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.
Episodes
284 episodes
#56: 5 Reasons Why Readers Stop Reading
In this episode, I'm exploring 5 reasons why readers might stop reading a novel. Here's a preview of what you'll hear in the episode:[01:50] Reason #1: Nothing meaningful happens in the opening pages.[04:15] Reason #2: It’s h...
#55: 3 Tips for Writing a First Draft in 90 Days
In this episode, I'm sharing three tips for writing a first draft in 90 days. Here's a preview of what you'll hear in the episode:[01:35] How one of my Notes to Novel students, Jennifer, wrote a draft in 90 days (after creating a...
#54: How to Test Your Story Idea Before Writing
In this episode, I'm sharing two of my favorite ways to test out a story idea before you start writing a single word. Here's a preview of what you'll hear in the episode:[01:50] The goal of these two exercises is to find out whic...
#53: Counting Down the Best Writing Tips from FWME in 2021
In this episode, I'm doing my own little countdown of some of the best and most listened to clips from the Fiction Writing Made Easy podcast episodes in 2021. Here's a preview of what you'll hear in the episode:[00:00] Tip #10: T...
#52: 5 Takeaways From Coaching Writers in 2021
In today’s episode, I'm sharing some of the lessons I learned from coaching writers this year. My hope is that these lessons will help you to keep moving forward with your work in the most efficient way possible. Here's a quick preview:...
#51: 3 Tips for Writing Unforgettable Secondary Characters
In today's episode, I'll walk you through three tips for crafting unforgettable supporting characters. Here's a preview of what's included:[01:15] Supporting characters are any characters that are not...
#50: Save the Cat! The Ending Beats
In today's episode, I'm going to walk you through the beats that make up the end of a story, or the final section of Blake Snyder's Save the Cat! (STC!) beat sheet so that you can efficiently outline (or write) your novel. Here's a previ...
#49: Save the Cat! The Middle Beats (Part 2)
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 ...
#48: Save the Cat! The Middle Beats (Part 1)
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 o...
#47: Save the Cat! The Beginning Beats
In today's episode, I'm going to walk you through the beginning beats 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:[01:05] The ST...
#46: The 6 Scenes Every Worldview Novel Needs
In today's episode, we're going to talk about the key scenes that every worldview story needs to have in order to work and to satisfy fans of the genre. Here's a preview of what's included:[01:20] Worldview stories focus on a per...
#45: How to Deal With Imposter Syndrome
In today's episode, I'm sharing three strategies that will help you overcome imposter syndrome. Here's a preview of what's included:[01:50] A quick story about what my two dogs, Forrest and Luna, taug...
#44: Performance Genre Conventions
In today's episode, I'm going to walk you through the conventions of the performance genre. I'm also going to show you how these conventions show up in the movie The Mighty Ducks. Here's a preview of what's included:<...
#43: 10 Tips for Writing Better Scenes
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 ...
#42: 10 Reasons Why Novels Get Rejected
In today's episode, I'm going to walk you through 10 common reasons why manuscripts are rejected by publishers. Here's a preview of what's included:[02:05] After a rejection, you don't have to wait before making your next move. Y...
#41: The 6 Scenes Every Action Novel Needs
In today's episode, we're going to talk about the key scenes that every action story needs to have in order to work and to satisfy fans of the genre. Here's a preview of what's included:[01:25] Action stories are about life and d...
#40: How to Write a Well-Structured Scene
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...
#39: The #1 Reason Why So Many Novels Go Unfinished
In today's episode, we’re going to talk about why so many novels go unfinished, and what to do so that you can start finishing every project that you start. Here's a preview of what's included:[03:20] The #1 reason why so many no...
#38: Romance Genre Conventions
In today's episode, I'm going to walk you through the conventions of the romance genre. I'm also going to show you how these conventions show up in the movie Twilight. Here's a preview of what's included:[01:30] W...
#37: 5 Questions to Ask Before Writing a First Draft
In today's episode, I'm going to walk you through five questions to ask before you start writing a first draft. Here's a preview of what's included:[01:25] The purpose of a first draft is to tell yourself the story. The purpose o...
#36: What is a Book Coach?
In today's episode, I'm going to cover all the different ways a book coach can help you finish your draft and become a stronger writer. Here's a preview of what's included:[01:15] A book coach is someone who guides a writer throu...
#35: 3 Reasons Why You're Not Writing
In today's episode, I'm going to cover three roadblocks that might be keeping you from writing. Here's a preview of what's included:[01:45] So much of writing or editing a book has to do with managing your mind. And there’s no ge...
#34: How to Plan Your Writing Projects for the New Year
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...
#33: 5 Takeaways From Coaching Writers in 2020
In today’s episode, I'm sharing some of the lessons I learned from coaching writers this year. My hope is that these lessons will help you to keep moving forward with your work in the most efficient way possible. Here's a quick preview:...
#32: How to Start Editing Your NaNowriMo Draft
In today's episode, I'm going to walk you through what to do with your messy first draft now that NaNoWriMo is over. Here's a preview of what's included:[01:20] Everything we cover in today's episode can be used whether you parti...