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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
#19: Thriller Genre Conventions
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In today's episode, I'm going to walk you through the conventions of the thriller genre. I'm also going to show you how these conventions show up in the movie The Silence of the Lambs. Here's a preview of what's included:
[01:25] Thrillers combine all the criminality and suspense of a good mystery novel with the life and death stakes of an action or horror story.
[01:50] Readers choose thriller novels because they want to experience the thrill of trying to outsmart and stop the villain before he or she commits more crimes.
[02:30] Genre conventions are the character roles, settings, and events that are specific to a genre. They’re what help us writers write a story that works AND evoke emotional reactions in our readers.
[04:05] #1 - A crime that indicates that there's a master villain or a master antagonist on the loose.
[05:00] #2 - A victim (or victims) on the receiving end of the crime.
[05:35] #3 - A master villain or a master antagonist who is intent on annihilation or devastation or gaining power at the expense of others.
[06:35] #4 - True clues and red herrings for the protagonist to follow.
[07:25] #5 - A speech in praise of the villain.
[08:55] #6 - A MacGuffin (or the specific thing the antagonist wants).
[09:40] #7 - A shapeshifter who says one thing and does another.
[10:15] #8 - A ticking clock that puts some kind of deadline on the amount of time the protagonist has to defeat the antagonist.
[10:40] #9 - Multiple lives at stake including the victim's life and your protagonist's life (and maybe others, too).
[12:00] #10 - A false ending before the final conflict between protagonist and antagonist.
[14:00] Key points and episode recap.
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Links mentioned in this episode:
- Episode Freebie: Thriller Genre Conventions Checklist PDF
- Thriller Obligatory Scenes: The 6 Scenes Every Thriller Novel Needs (article)
- Thriller Genre Conventions: The 10 Things Every Thriller Novel Needs (article)
- Conventions vs. tropes: What's the difference? (podcast and article)
- The Story Grid book by Shawn Coyne that includes a great breakdown of The Silence of the Lambs as well as these genre conventions and obligatory scenes.
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