Agents and publishers will ask so what's next? They want more than just a book. They want an author, someone who writes books, not a book. So another thing I got from the Notes to Novel course the confidence that I can do this again. I can write another novel. There's no fear that I will be a one-hit wonder. I can honestly tell you that I can write another. The process is hard. That is full of hard work, but the path isn't a mystery.

Welcome to the Fiction Writing Made Easy podcast. My name is Savannah Gilbo and I'm here to help you write a story that works. I want to prove to you that writing a novel doesn't have to be overwhelming, so each week, I'll bring you a brand new episode with simple, actionable and step-by-step strategies that you can implement in your writing right away. So whether you're brand new to writing or more of a seasoned author looking to improve your craft, this podcast is for you. So pick up a pen and let's get started.

In today's episode, we're going behind the scenes of five writers' journeys to see what it was like for them as they brainstormed, outlined and wrote their first draft inside the Notes to Novel course. So I reached out to some of my Notes to Novel Season 4 students and I asked them to share the number one thing they learned about writing a first draft while actually working on their first draft. So in this episode, you're going to hear from real writers who are in the trenches actively working on their novels, and in many cases, these writers have finished an entire outline or they've written to the end of a draft. So I think it'll be very fun for you to hear how they did it, plus some of their biggest takeaways from the actual drafting experience and how the Notes to Novel course helped them get to the end. So, without further ado, let's go ahead and dive right in. And the first writer we're going to hear from is Pornika Kakunaya, and here's what she had to say about writing her first draft.

Hi, I'm Pornika Kakunaya, from Pennsylvania and I'm a fantasy writer and reader who loves traveling, baking and finding a cup of good coffee. By day I'm a full-time corporate finance girlie but my nights are spent working on a fantasy, action and worldview novel with elemental magic in a university setting. Before taking Savannah's Notes to Novel course, I thought it would take me years to write a book. Don't get me wrong. It takes a lot of effort to write a novel. But Notes to Novel made my goal much more attainable. I'm a bit of a perfectionist so I knew I was probably going to struggle with getting caught up with the right word choice and little details like that. That fear made me put off starting my novel because I thought that if I had every name and location and world-building detail figured out before I started writing, then maybe I wouldn't run into as many roadblocks while writing. But obviously that just made my goal of writing a novel even harder to accomplish.

But when NOSA Novel introduced the concept of fast-drafting to me it was like my lightbulb moment. Fast drafting means always writing with forward momentum and not stopping to edit your pages while you're writing. You can use tools like Magical Revisions and Details TK as placeholders for things that you don't have figured out yet, and then you can come back to those things later on. That helped me not get hung up on the nitty-gritty like what do I name this mountain range or what Halloween costume should this side character wear, and instead I could focus on writing a compelling story.

And it worked. I wrote my 114,000 word draft in only 88 days, which was way faster than I had imagined I could write, since I could only allot a couple of hours to write most nights, and now that my first draft is done, I have a better idea of what scenes I need to edit versus what scenes I need to get rid of. If I tried to edit my draft while writing, I would have wasted so much time editing paragraphs or scenes that would have just been deleted later on and that would have been so discouraging. Fast drafting made the writing process fun, and it took a lot of the pressure out of it. I can now say that, after finishing my first draft, I still love writing, maybe even more than I did when I started, and I can't wait to keep writing more novels.

I knew Pornika had finished her first draft before hearing the clip she submitted for this episode, but I had no idea that she finished an 114,000-word draft in 88 days.

That is crazy and it it's amazing and I couldn't believe it when I heard that. But again, like Pornika said, that's the power of letting go of the expectations that your first draft will be perfect and then embracing tools like fast drafting or leaving placeholders for details that you haven't figured out yet, so that you can get your book written and eventually share it with the world. So I just think that's so cool to not only have seen Pornika's progress in the Notes to Novel course, but oh man, I can't get over the fact that she wrote 114,000 words in 88 days. That is unreal. So thank you, pornika, for sharing that with us. Your story is such an inspiration. Now, if you want to follow along on Pornika's journey, we will link to where you can find her on the internet and on social media in the show notes. The next author we're going to hear from is Allison Tenkate, and here's what she had to say about writing her first draft.

