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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
#85: Student Spotlight: How She Overcame Her Fear of the Blank Page (and Indie Published Her Novel) with Jennifer Lauer
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 sitting down with Jennifer Lauer to talk through how she overcame her fear of the blank page and indie published her debut novel. Here’s a preview of what’s included:
[03:00] An introduction to Jennifer Lauer and her story, The Girl in the Zoo
[09:30] What the beginning of the writing process looked like for Jennifer—and when she finally realized that her fear of the blank page was preventing her from writing
[14:45] What happened when Jennifer finished the first draft of her book (and changed her genre from love to action)
[26:00] Jennifer’s experience entering a Twitter pitch contest—and how it gave her the courage to submit her pages for a critique on TSNOTYAW podcast
[30:35] Why Jennifer ultimately decided to indie publish her novel (even after getting a positive response from a few industry professionals)
[43:35] The 3 biggest lessons Jennifer learned from this experience (and the advice she’d give to her past self when embarking on this writing journey)
[47:00] Final words of wisdom and advice from Jennifer
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 go in and 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!
Links mentioned in this episode:
- Visit Jennifer’s website or follow her on Instagram @jenniferleelauer
- Jennifer’s debut novel, The Girl in the Zoo on Amazon
- Jennifer’s fiction podcast The Strange Chronicles
- The Spun Yarn Beta Reader Service
- The Shit No One Tells You About Writing Podcast
- Dyna Kau (cover designer) and Barbie at Monocle Editing
- Joanna Penn’s website
- Jane Friedman’s website
- Want to learn more about my Notes to Novel course? Click here to sign up for my FREE TRAINING: The 5 Little-Known Mistakes Most Writers Make (& 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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