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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
#40: How to Write a Well-Structured Scene
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 write a well-structured scene. I'll also show you how this structure shows up in a scene from Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone. Here's a preview of what's included:
[02:50] A scene is a unit of story that takes place in more or less continuous space and time, features a specific cast of characters, is told from one point-of-view, and contains a value shift (or change) from beginning to end.
[04:15] The first thing you need to know about writing a well-structured scene is that every scene needs to start with the point-of-view character’s goal. So, what does this person want to achieve or accomplish or learn in this scene? What are they trying to do?
[05:00] Commandment number one is that there needs to be an inciting incident. And this is really just the first thing that gets in the way of your character accomplishing his or her goal.
[05:35] Commandment number two is that there needs to be a turning point. A turning point is a moment where the conflict reaches its peak and the character can no longer go after their scene goal in the way they had originally planned.
[06:40] Commandment number three is that there needs to be a crisis moment or a moment where your character faces a decision about how to move forward. Will they do X or Y?
[08:10] Commandment number four is that there needs to be a climax or a moment where your character acts on their choice. Did they do X or Y?
[08:45] Commandment number five is that there needs to be a resolution. So, how do they feel now that they’ve acted on their choice? How did their decision work out for them?
[10:20] An example of a well-structured scene from Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone including how these five commandments show up and help create a mini-arc of change.
[13:55] Key points and episode recap.
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Are you subscribed to my podcast? If 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!
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Links Mentioned in This Episode:
- Progressive Complications: How to Write Better Conflict (article)
- Value Shifts: How to Determine if a Scene Works (article)
- 3 Reasons You Should Write in Scenes vs. Chapters (article)
- The Story Grid: What Good Editors Know by Shawn Coyne (book)
👋 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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