Fiction Writing Made Easy with Savannah Gilbo | How to Write a Novel & Writing Advice

Your first chapter needs to hook the reader—but that doesn’t mean you need a huge plot twist, dramatic action, or a flashy meet-cute on page one. The first chapter of Emily Henry’s Book Lovers is mostly two sisters walking through New York and talking. There’s plenty of banter, interiority, description, and backstory—but the big plot development doesn’t arrive until fairly late in the chapter. So how does Emily Henry make an opening chapter like this feel so engaging and full of momentum—and what can writers learn from the scene structure underneath it? That’s what we’re going to look at in this episode. In the episode, you’ll hear us talk about things like: [05:05] How many scenes actually exist within this first chapter (the answer might surprise you!)—and what the structure looks like once we break it down [06:55] How EmHen wrote an engaging opening chapter where two sisters are walking and talking (and why this is such a great example of a ‘quiet’ scene goal that still generates forward momentum) [08:10] What makes the protagonist’s sister, Libby, the scene antagonist—even though she isn’t a “bad” character and has good intentions [09:50] How the conflict escalates on both an external and emotional level (plus, how the stakes work in a quieter, more relational scene like this one) [16:55] How this opening gives us a sense of who Nora is, what her life looks like now, and where the larger story is headed without info dumping or boring readers with too much backstory Whether you’re writing romance or another genre, tune in for a look at how this bestselling author keeps readers engaged while doing all the important setup work a first chapter needs to do. 🔗 Links mentioned in this episode: FREE GUIDE: How to Write Scenes That Work 3 Reasons You Should Write in Scenes vs. Chapters Scene Structure Made Easy: The 5 Elements Every Scene Needs Book Lovers by Emily Henry ⭐ Follow & Review If you loved this episode, please take a moment to follow the show and leave a review on Apple Podcasts! Your review will help other writers find this podcast and get the insights they need to finish their books. Thanks for tuning in to The Fiction Writing Made Easy Podcast! See you next week! FREE QUIZ: Take this 30-second quiz to get a custom action plan that'll help you move from stuck writer to published author! Support the show

If you’ve read the craft books, listened to hundreds of podcast episodes, and studied all kinds of writing advice—but still sit down at your desk wondering, okay, what am I actually supposed to work on today? —this episode is for you. Because at some point, learning more about writing stops being the missing piece. You need a process that helps you figure out what your specific story needs, what to work on next, and how all the pieces fit together. In this bonus episode, you’ll hear from three writers who had spent a lot of time learning about writing, but still struggled to turn everything they’d learned into a clear path forward. You’ll hear from Josie, a self-described chronic over-learner who had studied every major plotting method but kept running into dead ends while trying to outline her novel. Emily, who wrote 35,000 words of her romantic fantasy before getting stuck in a middle she couldn’t see clearly. And Nefer, who spent five years caught in a cycle of line editing when she knew her manuscript needed much bigger changes. Three writers, stuck in three completely different ways. But what got all of them moving forward again was the same thing—and it wasn't more craft advice. It was having a process that helped them figure out what their specific story needed, what to work on next, and how all the pieces fit together. In this episode, you'll hear: [03:29] How one writer went from cobbling together different plotting methods and running into dead ends to creating a detailed scene-by-scene outline she could confidently write from. [08:02] How one writer who stalled at 35,000 words finally gained clarity on the entire shape of her story—including the middle that had felt impossibly murky. [12:33] What happened when one writer zoomed out of her line-by-line prose to focus on the big picture of her story first—and how doing so gave her the clarity to move forward. If you've spent months, or even years, learning about the craft but still feel unsure what your novel needs from you next, there's a good chance you'll recognize yourself in at least one of these stories. And if this episode makes you realize a clear process might be the thing you’ve been missing, Notes to Novel is open for enrollment through September 4th. It's the same process Josie, Emily, and Nefer used to make the progress you'll hear about today. Inside, I'll help you develop your story's foundation, create your cast of characters, and map your plot into a scene-by-scene outline so you can write your draft with clarity and confidence. 🔗 Links mentioned in this episode: Josephine Noble’s Website Emily’s Instagram Nefer Doane’s Website Learn more about Notes to Novel ⭐ Follow & Review If you loved this episode, please take a moment to follow the show and leave a review on Apple Podcasts! Your review will help other writers find this podcast and get the insights they need to finish their books. Thanks for tuning in to The Fiction Writing Made Easy Podcast! See you next week! FREE QUIZ: Take this 30-second quiz to get a custom action plan that'll help you move from stuck writer to published author! Support the show

