Fiction Writing Made Easy with Savannah Gilbo | How to Write a Novel & Writing Advice
Fiction Writing Made Easy is your go-to creative writing podcast for practical, no-fluff tips on how to write, edit, and publish a novel—from first draft to finished book.
Hosted by developmental editor and book coach Savannah Gilbo, this show breaks down the fiction writing process into clear, actionable steps so you can finally make progress on your manuscript and write a novel you’re proud of.
Whether you’re a first-time author, an aspiring novelist, or a seasoned writer looking to strengthen your craft, each episode will help you understand what makes a story work at the deepest level—so you can stop second-guessing your ideas and start building a stronger novel from the inside out.
You’ll learn how to develop your premise, structure your plot, create compelling characters, write stronger scenes, world-build without infodumping, revise your draft, and navigate your publishing options with more clarity and confidence.
If you’ve ever wondered things like...
How do I write a novel if I’ve never done this before?
What’s the best way to structure a story that works?
How do I develop strong characters readers will care about?
How do I build an immersive world without info-dumping?
How do I write scenes that move the story forward?
How do I edit my first draft?
How do I know when my book is ready to publish?
Should I pursue self-publishing or traditional publishing?
…you’re in the right place.
New episodes drop weekly to help you simplify the novel-writing process, strengthen your storytelling skills, and get your book into readers’ hands.
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Popular Episode Topics Include: Fiction Writing Tips, Story Structure, Plotting a Novel, Character Development, Writing Stronger Scenes, World Building, Novel Revision, Story Development, How to Outline a Novel, Character Arcs, Genre Fiction, Editing a Novel, Fiction Writing Mistakes to Avoid, Revision Strategies, Writing Advice
Fiction Writing Made Easy with Savannah Gilbo | How to Write a Novel & Writing Advice
Bonus: How 3 Writers Found a Clear Path Through All the Writing Advice
•Savannah Gilbo
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If you’ve read the craft books, listened to hundreds of podcast episodes, and studied all kinds of writing advice—but still sit down at your desk wondering, okay, what am I actually supposed to work on today?—this episode is for you.
Because at some point, learning more about writing stops being the missing piece. You need a process that helps you figure out what your specific story needs, what to work on next, and how all the pieces fit together.
In this bonus episode, you’ll hear from three writers who had spent a lot of time learning about writing, but still struggled to turn everything they’d learned into a clear path forward.
You’ll hear from Josie, a self-described chronic over-learner who had studied every major plotting method but kept running into dead ends while trying to outline her novel. Emily, who wrote 35,000 words of her romantic fantasy before getting stuck in a middle she couldn’t see clearly. And Nefer, who spent five years caught in a cycle of line editing when she knew her manuscript needed much bigger changes.
Three writers, stuck in three completely different ways.
But what got all of them moving forward again was the same thing—and it wasn't more craft advice. It was having a process that helped them figure out what their specific story needed, what to work on next, and how all the pieces fit together.
In this episode, you'll hear:
[03:29] How one writer went from cobbling together different plotting methods and running into dead ends to creating a detailed scene-by-scene outline she could confidently write from.
[08:02] How one writer who stalled at 35,000 words finally gained clarity on the entire shape of her story—including the middle that had felt impossibly murky.
[12:33] What happened when one writer zoomed out of her line-by-line prose to focus on the big picture of her story first—and how doing so gave her the clarity to move forward.
If you've spent months, or even years, learning about the craft but still feel unsure what your novel needs from you next, there's a good chance you'll recognize yourself in at least one of these stories.
It's the same process Josie, Emily, and Nefer used to make the progress you'll hear about today. Inside, I'll help you develop your story's foundation, create your cast of characters, and map your plot into a scene-by-scene outline so you can write your draft with clarity and confidence.
If you loved this episode, please take a moment to follow the show and leave a review on Apple Podcasts! Your review will help other writers find this podcast and get the insights they need to finish their books. Thanks for tuning in to The Fiction Writing Made Easy Podcast! See you next week!
FREE TRAINING: Why You Keep Getting Stuck & How to Finally Finish Your Novel - Join me LIVE to learn 3 secrets for turning your ideas into a complete first draft—without getting stuck in the middle, constantly second-guessing, or spending years rewriting instead of finishing. Save your seat here.