Hi, this is Allison. I live in the San Francisco area. I love to read chunky historical fiction. I listen to tons of audiobooks of all genres. When I'm doing the everyday life stuff, I write contemporary or women's fiction, including two draft novels that I've put in the drawer, and I'm currently working on a book that I outlined and started through the work with Notes to Novel.

When I wrote drafts on my own before, I had only the briefest outline or a general idea of where I wanted to start and finish, thinking that an outline would inhibit my creativity. Both books felt very flat to me and it's become clear to me that I've worked much better with an outline. So the big aha moment for me in notes to novel was the lesson on writing a well-structured scene, where everyone kind of knows that you need a story arc for the overall book. This lesson clarified so much for me that each individual scene is a mini-story that needs conflict resolution, character shift and for every scene to move the story forward. When I think about this now, I say, of course, but now I see that without putting this type of plan into every scene, it can lead to dull or flat scenes which I've written, or scenes that might be fun but don't really add to the overall story.

So for me this connected with the following lesson on mapping out plot points, starting with the key scenes and ensuring that the overall story connects all the dots from one scene to the next. So starting with the outlining, guidance in notes to novel and considering the critical elements of every scene have been not only helping me keep moving forward at a fast clip in my draft, but I actually look forward to my writing every day. I don't feel stuck, I'm excited about where I'm going and there's still plenty of opportunity for twists or elements that weren't in the outline that work better once the writing's underway. So for me, an outline helps make sure the overall story has a solid structure, with all the creative room to color in the details. Oh, and I also look forward to going back to those earlier drafts and reverse outlining to create all the conflict and connections that they'll need.

I love everything Allison said and I think it all goes back to understanding the why behind whatever craft element you're learning.

So, for example, if I were to tell a writer that they quote unquote have to make an outline for their story, that's not going to be enough to convince someone why an outline might actually be worth their time right. But I think, as writers, when we understand why or how something can help us, it not only makes us more willing to try something new, like creating an outline, but it also helps us understand how all the pieces of the writing process fit together. Kind of like when Allison said that an outline made her job of getting from scene to scene a lot easier. And that's the goal right To make the novel writing process easier and more fun. Now, if you want to follow along with Allison's writing journey, I will post links to her website and where you can find her on social media. In the show notes Next up we're going to hear from Mark Merzinski, and here's what he had to say about writing his first draft inside the Notes to Novel course.

Hi, I'm Mark Merzinski and I'm a former college administrator turned writer living in the Chicago area. But I started my life first as a musician and composer and I spent my early days playing the accordion and then the piano, and it always amazes me how you can start your life from one path and end up someplace you totally didn't plan, just by the small decisions you make along the way. Now I'm writing short and long fiction in a variety of genres, but recently I've started digging into historical mysteries, both for my reading pleasure and for writing. I so enjoy novels such as Umberto Eco's Name of the Rose and Caleb Carr's the Alienist.

I began focusing on my writing about four years ago and, being older than most debut authors, I knew I didn't have tons of time to mess around and learn through experimentation. I had this real fear it was too late for me to learn to write novels, and I was afraid of investing into something, a practice, a framework that would take me nowhere and just waste time and money. So I was looking for a no-nonsense plan to help me to put my novel together, one that would get me to the finish line with a solid work. I tried a couple other approaches, but found them either too loose or too much in the weeds. Savannah's notes to novel did it just right for me. I'd been listening to her podcast for a while and loved her direct and positive approach and knew it would be a good fit for me. I think the biggest aha in the course was the realization there was the flexibility to create my own story. I was afraid that following any method, so to speak, I'd end up with cookie cutter, dime store novel the kind people read in a day and then forget and toss away. The notes to novel, course, were great at showing the non-negotiables, those things that made it a successful story, but also in allowing space for originality and creativity. So when I actually put my fingers to the keyboard and I drafted the novel, I just followed her framework and they didn't worry about being too rigid or formulaic.

The magic, if I can call it that, was that the end product was anything but so. If I had a word of advice, if I had a word of advice for anyone on the brink of starting a novel, I'd say trust the process or, better yet, trust Savannah's process because it works. So what's next for me? I finished my novel a few months ago and I had some beta readers review it. Well, they loved it. At first that was a huge relief because as writers we know we're always writing in a vacuum and it's great to have positive feedback. Then it was exciting and then I was completely scared. I just started querying agents and I can tell you, nothing prompts the imposter feeling like querying agents. Agents and publishers will ask so what's next? They want more than just a book. They want an author, someone who writes books, not a book.

