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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
#13: 5 Things That Kill Narrative Drive (and How to Fix it)
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 continuing last week's discussion on narrative drive or that "thing" that hooks a reader's interest and pulls them through the story. Here's a preview of what's included:
[01:10] What is narrative drive? Why should writers care? (Check out last week's episode for some tips on creating narrative drive in your story).
[01:20] A story with "broken" narrative drive feels like it's going nowhere.
[02:00 ] Mistake #1: Putting in too much exposition or backstory or worldbuilding details in a scene at once.
[03:00] Mistake #2: There's no sense of cause and effect. In other words, each scene doesn't lead into the next (and what to do instead).
[4:00] Mistake #3: Using false mystery to tease readers (and how to avoid doing this).
[04:45] Mistake #4: Relying on cheap surprise to thrill or scare readers (and what to do instead).
[05:40] Mistake #5: Solving plot problems with coincidences.
[06:45] What should you do if you make some of these mistakes in your WIP?
[07:30] 10 Questions that can help you fix broken narrative drive in your story (plus where you can go to download a worksheet with these questions!).
[11:05] Key points and a quick recap of the episode.
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:
- 3 Ways to Create Narrative Drive in Your Story (podcast episode)
- Episode Freebie: 10 Questions to Help You Write Better Scenes PDF
👋 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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