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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
#90: How to Choose the Best Point of View for Your Story
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 going to walk you through how to choose the best point of view and tense for your story. Here’s a preview of what’s included:
[01:35] Point of view is the lens through which your story is told. It’s whose eyes the reader will experience your story through.
[01:56] In first person point of view, your protagonist is the narrator. They’re telling the story in their own words, from their own perspective, and filtering things through their own worldview and biases.
[04:50] In second person point of view, the writer makes the reader the protagonist in the story, speaking directly to “you” as the story unfolds.
[06:03] In third person omniscient point of view, the story is told from a god-like, all knowing perspective, by a narrator who doesn’t have a role in the story.
[09:20] In third person limited point of view, the story is told from a distance following the perspective of one POV character per scene. It’s similar to first person POV, but told from a bit more of a distance.
[13:30] If you’re writing from multiple perspectives, make sure they’re connected in some way. They can be in a relationship together, have their fates tied together, or face a common form of conflict.
[16:39] Key points and episode recap.
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Links mentioned in this episode:
- FREE WORKBOOK: Grab my brand-new, multi-page Story Starter Kit that will walk you through five key questions to answer before you start writing.
👋 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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