So another thing I got from the Notes to Novel course the confidence that I can do this again. I can write another novel. There's no fear that I will be a one-hit wonder. I can honestly. The confidence that I can do this again. I can write another novel. There's no fear that I will be a one-hit wonder. I can honestly tell you that I can write another. The process is hard. That is full of hard work, but the path isn't a mystery. So thanks for listening and I wish you the best success in your writing.

I think what Mark said about following a template or following, you know, any of those story structure methods, I think that's super relatable. I think that's what a lot of writers feel and it's understandable, right for all the reasons Mark said. But what I liked about what Mark said is that he followed a process for his first draft and he went into it with the right mindset. So in his mind, he was using this kind of template or framework to get his story out of his head and onto the page. And if you go into the process knowing that these things are just templates or frameworks to help you start to shape your ideas, then you can also add a little caveat to your expectations and say, yes, that is true, and also, I'm still going to be able to be creative and flexible within the process. So I think that's what Mark did and the proof is in the pudding right.

He finished his draft, he got great feedback on it and even cooler than all of that is what he said about having the confidence that he can do this again. I mean, for any aspiring author or any writer who hasn't finished a draft yet, having that kind of confidence that you can show up to your desk and write a story from start to finish, again after completing one. That's huge right. So I just really love what Mark said. The process is full of hard work, yes, but the pathway or the process isn't a mystery, and I think that's so true, so well said. So thank you for sharing that with us, mark. If you want to follow along on Mark's journey, we will link to his website and social media in the show notes. Next up is Sharon, england, and here's what Sharon had to say about working on her first draft inside the Notes to Novel course.

Hello, my name is Sharon. I live near Harrisburg, pennsylvania. I've never written a book. I have written curriculum and grant requests and technical items, but never a book. I've been trying to write a novel for many years but never had the time or energy to dedicate to that task while I worked full-time After I retired, I was determined to accomplish this goal. At first I tried to go it on my own and soon became frustrated, recognizing that I didn't know the first thing about writing a work of fiction. I started listening to podcasts and came across Savannah's Fiction Writing Made Easy podcast. And what can I say? I appreciated the practical advice she provides for free in every session. I love her enthusiasm and encouragement that she delivers.

I thought about taking other online courses, but the Notes to Novel course appealed to me the most, so I decided to invest in my goal and sign up for the course. I was not disappointed. It's hard to identify a single favorite takeaway from my experience in Notes to Novel, but I think the most significant was Module 4 on how to write a well-structured scene by using the five elements. When writing my discovery draft, I actually kept a hard copy of this lesson by my computer and referred to it before I started each scene to make sure I was including an exciting incident, turning point, crisis, climax and resolution in each scene. Prior to Notes to Novel, I participated in a critique group and have been sharing chapters for feedback. Once I implemented the scene writing techniques, my partners noted a distinct difference in the quality of my scene writing, saying they were much more focused.

Savannah's steps for outlining a novel were another significant breakthrough for me. Before I took Notes to Novel, I told people I had a complete outline for my novel, but I learned from this class. I was missing essential conventions for my genre. Once I learned those components, I re-outlined my entire novel and came up with a more constructive and effective outline. After that, I instituted a reasonable time frame for drafting, with a goal of completing 6,000 words, or three scenes each week.

Of course, there were many more lessons I learned in this course that I applied, which altogether helped me achieve my goal of completing my first draft two days prior to my deadline. I can't say it was easy, but it definitely was easier and very nearly stress-free. After taking a few weeks off from writing, I planned to start editing my novel using the editing strategies I learned from Savannah's Notes to Novel course. I am counting on the support of two accountability groups. I have joined where I meet weekly with writers. I have met through Notes to Novel To further increase my skills. I also joined StoryLab, led by Savannah, with other aspiring writers who have completed the Notes to Novel course.

