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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
#84: The 6 Scenes Every Status Story 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, I’m covering the key scenes that every status story needs. I’ve also included examples of how they show up in the movie The Devil Wears Prada. Here’s a preview of what’s included:
[01:40] Status stories center around the protagonist’s inner need for respect that manifests as a specific desire to achieve or accomplish something in the external world.
[02:40] Readers of status stories want to feel hopeful that the protagonist will succeed. They want to read about someone who works hard to improve their situation–and they want to feel a sense of triumph when that person succeeds.
[04:20] 1- The protagonist becomes aware of an opportunity to rise in position.
[05:07] 2- The protagonist commits to pursuing this new opportunity, leaving their comfort zone or current circumstances to go after it.
[05:55] 3- The protagonist sees the true nature of the antagonist and/or learns what the antagonist wants and why.
[07:00] 4- The protagonist reaches an all-is-lost moment where the antagonist or rival takes the lead and/or destroys the protagonist’s chance at getting what they want.
[08:00] 5- The protagonist faces the antagonist, and either gets what they want or redefines their definition of success to get what they need.
[09:05] 6- The protagonist is rewarded externally, internally, or both.
[09:50] Key points and episode recap
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Links mentioned in this episode:
- Episode Freebie: Status Genre Conventions PDF Cheat Sheet
- Click here to take the Fiction Writing Made Easier quiz to get your personalized podcast playlist!
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