If you're writing an enemies to lovers romance, getting your characters from “I can't stand you” to “I love you” takes more than chemistry. Here’s how to write enemies to lovers in a way that makes that turn feel convincing. The enemies to lovers trope is popular for a reason. The tension, banter, forced proximity, and slow shift from conflict to attraction can make for an incredibly satisfying romance. But it's harder to pull off than it looks, because readers have to believe two things at once: that these two characters genuinely are enemies, and that these same two characters could genuinely fall in love. That's why in this episode, I'm walking you through 10 tips for building an enemies to lovers romance that feels believable, while still keeping all the tension and friction that makes this trope so much fun. You'll hear me talk about things like: [03:49] What determines how much page space your romance gets, where its big turning points belong, and how tightly it ties to your plot. [08:07] Why forced proximity needs to do more than keep your characters together if you want the shift in their relationship to feel believable. [10:25] How falling in love with the other person can force your characters to confront beliefs and fears they might otherwise never question. [15:02] What creates that delicious tension when the reader can see the romantic possibility long before the characters are ready to admit it. [19:38] The test that can prove whether your enemies to lovers relationship has actually evolved—or if your characters are about to fall back into their old patterns. Whether enemies to lovers is your main romance or a romantic subplot in another genre, this episode will help you build the progression from conflict to love that makes readers believe these two unlikely characters belong together. 🔗 Links mentioned in this episode: Learn About Notes to Novel Understanding the 5 Dimensions of Genre How to Develop Your Character’s Backstory How to Craft Romantic Chemistry & Tension 3 Ways to Figure Out the Theme of Your Story 5 Steps To Start Planning Your Book Series ⭐ Follow & Review If you loved this episode, please take a moment to follow the show and leave a review on Apple Podcasts! Your review will help other writers find this podcast and get the insights they need to finish their books. Thanks for tuning in to The Fiction Writing Made Easy Podcast! See you next week! FREE QUIZ: Take this 30-second quiz to get a custom action plan that'll help you move from stuck writer to published author! Support the show

If you’re using the Save the Cat! beat sheet to outline your novel but your story still feels flat, disconnected, or hard to draft, one of these five common mistakes may be the reason why. The Save the Cat! beat sheet is a popular story structure framework because it gives fiction writers fifteen clear landmarks to plot toward. But filling in all fifteen beats doesn’t automatically give you a story that works. In this episode, I’m breaking down five mistakes writers make when using the Save the Cat! beat sheet—and what to think about instead so you can build a stronger, more connected novel outline. You’ll hear me talk about things like: [03:10] Why jumping straight into the Save the Cat! beat sheet can leave you with plot points that technically fit the framework but don’t feel rooted in your story. [05:35] Why having the “right” story beats in the “right” places isn’t enough—and what keeps a novel from feeling like a series of disconnected events. [10:00] Why fifteen beats do not equal fifteen scenes, and how misunderstanding the difference between a beat sheet and a scene-by-scene outline can distort your story. [12:50] The Fun and Games mistake that can leave you stuck in the middle, scrambling to figure out what should happen next. [16:30] The often-missed internal side of Bad Guys Close In (and how it can give your All Is Lost moment much more emotional weight). If you use Save the Cat! Writes a Novel for plotting or outlining, this episode will help you understand what the framework is actually designed to do—so you can use it to support your story instead of forcing your story into fifteen boxes. 🔗 Links mentioned in this episode: Learn more about Notes to Novel Ep. 47 - Save the Cat! The Beginning Beats Ep. 48 - Save the Cat! The Middle Beats (Part One) Ep. 49 - Save the Cat! The Middle Beats (Part Two) Ep. 50 - Save the Cat! The Ending Beats Grab your free Save the Cat! Plotting Guide ⭐ Follow & Review If you loved this episode, please take a moment to follow the show and leave a review on Apple Podcasts! Your review will help other writers find this podcast and get the insights they need to finish their books. Thanks for tuning in to The Fiction Writing Made Easy Podcast! See you next week! FREE QUIZ: Take this 30-second quiz to get a custom action plan that'll help you move from stuck writer to published author! Support the show

After stalling out on a draft she'd already outlined chapter by chapter, Lindsay Sfara discovered the story development work that has to come before an outline—and turned that stuck manuscript into a published debut novel. Today I'm chatting with Lindsay Sfara, superhero fantasy author of Aero Knights: Origins and a Notes to Novel graduate, about how developing her story before outlining it finally helped her finish the book she'd been trying to write for years. In this episode, you'll hear us talk about things like: [07:15] Why her outline looked complete but left her with no idea what to write next (and the plotting advice that made it worse) [09:45] The relief of finally knowing what her book was really about underneath the plot—and how it shaped the character development for all three of her leads [15:07] How she turned a list of disconnected events into an outline where each scene set up the next [17:41] The simple question Lindsay kept asking about her antagonist that helped her come up with ideas for conflict in the messy middle [23:04] What happened when she sent her draft to beta readers before hiring a developmental editor (and what she'd do differently next time) If you're currently stuck in an outline or a first draft, Lindsay's story proves the problem probably isn't your talent, your motivation, or your idea. Press play to hear what her outline was missing—and how to build the same foundation under yours. 🔗 Links mentioned in this episode: Aero Knights: Origins by Lindsay Sfara Lindsay Sfara's website Follow Lindsay on Instagram Join Lindsay's writing streams on Twitch Join the Notes to Novel waitlist ⭐ Follow & Review If you loved this episode, please take a moment to follow the show and leave a review on Apple Podcasts! Your review will help other writers find this podcast and get the insights they need to finish their books. Thanks for tuning in to The Fiction Writing Made Easy Podcast! See you next week! FREE QUIZ: Take this 30-second quiz to get a custom action plan that'll help you move from stuck writer to published author! Support the show

