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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
Bonus: Ask Savannah (Listener Q&A)
Use Left/Right to seek, Home/End to jump to start or end. Hold shift to jump forward or backward.
In today's extra special bonus episode, I'm going to answer some questions from you guys! Here's a quick overview of what we talk about in this episode:
[01:30] Joe Larkin asks, "Do you have a general rule of thumb for how long a scene should be?"
[02:45] Margo Geary asks, "Your job sounds really awesome! How do you become an editor or book coach?"
[04:45] Julia Pentrose asks, "I get why info-dumping isn't a good idea, but how do you get your character's backstory or worldbuilding details in your story without info-dumping? Isn't that stuff important to show the reader?"
[08:15] Karen Stroud asks, "I've heard that head-hopping is bad, but can you explain what head-hopping is and why exactly is it bad?"
[12:00] James K. asks, "I read your blog post on creating an Ideal Reader Profile for your story and I have a question. What happens if you end up with an unplanned subplot or if your story takes a dif turn than what you were planning and you realize now that your ideal reader doesn't align with the direction your story has taken?"
Subscribe & Review in Apple Podcasts
Are you subscribed to my podcast? If you’re not, I want to encourage you to do that today. I don’t want you to miss an episode! Especially because I’m adding a bunch of bonus episodes to the mix and if you’re not subscribed there’s a good chance you’ll miss out on those. So, click here to subscribe to the show in Apple Podcasts!
If you're already a subscriber, and if you enjoy the show, I would be really grateful if you left a review over on Apple Podcasts, too. Those reviews help other writers find my podcast and they’re also super fun for me to go in and read. Just click here to review, select “Ratings and Reviews” and “Write a Review” and let me know what your favorite part of the show is. Thanks in advance!
Links Mentioned in this Episode:
- Story Grid Editor Certification Course
- Author Accelerator Book Coach Certification Course
- How to Handle Character Backstory in Your Novel (blog post)
- My Notes to Novel Program (online course for writers)
- Join the Fiction Writing Made Easy Facebook Community
- If you don't have Facebook, you can submit your question here.
👋 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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