.jpg)
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
#18: 5 Mistakes Writers Make in Their Opening Pages
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 talk about the five most common mistakes I see writers make in their opening pages. Here's a preview of what's included:
[01:00] Details about my brand new workshop called “How to Hook Readers in Your First 5 Pages.” In this workshop, I'll walk you through the five key elements that you need to include in your first five pages AND I’ll show you how these five key elements manifest in the first five pages of The Hunger Games. If you want to sign up, or if you want to learn more about this workshop, head over to savannahgilbo.com/pages.
[01:45] The first reason your opening pages are so important is that we only have a very small window to catch a reader’s attention and make them want to find out how the story’s going to play out. And if we don’t catch their attention in the first three to five pages, they’re probably not going to keep reading the rest of the story.
[01:55] The second reason your opening pages are so important is that editors, agents, and publishers will use these pages to get an overall sense of your story and your writing skill. And if those pages don’t grab their attention, they know the book isn’t likely to grab the reader's attention either.
[02:30] Mistake #1: There's not enough big picture context and readers feel lost or confused.
[03:30] Mistake #2: The protagonist is introduced too late -- or the story starts with a character who isn't the protagonist.
[04:35] Mistake #3: There's a lot of action happening but it's all just objectively dramatic and doesn't really mean anything.
[06:10] Mistake #4: There's too much info-dumping of backstory or worldbuilding details.
[07:15] Mistake #5: There's nothing at stake -- or there is something at stake but doesn't really matter in terms of the big picture story.
[09:10] Key points and episode recap.
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:
- How to Hook Readers in the First Five Pages of Your Story (workshop)
- How to Choose the Best Genre for Your Story (article)
👋 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!
.png)