You don't need a perfect writing schedule (or a quiet house) to finish your novel. Here are five ways to keep making real progress on your book with kids at home and barely any free time. If you've been telling yourself you'll write the book "when things settle down," I've got some news: when you're raising kids, things rarely settle down on command. And if finishing your novel depends on reaching a season when no one needs you, it could stay unwritten for years. The good news is you don't actually need more time. You just need a way of writing that fits the life you already have. In this episode, I'm walking you through five shifts that help you use small pockets of time, find your way back after interruptions, and let imperfect progress count—so you can finish your novel without waiting until the kids are grown. You'll hear me talk about things like: [03:26] The one thing to figure out before you sit down, so a short window goes toward writing instead of remembering where you left off. [06:53] Why waiting for a long, uninterrupted session is quietly keeping your book unwritten—and what you can actually get done in 15 minutes. [10:39] Why "consistency" doesn't mean a daily streak (and the definition that survives sick days, school breaks, and hard months). [14:20] How to let messy, imperfect pages count so perfectionism stops eating your limited writing time. [18:20] The permission most writing parents are quietly waiting for—and why you don't have to earn it before you write. After more than a decade of coaching fiction writers, I've watched people finish books in the margins of full, busy lives—raising young kids, working demanding jobs, moving through hard seasons. They didn't find more hours in the day; they changed the way they write—and you can too. 🔗 Links mentioned in this episode: Get on the Notes to Novel waitlist. From Zero Drafts to Dream Agent While Raising 4 Kids With Madi Unruh How J.J. Henley Finished Her First Draft in 8 Months (With Two Kids and In 15 Minutes at a Time) Why She Ditched Her Agent And Self-Published Her Debut Novel With Stefanie Medrek ⭐ Follow & Review If you loved this episode, please take a moment to follow the show and leave a review on Apple Podcasts! Your review will help other writers find this podcast and get the insights they need to finish their books. Thanks for tuning in to The Fiction Writing Made Easy Podcast! See you next week! FREE QUIZ: Take this 30-second quiz to get a custom action plan that'll help you move from stuck writer to published author! Support the show

If you keep working on your novel but never seem to get closer to “The End,” these five novel writing myths may explain why—and show you what to do differently. If you've been working on the same novel for months (or years), you've probably wondered why you still can't seem to finish it. Maybe you've blamed your schedule, your motivation, or your talent. Or maybe you've started to wonder if you're just not cut out for this. But what if the real reason you're stuck is none of those things? In this episode, I'm walking through the five most common novel writing myths I see holding writers back, and what's actually true instead. You'll see why getting stuck usually isn't a time, talent, or idea problem, it's a process problem, and why that's genuinely good news. You'll hear me talk about things like: [02:00] Why more time, motivation, and discipline almost never fix the real problem, and the one thing that actually makes the time you have useful. [04:39] The difference between learning that moves your story forward and learning that's quietly become a way of avoiding the page. [07:57] Why beautiful writing and good storytelling aren't the same thing, and which one actually gets a first draft finished. [11:14] The trap of trying to get every part of your story right on the first pass, and how to build a novel in layers instead. [15:13] What getting stuck is actually telling you, and why it's information you can use, not a verdict on you or your idea. Whether you've been blaming your schedule, buying another craft book, or quietly wondering if you're cut out for this, this episode will help you see your stuck points differently, as something you can actually solve, one decision at a time. 🔗 Links mentioned in this episode: Get on the Notes to Novel waitlist. Ep. 203 - Why Writing Advice Is Keeping You Stuck (& What to Do Instead) Ep. 207 - What Agents & Readers Want: How to Write a Story That Works ⭐ Follow & Review If you loved this episode, please take a moment to follow the show and leave a review on Apple Podcasts! Your review will help other writers find this podcast and get the insights they need to finish their books. Thanks for tuning in to The Fiction Writing Made Easy Podcast! See you next week! FREE QUIZ: Take this 30-second quiz to get a custom action plan that'll help you move from stuck writer to published author! Support the show

Stuck writing your novel? Wherever your draft stalls out—chapter one, 20,000 words, the messy middle—that spot isn't random. It's a clue that tells you exactly what your story is missing. Almost every writer who gets stuck while drafting a novel assumes the same thing: that hitting a wall means something about them. That they're not disciplined enough, they're not a "real" writer, or they simply don't have what it takes to finish a book. But getting stuck isn't a verdict on you as a writer. In fact, it's valuable information you can use to your advantage. Because the exact place where you lose momentum may just reveal the missing piece in your story's foundation. And the good news is that those gaps are fixable. In this episode, I'm breaking down the three most common places writers get stuck while drafting a novel, what each one reveals about your story, and how to fix the underlying issue so you can move forward without anything holding you back. You'll hear me talk about things like: [00:54] Why getting stuck doesn't mean you're a bad writer (and how your stall gives you valuable information about your story). [02:27] Why writers get stuck in chapter one and how to tell when you have a situation instead of a fully developed story. [05:16] The real reason many writers hit a wall around 20,000 words (and the missing piece that keeps Act 1 from moving into Act 2). [08:32] Why the messy middle feels impossible to write when your antagonist isn't creating enough pressure and conflict. [13:42] How Stefanie, Cheryl, and Gina found the missing pieces in their stories, broke through their sticking points, and went on to finish and publish their novels. Getting stuck isn't proof that you're not meant to write your book. It's a sign that your story is asking you to strengthen something underneath the surface. And when you know what's missing, you can go back, build the foundation, and move forward with a story that can actually support a full-length novel. 🔗 Links mentioned in this episode: Get on the Notes To Novel Waitlist Ep. 206 - Student Spotlight: How Gina Elizabeth Went From Stuck to Publishing Two Books in Just One Year Ep. 189 - Student Spotlight: From First Draft to Published Novel at 72 With Cheryl Arko Ep. 71 - Student Spotlight: How She Wrote a Novel in 6 Months (and Landed an Agent 10 Months Later) with Stefanie Medrek ⭐ Follow & Review If you loved this episode, please take a moment to follow the show and leave a review on Apple Podcasts! Your review will help other writers find this podcast and get the insights they need to finish their books. Thanks for tuning in to The Fiction Writing Made Easy Podcast! See you next week! FREE QUIZ: Take this 30-second quiz to get a custom action plan that'll help you move from stuck writer to published author! Support the show

