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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
#43: 10 Tips for Writing Better Scenes
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 sharing my top ten tips for writing better scenes. Here's a preview of what's included:
[01:45] Tip #1: Stick to one point-of-view character per scene. This will help you avoid head-hopping and getting off track.
[02:45] Tip #2: Establish where and when each scene is taking place as soon as possible. Especially, if things have changed since the last scene.
[03:50] Tip #3: Give your point-of-view character a specific (and meaningful) goal in each scene. What do they want? Why do they want it?
[05:30] Tip #4: Make sure each scene contains a mini-arc of change. These mini-arcs of change will add up to create your story's overarching arc.
[06:45] Tip #5: Give your point-of-view character agency in each scene. Let them make decisions and take actions that move the story forward.
[08:15] Tip #6: Show readers what your point-of-view character is thinking and feeling throughout the scene. Let readers inside your character's head!
[09:15] Tip #7: Try to advance at least one subplot per scene. This will keep things interesting for readers and help you write a cohesive story.
[10:45] Tip #8: Use the "story present" to trigger any backstory, exposition, or worldbuilding details. Don't build whole scenes just for the sake of delivering information.
[12:00] Tip #9: Only include dialogue that's relevant to what's happening in the scene. If it's not relevant, you probably don't need it. It's that simple!
[12:30] Tip #10: Make sure each of your scenes contributes to the global story both externally (the plot) and internally (your character's arc).
[14:30] Key points and episode recap.
Subscribe & Review in Apple Podcasts
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!
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 Write a Well-Structured Scene (article and podcast)
👋 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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