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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
#80: Student Spotlight: 5 Lessons Learned From Writing a First Draft
Use Left/Right to seek, Home/End to jump to start or end. Hold shift to jump forward or backward.
In today’s episode, I asked five of my Notes to Novel students to share their biggest lessons learned while working through their first drafts. Here’s a preview of what’s included:
[02:00] Kelsey Evans on how understanding her genre’s framework made the biggest difference in her ability to finally finish her first draft
[06:35] Stefanie Medrek and her favorite advice for battling writer’s block
[11:00] Angela Haas on the popular writing advice to “show, don’t tell”
[16:00] Bree Cox on how she used her outline to test out ideas before writing
[20:30] Kara Kentley on the importance of having a writing community
[28:20] Casey Drillette on how she embraced the outlining process (as a pantser!)
Rate + Review + Follow on Apple Podcasts
"I love the Fiction Writing Made Easy podcast!" ← If that sounds like you, please consider rating and reviewing this show! Your rating and review will help other writers find this podcast, and they're also super fun for me to read. Just click here, scroll all the way to the bottom, tap five stars to rate the show, and then select "Write a Review." Be sure to let me know what your favorite part of the episode was, too!
Also, if you haven't done so already, make sure you're following the podcast! I'll be adding a bunch of bonus episodes to the feed, and if you're not following the show, there's a good chance you'll miss them. Click here to follow now!
Links mentioned in this episode:
- Follow Kelsey Evans on Twitter @kelseyevans or visit her website here
- Follow Stefanie Medrek on Instagram @medrekwrites or visit her website here.
- Follow Angela Haas on Facebook or visit her website here
- Follow Bree Cox on Instagram @breeacox or visit her website here
- Follow Kara Kentley on Instagram, Tik Tok, or Twitter @karakentley or visit her website here
- Follow Casey Drillette on Instagram @caseydrillette
- My FREE training—The 5 Little Known Mistakes Most Fiction Writers Make (and What To Do Instead).
👋 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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