I thought I could just muscle my way through the madness of combining creativity and structure into a cohesive story. Then I'd feel guilty for letting myself down and like I'd never accomplish my dream when I didn't reach them. Now I know exactly how to reach the deadlines I set for myself. I have clarity on the entire shape of my story, not just the beginning and ending, but the whole middle that used to feel impossibly murky to me. I know how to build conflict, create that narrative drive, write scenes that leave the reader wanting more, and I know how to get from A to Z without getting lost in the weeds. And with my full outline done, I know I will be able to write much faster than I was before.
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 talking about why learning a lot about writing doesn't always translate into making progress on your novel. If you've listened to the podcast, read the craft books, and studied all the different storytelling methods, but somehow still sit down with your novel and wonder what you're actually supposed to work on next, then this episode is for you. Today you're going to hear from three writers who had learned a lot about the craft but were still struggling to turn everything they knew and everything they had learned into a complete story. You'll hear from Josie, who had studied all the major plotting methods and taken all kinds of notes, but still struggled to bring everything together into a clear path forward. You'll hear from Nefer, who spent five years working on her fantasy story and had read plenty of craft books, but still couldn't get her draft to work the way that she wanted it to. And you'll hear from Emily who kept turning to podcasts, craft books, and research whenever she wasn't sure what to work on next, but still couldn't get through the messy middle of her novel. Now, here's what I love about all three of these stories. None of these writers needed to work harder or consume more information or become more disciplined or have better ideas. They just needed a way to organize what they already knew, identify what their individual stories needed, and then work through those pieces in a logical order. Alright, so if you've spent months or even years learning about the craft but still feel unsure how to move your story forward, then these writers will show you why knowing a lot about writing isn't the same as having a process for writing your
book. But before we dive into the first clip, I want to let you know that my Notes to Novel course is officially open for enrollment right now until September 4th. Notes to Novel is my eight-week live group coaching program that gives you a step-by-step, complete process for turning your ideas into a story that works. If you've been waiting to work with me in your novel, then this is your chance. Head over to Savannah Gilbo.com forward slash yes to learn more and enroll. One more time, that's Savannah Gilbo.com forward slash yes to learn more about how to work with me on your story through my notes to novel course. All right, now without further ado, let's dive into the first clip from Josie.
Hi everyone, I'm Josie. I live in northern New South Wales, Australia with my husband and several animals. I grew up in Vermont in the States and still spend a lot of my time there too, so I'm really an Aussie American hybrid. I am a cat and horse lover. I am mildly addicted to tea and chocolate, and I write romanticy or romantic fantasy. I love being able to now write the things I like to read so much and also write the things I want to see more of in the genre. I've always dreamed of being a writer. I wrote a fantasy series when I was about seven years old called The Magical Cats Fantasy Series, which was a big, big bestseller in my family and probably a foreshadowing to the books I'm writing now, just without all the magical cats. So my novel writing journey really kicked off when I joined Notes to Novel. I had spent about a year before I joined deep in the brainstorming phase and also in the learning phase, not in a good way. I'm a chronic overlearner, likely from my former life and career as an academic. And before Notes to Novel, I read all the craft books, I took tens of thousands of words worth of notes, I learned all the major plotting methods, and was cobbling together all of my learning and my, you know, really DIYing my way forward towards an outline and an early draft, expecting to be able to do this from my mess of notes. So I was frustrated when I was running into dead ends in my plotting and running into problems when trying to layer my plot and my character arcs, et cetera. So when I got to Notes to Novel, it was really a series of light bulb moments, honestly, firework moments that went off in my brain as Savannah just lays out such a clear path for the process. It feels honestly fail-proof in the way she teaches the course and the way she supports all of us through our own story creation. We also did so much work that I hadn't done in my whole year of learning and brainstorming and in my DIYing phase. And that was so crucial, things like fleshing out my antagonist before my protagonist and working with my whole story from the foundation of my theme rather than my plot, and learning how to seamlessly weave all of the layers of my story together in a way that made sense and made everything click. And then I was able to create an entire detailed outline for every scene of my book with relative ease, a little bit of pain, but relative ease. And Savannah's feedback on my story one sheet was also so valuable in clarifying some sticky points and helping me move forward and understand what was and wasn't working. And the live calls for the course are so helpful being able to workshop our work with Savannah and the other students every week. So my biggest takeaway from Notes to Novel was having a really clear and coherent structure and a path forward from the seed of my idea to now a fully fledged, detailed, layered, nuanced outline. So I'm now fast drafting my novel. I have just finished with act one and feeling so much more confident with the map and path ahead that I have. Anytime I run into an issue, I just come back to my key scenes, my theme, I solve it from the ground up, and it's honestly like having Savannah right there. I'm like, what would Savannah tell me? And it's so far worked every time. I'm still struggling to embrace the mess of the discovery draft as a recovering perfectionist. But after connecting with other writers, I feel much better about the mess, and I'm having so much fun writing now and feel confident and clear, and just want to wholeheartedly recommend Notes to Novel for anyone who resonates with my writing journey. I absolutely love being a part of this community. It is honestly the most supportive, amazing community online I've ever been a part of, and I could not imagine writing without it. So to all the writers out there, I hope you come join us.