Everyone tells you to just start writing. Nobody tells you when. And if you keep starting your novel and stalling out a few chapters in, that missing piece might be exactly why. “Just start writing” is one of the most common pieces of writing advice out there, and for some writers, it's exactly what they need to hear. But if you're a brand-new writer who's still figuring out your story, following this advice too soon can leave you stuck, overwhelmed, and wondering why your first draft keeps falling apart. In this episode, I'm breaking down why "just start writing" isn't bad advice—it's just incomplete. You'll learn when this advice helps, when it hurts, and how to tell if your story foundation is strong enough to draft with confidence rather than guesswork. You'll hear me talk about things like: [01:20] Why "just start writing" works for some writers but quietly sabotages others before they ever finish a first draft. [02:19] The two very different ways new writers get stuck and how to tell which one sounds most like you. [05:01] The difference between productive story development and fear disguised as endless preparation. [06:20] The foundational story elements you need before drafting, so every writing session feels purposeful rather than overwhelming. [09:42] How to know when you've planned enough and it's finally time to stop preparing and start writing. Whether you've been rewriting the same opening chapter, abandoning more drafts than you can count, or "getting ready" to write for months, this episode will help you understand how to build enough story clarity to draft with direction instead of confusion. Because the goal isn't to choose between planning forever and drafting blindly—it's knowing when you've built the foundation your story needs so you can finally finish your novel. 🔗 Links mentioned in this episode: Get on the Notes to Novel Waitlist Ep. 203 - Why Writing Advice Is Keeping You Stuck (And What to Do Instead) Ep. 225 - Madi: From Zero Drafts to Dream Agent While Raising 4 Kids Ep. 228 - How Poornika Finished Her First Draft in 88 Days Ep. 239 - How J.J. Henley Finished Her First Draft in 8 Months ⭐ Follow & Review If you loved this episode, please take a moment to follow the show and leave a review on Apple Podcasts! Your review will help other writers find this podcast and get the insights they need to finish their books. Thanks for tuning in to The Fiction Writing Made Easy Podcast! See you next week! FREE QUIZ: Take this 30-second quiz to get a custom action plan that'll help you move from stuck writer to published author! Support the show

Can a lifelong discovery writer write faster and embrace structure without losing the magic? Bestselling author Grace Draven wrote 62,000 words in 21 days and says absolutely. In this episode, Grace shares how the tools and mindset shifts she picked up from The Fiction Writing Made Easy podcast helped her write faster, avoid massive rewrites, and finish one of her strongest books, The Moon Raven —drafting 62,000 words in just 21 days to hit a tight preorder deadline—and why that experience convinced her to join Notes to Novel. After publishing more than 20 books and hitting the USA Today bestseller list five times, Grace explains why even experienced authors benefit from refining their process, and why structure isn't the creativity killer so many writers fear it is. Whether you're a proud pantser, a frustrated discovery writer, or someone looking for a faster, more reliable way to finish your novel, this conversation shows what's possible when you pair your natural creative process with the right story structure tools that I teach in Notes to Novel. Here's what we talk about: [08:00] Why thinking in scenes instead of chapters completely changed Grace's writing process and helped her write more efficiently without sacrificing creativity. [12:55] How Grace fast drafted 62,000 words in just 21 days, met a high-pressure preorder deadline, and still delivered a solid book. [18:41] How structure became a safety net that let Grace write around interruptions and a demanding home life without losing her place (or her creativity). [23:30] What happened when Grace her antagonist first (before fleshing out her protagonist)—and how this helped raise the stakes and eliminate unnecessary rewrites. [29:38] How the tools from Notes to Novel gave Grace the confidence to commit to a delivery schedule with her new multi-book publishing deal. If you've ever worried that outlining will make your writing feel formulaic or that your discovery writing process slows you down, this episode will show you how to write faster and build a process that leaves room for the magic instead of squeezing it out. 🔗 Links mentioned in this episode: Get on the Notes To Novel Waitlist The Moon Raven by Grace Draven Grace Draven’s Website Ep. 182 - Writing Romantasy: How to Balance Fantasy Elements and Romance in Your Novel Ep. 224 - The Truth About Writing Faster: It's Not What You Think ⭐ Follow & Review If you loved this episode, please take a moment to follow the show and leave a review on Apple Podcasts! Your review will help other writers find this podcast and get the insights they need to finish their books. Thanks for tuning in to The Fiction Writing Made Easy Podcast! See you next week! FREE QUIZ: Take this 30-second quiz to get a custom action plan that'll help you move from stuck writer to published author! Support the show

