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Fiction Writing Made Easy | Top Creative Writing Podcast for Fiction Writers & Writing Tips
Fiction Writing Made Easy is your go-to podcast for practical, no-fluff tips on how to write, edit, and publish a novel—from first draft to finished book. Hosted by developmental editor and book coach Savannah Gilbo, this show breaks down the fiction writing process into clear, actionable steps so you can finally make progress on your manuscript.
Whether you're a first-time author or a seasoned writer looking to sharpen your skills, each episode offers insights on novel writing, story structure, character development, world-building, editing, and publishing. Savannah also shares mindset tips, writing routines, and revision strategies to help you stay motivated and finish your novel with confidence.
If you're asking these questions, you're in the right place:
- How do I write a novel without experience?
- What’s the best way to structure a story that works?
- How do I develop strong characters and build immersive worlds?
- How do I edit or revise my first draft?
- When is my book ready to publish?
- What are my self-publishing and traditional publishing options?
New episodes drop weekly to help you write a novel you're proud of—and get it into readers’ hands.
Fiction Writing Made Easy | Top Creative Writing Podcast for Fiction Writers & Writing Tips
#49: Save the Cat! The Middle Beats (Part 2)
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 second 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 first half of the middle beats in the STC! method. Click here to listen to episode #48 first!
[03:05] The average novel is about 80k words, and this section (the middle, part two) is about 20k of them. If you write 1,500-word scenes, you're looking at about 14 scenes here.
[03:45] Some of the beats are single scene beats while others are multi-scene beats. I will tell you which is which!
[04:15] Beat #10 is the Bad Guys Close in beat, which is a multi-scene beat where the external and/or internal bad guys put pressure on your protagonist so that they're ultimately set up for change in the upcoming beats.
[09:55 Beat #11 is the All is Lost beat, which is a single scene beat and the worst moment of the story so far for your protagonist where everything feels horrible.
[24:25] Beat #12 is the Dark Night of the Soul beat which is a multi-scene beat where the protagonist evaluates, analyzes, and thinks about everything (especially whatever happened in the All is Lost moment) and has an epiphany regarding what to do next.
[19:00] Beat #13 is the Break Into Three beat which is a single scene beat where the protagonist takes their first step or action to execute their new plan.
[22:15] Key points and episode recap.
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Links mentioned in this episode:
- Episode Freebie: Scene Planning Roadmap PDF
- Ep. 47 - Save the Cat! The Beginning Beats (article)
- Ep. 48 - Save the Cat! The Middle Beats (Part 1) (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
👉 Looking for a transcript? If you’re listening on Apple Podcasts or Spotify, scroll down below the episode player until you see the transcript.
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