During a typical day, I listen to eight hours of podcasts, music, and YouTubers. I’m a multi-tasker and perform best when I have something going in the background. This is true when I’m writing as well, and over time I’ve found some fantasy authors on YouTube who have a lot to say about developing characters, worldbuilding, and magic systems. Now I want to share those authors with you as well.

1. Abbie Emmons

Abbie Emmons is author of 100 Days of Sunlight and a YouTuber known for her engaging content on writing and storytelling. She offers practical advice and tips for writers, focusing on character development, plot structure, and the writing process. Emmons’ YouTube channel is popular among aspiring writers for its insightful and accessible approach to fiction writing. She also shares her experiences as an author, providing a behind-the-scenes look at her own writing journey and the publishing process.

Abbie Emmons is not specifically a fantasy author. However, she has some of the best and clearest explanations I’ve ever heard regarding the three-act story structure, story outlining, and character development. I highly recommend you give her a follow.

2. Brandon McNulty

Like Abbie, Brandon McNulty is not specifically a fantasy author. He’s known for thriller and horror books like Bad Parts and Entry Wounds. He creates content aimed at helping writers improve their craft, covering topics such as character development, plot construction, and writing techniques. He also shares insights from his own writing journey, including tips on navigating the publishing industry and staying productive as a writer.

Brandon tends to do breakdowns of dialogue in movies and TV shows to show good and bad examples of compelling conversation. I’ve found these breakdowns to be very useful in my writing.

3. Jed Hernes

Jed Hernes is a fantasy author and YouTuber who focuses on writing and storytelling. His content aims to help writers develop their skills, offering advice on plot structure, character development, and other aspects of fiction writing. Hernes’ YouTube channel provides tutorials, tips, and motivational content to support both new and experienced writers.

I personally was most interested in his explanation and lessons on magic systems and fantasy worldbuilding. He has some great tips that helped me understand the differences between hard and soft magic systems and more.

4. Jill Bearup

Jill Bearup is a YouTuber and author known for her content on performance, storytelling, and stage combat. She creates engaging videos that explore various aspects of film and theater, particularly focusing on how fight scenes are choreographed and performed. Bearup provides detailed analyses of action sequences, breaking down the techniques and storytelling elements involved.

Where I think Jill’s videos become really interesting are when she describes what a semi-realistic fantasy heroine should look like. These videos have been very useful and enjoyable for me during my writing journey. Note this she doesn’t so much talk about character development as depicting believable action scenes for fantasy heroines.

5. Elliot Brooks

Elliot Brooks is a YouTuber known for her content on books, writing, and the fantasy genre. She offers book reviews, recommendations, and discussions about various aspects of the writing and publishing process. Brooks’ channel is popular among readers and writers for its insightful analyses and engaging commentary.

Elliot doesn’t do as much purely educational content, but I do think her video series “Dear Authors” is very valuable for aspiring authors to listen to, as it lays out some of the tropes readers are tired of or some things readers would like to see more of. I also think it can be worthwhile for fantasy writers to listen to in-depth book reviews or breakdowns to understand what does and doesn’t appeal to readers.

Bonus: Elizabeth Wheatley

Elizabeth Wheatley is an author known for her works in the fantasy and paranormal genres. She has published several books that often feature strong heroines and complex fantasy worldbuilding. Wheatley’s writing typically explores themes of adventure, magic, and romance. Her most recent series is Daindreth’s Assassin.

I put Elizabeth in a somewhat different category than the others because much of her content is entertaining rather than educational, but it’s still worth watching and there are some nuggets of useful information. I’d say watch Elizabeth’s videos when you want something short and hilarious for the most part.

Final thoughts

I’ve been writing fiction for the past 16 years (I started really young), but I didn’t start writing what I would consider good fiction until five or six years ago. A lot of people will tell you the best way to improve is to practice, and that’s partly true, but if you’re like me you might need some extra help along the way. Hopefully these YouTubers can give you some tools to continue writing books that you and your readers can enjoy.

This post is the second in a series of ten posts that I am putting out to celebrate the first ten chapters of my own fantasy novel, Loyalty Fallen, going live here on the site. You can read the novel here.

In the meantime, please like this post and subscribe for updates as I continue this series. The next post will be about my process for choosing a title for a novel. Also, please comment below to tell me about the YouTubers who have helped you become a better fantasy author. I’d love to hear from you!