Learn how to outline your novel using the Hero’s Journey—without mistaking this classic framework for a complete story blueprint. The Hero’s Journey is one of the most widely recognized story frameworks out there. But knowing the twelve stages—like the Ordinary World, the Call to Adventure, the Ordeal, and the Return with the Elixir—isn’t the same as knowing where those stages belong in a full-length novel. In this episode, I’m walking you through how to outline your novel with the Hero’s Journey framework, including how to divide your word count into acts, break those acts into scenes, and map the twelve stages across a novel-length manuscript. You’ll also learn what the Hero’s Journey can and can’t do on its own—because while it’s a powerful way to track your protagonist’s external adventure and internal transformation, it’s not a substitute for developing your genre, premise, character, conflict, theme, and stakes. You'll hear me talk about things like: [02:40] What the Hero’s Journey is and how to use its three acts and twelve stages as a tool for outlining a novel [05:15] How to split your word count across the three acts (and the percentage breakdown that tells you how long each one should be). [07:45] A complete walkthrough of all twelve stages of the Hero's Journey, and the job each stage does for your plot and your character. [14:00] The death-and-rebirth moment at the center of the Hero's Journey, and why it's one of the most powerful ideas in storytelling. [17:45] Why your draft loses steam even when all twelve stages are in place, and the foundation that's usually missing underneath them. And so much more… If you've been curious about using the Hero's Journey to plan your novel, or if you've tried it before and felt like something was missing, this episode will help you understand both the strengths and limitations of this classic framework. 🔗 Links mentioned in this episode: Get on The Notes to Novel Waitlist Take Author Success Quiz (FREE) Ep. 30 - Novel Length: How Long Should Your Book Be? Ep. 244 - How to Create Characters Readers Will Love How to Outline Your Novel with Save the Cat! The Writer's Journey by Christopher Vogler ⭐ Follow & Review If you loved this episode, please take a moment to follow the show and leave a review on Apple Podcasts! Your review will help other writers find this podcast and get the insights they need to finish their books. Thanks for tuning in to The Fiction Writing Made Easy Podcast! See you next week! FREE QUIZ: Take this 30-second quiz to get a custom action plan that'll help you move from stuck writer to published author! Support the show

If your protagonist feels vivid in your head but flat on the page, this episode will help you diagnose what’s missing—and fix the specific piece of character development that will make readers care. You know your main character. Their backstory, their childhood, the exact way they take their coffee. You could talk about them for an hour. So why do they still feel flat on the page? When this happens, most writers assume they need to know more —a deeper backstory, more personality details, another character questionnaire. So they add more. Or they go the other way and try to make the character more likeable. But here's the thing: knowing a lot about your character isn't the same as developing the specific pieces that make them work in a story. And making a character likeable isn't the same as making them compelling. When a protagonist feels flat, the fix usually is more character development—just not the kind most writers reach for. And that's what I'm talking about in this episode. The five most common mistakes that make characters feel flat, and the specific pieces to strengthen so your protagonist feels compelling, active, and worth following. You'll hear me talk about things like: [01:55] Why a vague story goal is the reason your draft stalls out, and the small shift that makes your protagonist's goal specific enough to write forward with ease. [05:25] Why your story may have huge, world-ending stakes but still feel like nothing is actually threatening what your protagonist stands to lose. [09:30] The reason a frictionless protagonist feels thin on the page even when the goal is clear, the plot is moving, and the stakes are personal. [13:40] Why a protagonist the plot keeps happening to —instead of one whose choices drive what happens next—keeps readers at a distance, and how to put them back in the driver's seat. [17:05] The simple scene-level test that shows whether your protagonist is filtering the story through a distinct worldview, or just reporting what happened. If you've got a folder full of drafts that stalled because your characters kept reading thin on the page, this episode will help you see the pattern differently. Once you know which of these five pieces is missing, you can fix it, build a character strong enough to carry the whole story, and finally understand how to make readers care about your characters. 🔗 Links mentioned in this episode: Get on The Notes to Novel Waitlist Take Author Success Quiz (FREE) Ep. 244 - How to Create Characters Readers Will Love (5 Essential Elements) Ep. 240 - 10 Writing Mistakes That Make Readers Put Down Your Novel Ep. How to Reveal Your Character’s Inner Life on the Page ⭐ Follow & Review If you loved this episode, please take a moment to follow the show and leave a review on Apple Podcasts! Your review will help other writers find this podcast and get the insights they need to finish their books. Thanks for tuning in to The Fiction Writing Made Easy Podcast! See you next week! FREE QUIZ: Take this 30-second quiz to get a custom action plan that'll help you move from stuck writer to published author! Support the show

