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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
#31: The 6 Scenes Every Thriller Novel Needs
Use Left/Right to seek, Home/End to jump to start or end. Hold shift to jump forward or backward.
In today's episode, we're going to talk about the key scenes that every thriller novel needs to have in order to work and to satisfy fans of the genre. Here's a preview of what's included:
[01:18] Thrillers combine all the criminality and suspense of a good detective novel with the danger and life and death stakes from the action or horror genre. Usually, these stories center around a protagonist who's focused on stopping a future crime from happening.
[01:40] 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 -- all from the comfort of their own homes. And like all genre fiction, you have to deliver the emotional experience readers are looking for in order for your story to work.
[02:15] Obligatory scenes are the key events, decisions, and discoveries that move a protagonist along their journey from point A to point B. They help us writers craft a story that works AND a story that will deliver a specific emotional experience.
[03:55] Key scene #1: A scene where a crime is discovered.
[04:45] Key scene #2: A scene where the stakes become personal for the protagonist and they commit to stopping the antagonist.
[05:55] Key scene #3: A scene where the protagonist learns what the antagonist wants and why. This scene helps to shift the protagonist from being reactive to proactive and helps them recommit to stopping the antagonist.
[06:55] Key scene #4: A scene where the protagonist learns or does something that sets them up to be the antagonist’s final victim.
[7:55] Key scene #5: A scene where the protagonist is at the mercy of the antagonist.
[8:45] Key scene #6: A scene where readers learn whether justice prevailed or not.
[9:45] Key points and episode recap.
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Links mentioned in this episode:
- Episode Freebie: Thriller Genre Key Scenes PDF Cheat Sheet
- Thriller Obligatory Scenes: The 6 Scenes Every Thriller Novel Needs (article)
- Thriller Genre Conventions: The 10 Things Every Thriller Novel Needs (article)
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