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Fiction Writing Made Easy with Savannah Gilbo | How to Write a Novel & Writing Advice
Do you have a story you can't stop thinking about? Maybe it's still just an idea. Maybe it's half a draft you haven't opened in months, or a finished manuscript that doesn't quite work yet. Wherever you are, it can be hard to know what your story needs next.
Fiction Writing Made Easy is a podcast for aspiring fiction authors who want clear, practical guidance on what to do next with their novels. Hosted by developmental editor and book coach Savannah Gilbo, the show breaks down complicated writing concepts into simple, actionable lessons. Savannah explains why storytelling techniques work, how the different elements of a story fit together, and what that means for your own writing—often using examples from familiar books and movies.
Topics include developing your story idea, outlining a novel, creating characters readers care about, writing scenes that move your story forward, and figuring out what to fix when your draft isn't working. You'll also find genre deep dives on romance, fantasy, thrillers, and horror, mindset tips for difficult writing days, and advice on querying agents and self-publishing.
You'll also hear from editors and industry experts, as well as writers Savannah has taught who share how they finished—and often published—their books. With hundreds of episodes and over 3.8 million downloads, there's plenty to explore wherever you are with your book.
Hit follow for new episodes every week—and take the next step toward a novel you're proud of.
Fiction Writing Made Easy with Savannah Gilbo | How to Write a Novel & Writing Advice
#62: The 6 Key Scenes Every Crime Novel Needs
Use Left/Right to seek, Home/End to jump to start or end. Hold shift to jump forward or backward.
In today's episode, we're going to talk about the key scenes that every crime story needs to have in order to work and to satisfy fans of the genre. Here's a preview of what's included:
[01:15] Crime stories are all about the quest to either solve or commit a crime. So, these stories start with a crime, build with an investigation (or a completion of the crime), and end with identifying and bringing the criminal to justice (or not).
[02:15] Readers choose crime fiction because they want to follow the trail of clues, make meaning of those clues, and figure out the puzzle right alongside the protagonist. They want to see the wrongs righted, and they want to see justice prevail.
[03:05] Obligatory scenes are the key events, decisions, and discoveries that move a protagonist along their journey from point A to point B. They help us writers craft a story that works AND a story that will deliver a specific emotional experience.
[04:35] Key scene #1: The protagonist discovers a crime that’s indicative of a master antagonist.
[05:55] Key scene #2: The stakes become personal to the protagonist, and they commit to figuring out what’s going on so they can bring the antagonist to justice.
[07:10] Key scene #3: The protagonist learns more about what the antagonist wants and why. This raises the stakes, and the clock starts ticking.
[08:40] Key scene #4: The protagonist reaches an all-is-lost moment where they realize they’ve come to the wrong conclusion or they’ve been pursuing the wrong person.
[10:05] Key scene #5: The protagonist exposes the true criminal in the big climactic moment and unravels all the antagonist’s motives and plans.
[11:40] Key scene #6: The protagonist brings the antagonist to justice (or not).
[12:55] Key points and episode recap.
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Are you subscribed to my podcast? If you’re not, I want to encourage you to do that today. I don’t want you to miss an episode! Especially because I’m adding a bunch of bonus episodes to the mix, and if you’re not subscribed, there’s a good chance you’ll miss out on those. So, click here to subscribe to the show on Apple Podcasts!
If you're already a subscriber, and if you enjoy the show, I would be really grateful if you left a review over on Apple Podcasts, too. Those reviews help other writers find my podcast, and they’re also super fun for me to go in and read. Just click here to review, select “Ratings and Reviews” and “Write a Review,” and let me know what your favorite part of the show is. Thanks in advance!
Links mentioned in this episode:
- Episode Freebie: Crime Genre Key Scenes PDF Cheat Sheet
👋 FREE TRAINING: Why You Keep Getting Stuck & How to Finally Finish Your Novel - Give me 60 minutes and I'll show you how to turn your ideas into a complete first draft—without getting stuck in the middle, constantly second-guessing, or spending years rewriting instead of finishing. Click here to save your seat!
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