If you’ve got a scene that feels flat and you can’t figure out why, this episode will help you diagnose what’s really going on—so you know whether the scene is working, needs strengthening, or may not belong in your story at all. You know that feeling when a scene just isn’t quite working, but you can’t put your finger on why? The sentences are clean. The dialogue sounds right. Line by line, it reads fine… and yet the scene just sits there. Here’s the thing: a lot of the time, the problem isn’t your prose. It’s that nothing meaningful changes in the scene—or the change that does happen doesn’t affect the larger story. And once you can see that, the problem becomes much easier to fix. In this episode, I’m breaking down one of the most common reasons a scene falls flat: the missing or weak value shift. I’ll explain what a value shift is, why every scene needs one, and how to tell the difference between a change that matters to your story and one that simply fills space. In the episode, you’ll hear me talk about: [02:25] What a “value shift” actually is, and why a scene without one will feel flat no matter how good the writing is [04:25] Why a scene can technically have an arc of change and still fall flat [07:00] The three questions I ask to find the value shift in any scene—and the one that matters most [00:00] The value shift mistake that quietly muddies your scenes (and the simple fix to get instant clarity) [15:50] Why a scene packed with action can still feel thin, and what to look for underneath the surface You’ll walk away with a simple three-question check you can run on any scene to see what changed, why it matters, and where to revise first if the scene still isn’t working. 🔗 Links mentioned in this episode: Take Author Success Quiz (FREE) Free Guide: How to Write Scenes That Work Ep. 118 - How To Find The Major Dramatic Question Of Your Story Ep. 153 - Scene Analysis: Chapter 5 "Diagon Alley" From Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone ⭐ Follow & Review If you loved this episode, please take a moment to follow the show and leave a review on Apple Podcasts! Your review will help other writers find this podcast and get the insights they need to finish their books. Thanks for tuning in to The Fiction Writing Made Easy Podcast! See you next week! FREE QUIZ: Take this 30-second quiz to get a custom action plan that'll help you move from stuck writer to published author! Support the show

What does it look like to go from feeling stuck, overwhelmed, or unsure about your novel…to finally making real progress? In this episode, I'm sharing five clips from past Notes to Novel students who all came into the program stuck in different ways—overwhelmed by story structure, trapped in research rabbit holes, or sitting on drafts that existed on paper, but still weren't clicking. And underneath it all was the same frustrating feeling: each writer knew they had a story worth telling; they just couldn't figure out how to get it out of their head and onto the page in a way they felt good about. You'll hear what shifted for these writers once they stopped piecing things together on their own and started working from a clear, proven framework they could trust. If you've been second-guessing yourself, rewriting the same chapters, or quietly wondering whether you're capable of finishing your novel, there's a good chance you'll recognize yourself somewhere in this episode. Here's what we cover: [03:09] How Sheila (a longtime pantser) went from avoiding structure completely to discovering that outlining actually made drafting feel more creative, not less. [07:17] How Liz (a perfectionist) realized endless research was keeping her stuck, and the simple "put a pin in it" mindset shift that kept her draft moving forward. [12:28] Why Hanna's draft started flowing faster once she gave herself permission to write messy scenes instead of trying to get every scene right the first time. [19:15] What Nikki learned from rebuilding her antagonist three times before her protagonist, conflict, and story finally started working together. [24:24] What changed when Brady reconnected with the deeper reason he wanted to write a novel—and how it silenced his inner imposter for good. Ready to finish your novel without second-guessing every word, sentence, or scene? Join Sheila, Liz, Hanna, Nikki, Brady, and hundreds of other writers inside Notes to Novel who've discovered that drafting doesn't have to feel hard. You just need the right roadmap. Get on the waitlist for the next round of Notes to Novel and get my complete, step-by-step framework to turn your ideas into a finished, easy-to-edit first draft you love. The link is below. 🔗 Links mentioned in this episode: Get on The Notes to Novel Waitlist Take Author Success Quiz (FREE) Ep. 176 - 5 Lessons Learned from Notes to Novel (Season 5) Ep. 208 - 5 Lessons Learned from Notes to Novel (Season 6) Ep. 230 - 5 Lessons Learned from Notes to Novel (Season 7) ⭐ Follow & Review If you loved this episode, please take a moment to follow the show and leave a review on Apple Podcasts! Your review will help other writers find this podcast and get the insights they need to finish their books. Thanks for tuning in to The Fiction Writing Made Easy Podcast! See you next week! FREE QUIZ: Take this 30-second quiz to get a custom action plan that'll help you move from stuck writer to published author! Support the show

A book coach who's written 15 novels pulls back the curtain on what's really happening when your messy first draft disappoints you. Ever finished a chapter, read it back, and realized the words on the page don't match the story in your head? There's a name for that. It's called the “taste gap,” and it often shows up among serious, lifelong readers. In this episode, I sit down with book coach and publishing strategist Gala Russ (who's written 15 novels) to talk about the taste gap, what a first draft is supposed to look like, and why messy writing is the whole point. This one's for you if you've studied writing for years but still struggle to finish your first draft. Because the taste gap closes when you practice writing more than researching it. Here’s what we talk about: [04:41] Why no number of finished pages ever makes you feel like a real writer, and the loaded questions non-writers often ask that get inside your head. [13:55] What a real first draft actually looks like behind the scenes and why a scrappy, hodgepodge, messy manuscript is usually a good sign.[19:04] The taste gap explained: why being an avid reader who knows what ‘good’ is can make your own draft feel like the worst thing you've ever read. [23:52] How to know when a book needs more revision, when it’s okay to walk away, and the sunk cost fallacy trap that keeps writers rewriting forever. [38:37] Why more craft books won't fix a stuck draft, the hidden blocks keeping writers frozen, and Gala's creative workaround for finding writing time in a busy life. Here's what I want you to take away from this episode. The fact that you can read a great book, feel moved by it, then look at your own draft and feel like it's not measuring up, that is not a sign you're not meant to be a writer. It's a sign your taste has developed faster than your skills. And skills are built by writing, not by reading one more craft book. 🔗 Links mentioned in this episode: Gala Russ Website Gala Russ Instagram Take Author Success Quiz (FREE) Sign Up For Notes To Novel ⭐ Follow & Review If you loved this episode, please take a moment to follow the show and leave a review on Apple Podcasts! Your review will help other writers find this podcast and get the insights they need to finish their books. Thanks for tuning in to The Fiction Writing Made Easy Podcast! See you next week! Discover why your first draft never matches the book in your head, what a messy draft is actually supposed to look like, and how to close the taste-skill gap by writing more instead of studying more, so you can overcome imposter syndrome and finally finish your draft. FREE QUIZ: Take this 30-second quiz to get a custom action plan that'll help you move from stuck writer to published author! Support the show