I think it's really interesting that Sharon's advice kind of echoes what we've already heard. Right, the power of learning how to write a great scene and leaning into that outlining process. Both of these things helped Sharon get to the end of her first draft and, like she said, she's now going to use the exact same tools she learned in the Notes to Novel course to help her edit her first draft as well. So I think that's really cool. And you know, not everyone can write 6,000 words or two to three scenes per week. That's totally fine. That's what was realistic for Sharon, but it doesn't have to be realistic for you. So just a small caveat there when coming up with your own plan for writing or editing your draft, just make sure you're taking into consideration everything else you have going on in your life like work, kids, vacations or anything like that. Every writer is going to work differently and it's just important to consider what is realistic for you when building out these plans. The other thing I think that's really cool about what Sharon said is that she got proof that what she was putting into practice was actually working. So I love that.

She said her critique partners in her writing group were noticing an improvement in her chapters because she had focused so much on learning how to write a compelling scene. So, when in doubt, if you're not a fan of outlining and you're like, okay, savannah, I hear you. You always talk about the power of outlining, but I don't really want to do that. If you're not a fan of that, maybe you could at least start diving into what it means to write a scene that works, because, as you've heard in this podcast today, it makes a big difference for all different kinds of writers. So, anyway, thank you, sharon, for sharing that with us. If you're listening and you want to follow along with Sharon's journey, we will post links to her website and social media in the show notes. Okay, the final author we're going to hear from today is Rhonda Eustace, and here's what she had to say about working on her first draft in the Notes to Novel course.

Hi there, I'm Rhonda Eustace and I write historical fiction. I am a late bloomer when it comes to writing. When I was a kid, I'd write plays to entertain my friends and family at Christmas and force my brothers to act in them, and after college I wrote a few murder mysteries for parties that I hosted for friends. But other than that and keeping a daily journal, I didn't write much for fun, even though I had this idea for a story that lingered in the back of my mind for years. So most of my early adult years I chased my career as a clinical pharmacist, and for several of those years I competed in long distance triathlons that monopolized pretty much all of my free time. And so at age 45, when I got injured and couldn't compete in triathlons anymore, I decided it was finally time to sit down and write this novel. So I did what as many do I bought a bunch of craft books and read everything I can get my hands on and started to write, but I found myself getting stuck and spinning my wheels trying to get this partially formed story from my head onto the page. So I knew I needed some help. When I was doing triathlon, I had worked with a great triathlon coach who got me to the finish line of more than a dozen triathlons One took me more than 14 hours to complete. So I knew I had the endurance to write a novel. I just didn't know what I was doing, and so I figured I was going to need some kind of coach, but I did not know where to find one until I came across Savannah's podcast and the Notes to Novel course, and with her help and the help of this course, I was able to complete my first 80,000 word first draft, and so everything I learned in Notes to Novel was valuable.

But there were two things that the course taught me that really helped me get through this first draft. So what I found was, many times when I would sit down to write, my inner critic, that little voice inside me, would tell me you're too old to start writing, you should be doing something more practical, you don't have anything important to say. But one of the first things the Notes to Novel course taught me was to really think through why I wanted to write this story and to tap into my core message or tap into my deep level, why. And once I was able to do that, I was able to uncover my story's theme and this served as kind of a golden thread that I could go back to when I got stuck when I was developing my outline and again when I was writing my scenes. So I thought that was very valuable.

So the second thing that the notes to novel teaches that was a game changer for me was how to write a compelling scene and specifically in each scene I needed to give my point of view character agency by making sure this character is the one that's making the decision in the climactic moment of the scene. So this really helped me to streamline my writing and to create a good narrative drive that drove me to the end of the story. So the notes to novel course and the Q&A sessions with Savannah gave me the tools and the encouragement to finish this first draft of my novel. Now, I never expected my first draft to be perfect and it wasn't. But, like Savannah says, you can't edit something if it's not on the page. So through this process I discovered how incredibly fun writing can be when you find the right coach who meets you where you are and cheers you on all the way to the finish line. And, unlike with triathlon, writing has a very slim chance of causing chipping and blisters.

