a href="https://discord.gg/wG5g8RR4m2)">https://discord.gg/wG5g8RR4m2)</a> and let us know what's on your mind.
Fantasy Writing for Barbarians&lsquo; host is&nbsp;<a href="https://inbetweendrafts.com/author/jonnegroni/">Jon Negroni</a>, author of&nbsp;The Pixar Theory,&nbsp;Killerjoy, and more. You can read some of his original short fiction for free over on <a href="https://ceteramagazine.com">Cetera Magazine</a>. Our producers are Natalia Emmons and Bridget Serdock. You can find all our episodes and various podcast app options <a href="https://omny.fm/shows/in-between-drafts/playlists/fantasy-writing-for-barbarians">here</a>.
Intro music: "Adventures in Adventureland" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License <a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/</a>

“Just Finish the First Draft” Is Usually Bad Writing Advice

Today on Fantasy Writing for Barbarians, we unpack what happens when you approach a novel like a TV show that hasn’t been filmed yet. Jon digs into “TV brain prose,” a common problem among aspiring fiction writers whose scenes rely on camera-like description, character blocking, visual information, and dialogue that sounds better with an imaginary actor performing it.

Here's a link to the reddit thread referenced in this episode. Special thanks to listener Matt who shared this with us.

Have a question or topic you want me to get into for the show? Email us at fantasywritingforbarbarians@gmail.com or join our Discord (https://discord.gg/wG5g8RR4m2) and let us know what's on your mind.

Fantasy Writing for Barbarians‘ host is Jon Negroni, author of The Pixar Theory, Killerjoy, and more. You can read some of his original short fiction for free over on Cetera Magazine. Our producers are Natalia Emmons and Bridget Serdock. You can find all our episodes and various podcast app options here.

Intro music: "Adventures in Adventureland" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Today on Fantasy Writing for Barbarians,&nbsp;we unpack what happens when you approach a novel like a TV show that hasn&rsquo;t been filmed yet. Jon digs into &ldquo;TV brain prose,&rdquo; a common problem among aspiring fiction writers whose scenes rely on camera-like description, character blocking, visual information, and dialogue that sounds better with an imaginary actor performing it.
Here's a link to <a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/writing/comments/1rr46ku/i_suffer_from_the_tv_brain_prose_problem_and_im/">the reddit thread </a>referenced in this episode. Special thanks to listener Matt who shared this with us.
Have a question or topic you want me to get into for the show? Email us at fantasywritingforbarbarians@gmail.com&nbsp;or&nbsp;join our Discord (<a href="https://discord.gg/wG5g8RR4m2)">https://discord.gg/wG5g8RR4m2)</a> and let us know what's on your mind.
Fantasy Writing for Barbarians&lsquo; host is&nbsp;<a href="https://inbetweendrafts.com/author/jonnegroni/">Jon Negroni</a>, author of&nbsp;The Pixar Theory,&nbsp;Killerjoy, and more. You can read some of his original short fiction for free over on <a href="https://ceteramagazine.com">Cetera Magazine</a>. Our producers are Natalia Emmons and Bridget Serdock. You can find all our episodes and various podcast app options <a href="https://omny.fm/shows/in-between-drafts/playlists/fantasy-writing-for-barbarians">here</a>.
Intro music: "Adventures in Adventureland" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License <a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/</a>

'She Said' Review

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