Most fiction writers are making at least one of these point of view mistakes. Find out which one could be hiding in your draft. You know that feeling when a scene isn't quite working, but you can't put your finger on why? Your pacing, dialogue, and structure all seem fine. And yet something is still off. Nine times out of ten, the culprit is POV. In this episode, I'm walking you through the five most common point of view mistakes, what each one looks like on the page, why it pulls readers out of your story, and what to do if a POV mistake is hiding in your draft. The good news? It has nothing to do with your talent as a writer. I see these mistakes in the strongest of manuscripts. And every single one is fixable. This is what I talk about: [02:27] Why head-hopping feels so disorienting to readers, and the simple scene-level rule that instantly creates cleaner, stronger POV. [07:11] The subtle "omniscience leak" that happens when your POV character knows things they realistically couldn't know in the moment. [11:42] Why a POV character who only reports action—with no thought, reaction, or internal stakes—leaves readers feeling disconnected. [17:13] How info-dumping and backstory disguised as thoughts can make scenes feel unnatural instead of emotionally immersive. [22:00] The subtle voice drift that makes your POV character slowly stop sounding like themselves, and why this is the hardest mistake to catch. These mistakes are fixable. Every single one. And once you know what to look for, you can write fiction so immersive that readers forget the real world exists until they reach the final page of your book. If that's the kind of story you want to write, this episode is for you. 🔗 Links mentioned in this episode: Take Author Success Quiz (FREE) Get on the Notes to Novel Waitlist Ep. 90 - How to Choose the Best Point of View for Your Story Ep. 94 - How to Reveal Your Character's Inner Life on the Page Ep. 210 - 5 Tips To Write Multiple POV Novels Without Confusing Your Readers ⭐ Follow & Review If you loved this episode, please take a moment to follow the show and leave a review on Apple Podcasts! Your review will help other writers find this podcast and get the insights they need to finish their books. Thanks for tuning in to The Fiction Writing Made Easy Podcast! See you next week! FREE QUIZ: Take this 30-second quiz to get a custom action plan that'll help you move from stuck writer to published author! Support the show

Learn how to write the lead-up and reaction scenes between your key romance plot points so your story flows naturally from meet-cute to HEA without stalling in the middle. You know what your meet-cute looks like. You know there's a breakup coming. You can already feel the happily ever after. So why does everything in between feel impossible to write? That's exactly what we're digging into today. I'm joined by Kristina Stanley, CEO of Fictionary and author of the brand new Secrets to Writing Romance, for a masterclass on the lead-up and reaction scenes that hold every romance together. Kristina breaks down what to write before and after each key plot point, how your external plot does more work than you think, and how to give your characters real agency in the messy middle of Act 2. If you've been winging it between your big scenes and hoping for the best, this one's for you. What You'll Learn: [03:57] The 5 key scenes every romance novel is built around and the one non-negotiable rule that sets romance apart from every other genre. [10:55] Why every key scene needs a lead-up and a reaction, and how those surrounding scenes are where your character's flaw, motivation, and growth actually live. [21:42] When your meet-cute should actually happen in your romance novel and what the lead-up scene needs to do before your characters ever cross paths. [29:30] How to give your characters real agency in the Messy Middle of Act 2 (even when your story doesn't have a strong external plot driving it forward). [38:03] What to do after the climax, why the reaction to the HEA is trickier than it looks, and how epilogues can save you from cutting your ending too short. And so much more… Whether you're plotting your first romance novel or you're stuck somewhere in the middle of a draft, wondering why your story isn't clicking, this episode will give you a clear framework for what every scene between your key moments actually needs to do. 🔗 Links mentioned in this episode: Kristina Stanley's Book | Secrets to Writing Romance Kristina Stanley Website Article | The 6 Key Scenes Every Romance Needs Take Author Success Quiz (FREE) ⭐ Follow & Review If you loved this episode, please take a moment to follow the show and leave a review on Apple Podcasts! Your review will help other writers find this podcast and get the insights they need to finish their books. Thanks for tuning in to The Fiction Writing Made Easy Podcast! See you next week! FREE QUIZ: Take this 30-second quiz to get a custom action plan that'll help you move from stuck writer to published author! Support the show