Hey, I'm Em, and I'm currently working on my debut novel, a romantic fantasy with lots of political intrigue and an emotionally synergistic magic system. Before joining Notes to Novel, I was really struggling with direction. Most of my writing time wasn't actual writing. It was me trying to figure out what I should even be doing today. I'd sit down to write and end up back in the cycle of listening to podcasts, reading craft books, doing story research, and going deep into Google rabbit holes. I wanted to stubbornly learn it all on my own. And I think with enough time I maybe could have done it, but I wanted to write a book now, not years from now. All that time spent learning the craft was just sort of working for me. I did write 35,000 words, which felt like a big win, but I just couldn't get past that threshold. And when I looked back at what I'd written, the story was a little bit all over the place. My research didn't give me a truly clear, cohesive plan, and trying to piece everything together on my own was honestly exhausting. I knew my first draft was going to be messy, we've all heard that, right? But mine was too messy because I didn't have structure or direction. I couldn't see the middle of my story, and I reached a point where I thought, if I'm not able to figure this out, how am I ever going to finish my book? What made me finally say yes to Notes to Novel was simple. I listened to an episode of fiction writing made easy where other graduates shared their experiences and something clicked. I was debating whether I was ready to have someone help me through this process. When I told my husband about considering the course, he said, if it brings you joy and excitement, you should do it. That one sentence completely shifted my perspective. Writing does bring me joy, but I hadn't let myself invest in that joy. I'd been spinning my wheels for months. So when enrollment opened, the timing felt perfect. I was finally ready to learn how to write a story that works. And the results have honestly blown me away. Right now I'm about two-thirds of the way through my outline and I'll have it finished by the end of this week. Before Notes to Novel, I made arbitrary deadlines without having any idea how to reach them. I thought I could just muscle my way through the madness of combining creativity and structure into a cohesive story. Then I'd feel guilty for letting myself down and like I'd never accomplish my dream when I didn't reach them. Now I know exactly how to reach the deadlines I set for myself. I have clarity on the entire shape of my story, not just the beginning and ending, but the whole middle that used to feel impossibly murky to me. I know how to build conflict, create that narrative drive, write scenes that leave the reader wanting more, and I know how to get from A to Z without getting lost in the weeds. And with my full outline done, I know I will be able to write much faster than I was before. One of the biggest light bulb moments for me was understanding how to write a stronger antagonist and how that unlocks so much of your story. Learning how to write scenes with clear, meaningful conflict was another big aha moment. The way Savannah presented these two lessons were in ways I'd never approached these topics before. I know they'll help me write a much stronger first draft. But my favorite part of the whole experience was the personal direct feedback you get from Savannah herself. Sharing your story, especially as a debut author, is intimidating. But Savannah is approachable and so willing to help you unravel the story that's been percolating inside your mind. Her individual insights are why I finally understand the second half of my story. I went from feeling stuck and frustrated to feeling confident, capable, and genuinely excited. My first draft will probably read more like a third or fourth draft because of the foundation that Notes to Novel helped me build. So if you're listening right now and you're where I was, stuck in that cycle of overlearning, unable to get past the middle, or feeling like everything is just too messy, this course might be what helps you finally make meaningful progress. It gave me direction, community, accountability, and so much encouragement. If you need someone to give you permission to invest in yourself and your writing, let that person be me. I'm glad I took the leap to join Notes to Novel, and I'm so grateful for the tools it gave me, the confidence it restored, and the momentum that I now have. For the first time, I don't just believe I can maybe one day finish my novel. I know that I will.