Rhonda, I love how you compared writing a novel to running a marathon, because I don't think you're far off there in that comparison. Sometimes the two things feel very similar. One's just a little more physical and one's a little more mental, right. But one thing I want to highlight about what Rhonda said is something that I think many of us do. So we sit down to write a novel. We have this idea, we have this dream. We gobble up as many craft books or podcasts or whatever we can find about how to craft a novel from start to finish, and then what happens is we have a lot of information in our heads, right. We learn about what it means to craft a compelling character. We might even learn what it means to write a scene that works, or what agents are looking for in those first five pages, or whatever it is that we're studying. But the big piece that many of us are missing is process. So we might know what to do. We might understand a little bit about how to do it. Like I said, crafting a character, we might know the pieces, the ingredients of that. So a compelling character needs a well-fleshed out backstory. They need a solid goal and motivation. They need conflict. They need these things right. So we collect these things and we try to put those things into practice. And it's almost like if we were doing it in a silo, like if we were just focused on crafting a character. Then maybe it would be a little bit easier. But we have to craft that character. We have to create a plot that's going to throw appropriate conflict their way. We have to build a world.

Sometimes if we're doing something like fantasy, sci-fi or historical fiction, there's just so many things involved in writing a novel and we collect all these pieces of information but we don't have a process that helps us turn that information and turn our ideas into something that is a full-length story that people will want to read. And that's kind of like what Rhonda was saying. Right, she's like I had all the books I read, everything I could get my hands on, but I still felt like I was getting stuck and spinning my wheels. And what Notes to Novel gave Rhonda and all the writers you heard on the podcast today is it gave them a process to follow to turn those ideas and to turn those things they had spent time learning about into a story that works. And so I'm just so glad that the Notes novel course can provide a way out of that darkness and to give us a way to stop spinning our wheels.

The other thing I like about what Rhonda said is she kept having this little voice that told her you're too old to start writing, and I think that's very relatable too. I mean, we've heard it a few times, even just on this podcast episode. Right, I hear it from a lot of writers they think they're too old to start writing, or they're too young to start writing, or that they can't start writing or they shouldn't write a novel because they don't have an MFA, or maybe they never went to college, or whatever that excuse is that prevents us from accomplishing this dream of writing a novel, and I think it's interesting because we all have a different version of that excuse. So, like I said, I hear from people that think they're too old and then other people who think they're too young. So I always like to just think about what is the right age Like? If you think you're too old and you think you're too young, what do we think that right age is? And the answer is there is no right age. Personally, I think that there is no excuse, and I kind of hate using that word excuse because it sounds negative, but in my opinion, there is no reason why you can't write a novel. So, for those listening, don't let age stop you. Don't let your lack of MFA or lack of college degree stop you. I believe anybody can write a novel if they have the will and they put in the time to learn how to craft a story that works.

So let Rhonda and all the other writers in today's episode be an inspiration to you. They all had different versions of excuses or problems they were coming up against and they all managed to make a lot of really great progress in the course, and I'm just so excited to see what they all come up with. So, rhonda, thank you so much for sharing that with us, and if you're listening and you want to follow along with Rhonda's journey, we will link to her website and social media in the show notes. And a big thank you to Pornika, allison, mark, sharon and Rhonda for coming on this episode and sharing your biggest lessons learned while writing your first drafts and your experience going through the Notes to Novel course. I truly appreciate you and, for my listeners, if you enjoyed this episode, go check out the social media or the websites of all the different authors we had on the show today. Say hello and give them a high five for sharing their stories and their struggles with us and let them know how this episode has affected you. I'm sure they would love to hear from you.

And if you're interested in signing up for my Notes to no course, enrollment is officially open at the time this episode goes live. You can learn more by going to savannahgilbocom forward slash yes or by signing up for my brand new live training called your start to finish book blueprint how to write a novel in five steps. No MFA or creative writing degree required To save your seat for one of those live trainings. You can go to savannahgilbocom forward slash book and choose the date and time that works best for you, and hopefully I will see you there or inside the Notes to Novel course. So that's it for today's episode.

As always, thank you so much for tuning in and for showing your support. If you want to check out any of the links I mentioned in this episode, you can find them in the show notes listed in the description of each episode inside your podcast player or at savannahgilbocom forward slash podcast. If you're an Apple user. I'd really appreciate it if you took a few seconds to leave a rating and a review. Your ratings and reviews tell Apple that this is a podcast that's worth listening to and, in turn, your reviews will help this podcast get in front of more fiction writers just like you. And while you're there, go ahead and hit that follow button, because there's going to be another brand new episode next week, full of actionable tips, tools and strategies to help you become a better writer. So I'll see you next week and until then, happy writing.