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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
#34: How to Plan Your Writing Projects for the New Year
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 walk you through how to plan out your writing projects for the new year. Here's a preview of what's included:
[01:25] Creating a strategic plan is something most writers don't think about doing but it’s the kind of thing that can actually help you achieve the big goals you have like writing a novel, or submitting a short story to publishers, or whatever it is that you're hoping to do.
[02:55] Step #1: Review the last 12 months so that you can make a realistic plan for the future. What worked? What didn't work?
[05:40] Step #2: Brainstorm all the big things you want to do and then choose the 3-5 main projects you want to focus on.
[08:00] Step #3: Consider your non-negotiables. What do you need to make time for? What do you never want to do again?
[09:50] Step #4: Start mapping out how you're going to accomplish your 3-5 main goals. What are the steps? How can you break this down so that it's a more specific, actionable goal?
[14:25] Step #5: Get everything on your calendar and then do a gut check. Does your plan feel overwhelming? Or exciting?
[18:30] 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:
- Episode Freebie: The Writing Project Planner Workbook (PDF)
- Need help with your story? Click here to check out my book coaching and editing services.
👋 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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