Hi Savannah. Hello everyone. Thank you so much for having me on Fiction Writing Made Easy. I'm Nepher Doan. I live in the Bay Area and I write dark and cozy fantasy. Before I took notes the novel, I'd spent five years working on my first fantasy story, and I was caught in this endless loop of line editing rather than doing what was important at that time, focusing on big developmental edits. I'd read plenty of craft books and I'd listened to a few podcasts, but I still felt like something wasn't quite clicking for me. And this led to kind of a continuous cycle of fear and doubt, which just gave me this compulsion for more line editing. And I knew it at the time, but I couldn't break out of it. So that was frustrating to say the least. In Notes to Novel, my biggest breakthrough or aha moment is kind of hard to pinpoint because I had several. So one was regarding genre, and you know, we talk about genre a lot. So some people think of genre as like YA fantasy or adult fantasy, but when we think about genre, we're thinking more about, you know, is this an action or a mystery? So for me, it was lining up external and internal genres to build strong bones or the framework up for my story, focusing on action and worldview genres. Another big aha moment was learning more about the key scene elements, specifically the crisis point, and how you want each crisis to hold equal weight so the decision feels real and not easy, the character has autonomy, and this also sets up the sticks for conflict in a way that feels really natural. So now that I've completed Notes the Novel, I want to touch on what's changed for me. I've always loved writing, but now I have a lot more confidence in what I'm doing, I think because I have more clarity. So I feel a lot more confident setting up a scene, to strengthening my character's arcs, to showing a lot more character interiority. And I'm definitely not stuck in line editing anymore, so I highly appreciate that. As for revising the fantasy book that I'm working on, I actually went through it and outlined it according to the method that we learned in Notes to Novel. And it's been so much easier to just dig in and make big necessary changes. Um, I also appreciate outlining a lot more. The notes to novel method encourages my brain to think in a linear cause and effect way that's been helpful in setting up a cleaner draft and a stronger version of my original story. So I just want to say that I'm really happy that I took Notes to Novel, and I'm endlessly grateful to you, Savannah, for sharing your knowledge and expertise. Thank you.
so I hope hearing from Josie, Emily, and Nephur gave you a new perspective on the difference between learning about writing and having a process for actually finishing your novel. Whether it was hearing about Josie turning all of her notes into a detailed scene-by-scline she could write from, or Nephir breaking out of a five-year cycle of line editing so she could zoom out and confidently make those bigger changes that her story needed, or Emily finally gaining clarity on the whole shape of her story, including the middle that had felt impossibly murky before. I hope at least one of their stories inspired you today. And here's the real takeaway from today's episode. Writing advice can be incredibly valuable and incredibly helpful, there is no doubt about it. But individual tips can only take you so far, and at some point you're going to need a process that helps you understand what your specific story needs, what to work on next, and how all the pieces fit together. Now, if the stories in today's episode made you realize that a clear process might be the thing you've been missing, then come check out my notes to novel
course. It's the same course that helped Josie, Nefer, and Emily make the progress you've heard about today. Inside the program, I walk you step by step through developing your stories foundation, creating your cast of characters, mapping out your plot into a scene by scene outline, and so much more. All so that you can start writing your first draft with clarity and confidence. Now, one more time, enrollment is closing on September 4th, so head over to Savannah Gilbo.com forward slash yes to learn more and enroll before doors close. One more time, that's Savannah Gilbo.com forward slash yes to learn more about notes to novel and join me in the course. All right, so that's all I have for you in today's episode. As always, thank you so much for tuning in and for all of your support. I hope that your writing is going well, and I will see you in the next episode.
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