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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
#48: Save the Cat! The Middle Beats (Part 1)
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 the beats that make up the first half of the middle section of Blake Snyder's Save the Cat! (STC!) beat sheet so that you can efficiently outline (or write) your novel. Here's a preview of what's included:
[01:55] A recap of last week's episode that focused on the beginning beats in the STC! method. Click here to listen to episode #47 first!
[02:30] Act two is all about your character changing. In act one, the protagonist starts out one way, then they go on a journey in act two, and come out the other side in act three a new and improved person.
[04:15] In act two, the protagonist needs to have agency over what they’re doing. They need to take active steps toward getting or accomplishing the thing they want (aka the thing they think will bring them happiness or fulfillment).
[05:00] As we go through these beats, pay attention to how they put pressure on the protagonist until he or she changes.
[05:25] The average novel is about 80k words, and this section (the middle, part one) is about 20k of them. If you write 1,500-word scenes, you're looking at about 14 scenes here.
[06:25] Some of the beats are single scene beats while others are multi-scene beats. I will tell you which is which!
[07:00] Beat #7 is the B-Story beat which is a single scene beat that introduces a new character (or characters depending on your story) who will ultimately help the hero learn the lesson of the story.
[10:30] Beat #8 is the fun and games beat which is a multi-scene beat where we see the protagonist really sinking into their new world, and they’re either loving it or they’re hating it.
[18:30] Beat #9 is the midpoint beat which is a single scene beat that ups the stakes, and this is where the protagonist starts to shift from chasing their wants to letting go of the thing they want in order to figure out what they need.
[24:45] Key points and episode recap.
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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: Scene Planning Roadmap PDF
- Ep. 47 - Save the Cat! The Beginning Beats (article)
- Ep. 5 - 3 Ways to Figure Out the Theme of Your Story (article)
- Ep. 40 - How to Write a Well-Structured Scene (article)
- Book: Save the Cat! Writes a Novel by Jessica Brody
- Book: Save the Cat! by Blake Snyder
👋 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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