Learn the five craft secrets to writing young adult fiction that actually feels like YA—so when you sit down to write your own, you know exactly what to aim for. You know what YA feels like when a book is doing it right. The voice pulls you in. The protagonist's world feels enormous and immediate. You finish the book before you remember to put it down. The hard part is being able to do that yourself—on the page, on purpose. In this episode, I'm walking you through the five secrets that make YA fiction actually feel like YA—the specific craft moves you can use to write the kind of YA novel you love to read. After ten years as a developmental editor and book coach—and over 1,000 writers through my Notes to Novel course alone—these five secrets are the patterns I find myself teaching over and over again. They're not vibes or instincts—they're learnable craft skills you can use on purpose in your own writing. What You'll Learn: [02:06] What it actually takes to write a YA voice that feels like a teenager living an experience in real time—not an adult character looking back on it with hindsight. [07:11] Why peer relationships—not parents or mentors—are the engine of every YA novel that lands, and how to check whether you've accidentally given your adults too much of the wheel. [10:12] Why YA stakes feel huge even when the events look ordinary—and how to scale the emotional reality on the page to match what your teen protagonist is actually experiencing. [12:57] How to handle the big themes YA is known for—identity, grief, mental health, family—through scenes and character interiority instead of monologues and moralizing. [16:24] Why the best YA protagonists hold two contradictory things at once—and why resolving that contradiction too early in the book is what kills the engine of your story. Whether you're sitting on a YA idea you haven't started yet, or you have a draft that's nearly there but doesn't quite feel right, this episode will give you the craft moves you need to write the kind of YA novel you love to read. 🔗 Links mentioned in this episode: Join The Notes To Novel Waitlist ⭐ Follow & Review If you loved this episode, please take a moment to follow the show and leave a review on Apple Podcasts! Your review will help other writers find this podcast and get the insights they need to finish their books. Thanks for tuning in to The Fiction Writing Made Easy Podcast! See you next week! FREE QUIZ: Take this 30-second quiz to get a custom action plan that'll help you move from stuck writer to published author! Support the show

What if getting stuck on your novel has nothing to do with your story and everything to do with HOW you're seeing it? Story mapping coach Danyel Nicole found that out firsthand. When Danyel's first draft started to feel off, she got up from her desk one night, grabbed butcher paper and sticky notes, and mapped out her entire story on the wall in her hallway. Within an hour, she could finally see what was working—and what wasn't. This discovery changed everything about her novel-writing process. And now she helps other writers do the same. Danyel is a Notes to Novel graduate and founder of Map Your Story Studios, where she helps fiction writers get their stories off the page and onto the wall so they can see the big picture, break through draft paralysis, and write with real momentum. In this episode, she's breaking down exactly how story mapping works, why it gets writers unstuck, and how you can start today with less than $25 worth of supplies. What You'll Learn: [03:00] What story mapping is, and why getting stuck on your novel is almost always a visibility problem, not a story problem. [06:29] What Danyel's wall literally looks like: the color-coded sticky note system she uses to map every act, scene, conflict, and character arc at a glance. [00:09:24] Exactly what to buy at Target (for $25 or less) to start mapping your story today—plus digital tool options if you'd rather work on a screen. [14:45] What Danyel found on her wall that saved her from writing a whole section of her draft that would have fallen completely flat. [17:18] The three sticky notes that give any writer, at any stage, a solid story foundation to start mapping their novel today. Whether you're staring at a blank page with no idea where to start, three chapters in and losing the throughline, or three hundred pages deep into a draft that keeps going in circles, story mapping meets you exactly where you are. 🔗 Links mentioned in this episode: Danyel Nicole's Website | Map Your Story Studios Danyel Nicole's Freebie | Map Your Story Guide Danyel Nicole's Instagram Take Author Success Quiz Learn More About Notes To Novel ⭐ Follow & Review If you loved this episode, please take a moment to follow the show and leave a review on Apple Podcasts! Your review will help other writers find this podcast and get the insights they need to finish their books. Thanks for tuning in to The Fiction Writing Made Easy Podcast! See you next week! FREE QUIZ: Take this 30-second quiz to get a custom action plan that'll help you move from stuck writer to published author! Support the show

Master these 5 worldbuilding techniques to immerse readers in your fictional world without infodumping or overwhelming them. If you've ever sat down to write a scene and ended up with three paragraphs of explanation before anything actually happens, you're not alone. Most writers don't info dump because they're bad at worldbuilding —they do it because they love the world they've built and want readers to experience every detail of it. But here's the thing: too much explanation too soon is usually what breaks immersion, not what protects it. In this episode, I'm sharing 5 practical techniques for weaving worldbuilding into your story so readers experience your world naturally—without ever feeling like they're being taught about it. You'll learn how to tell which worldbuilding details have earned their place on the page, how to weave them into the scene instead of stopping the story to explain, how to adjust your approach based on whether your POV character is a native or a visitor to your world, and how to let the scene itself pull worldbuilding into the moment so it never feels forced. You'll hear me talk about things like: [02:30] How to tell whether a worldbuilding detail belongs on the page—or back in your notes. [04:27] How to weave worldbuilding into action, sensory detail, and interiority so it never stops the story cold. [08:08] Why the answer to "how much should I reveal?" is almost always less than you think, and later than you think. [10:04] The difference between a character who's new to your world and one who's lived there their whole life—and how each one changes what you can explain naturally. [12:40] How to use in-scene triggers so every worldbuilding detail feels pulled into the story instead of pushed in by the author. The world in your head is alive. It has texture, history, and weight. These five techniques will help you bring that onto the page so readers feel it too—without you having to stop the story to explain it. These techniques are hardest to apply when your story's foundation isn't solid yet. If that's the piece you've been missing, my Notes to Novel course is where to start. Click the link below to learn more and join the waitlist. 🔗 Links mentioned in this episode: Join The Notes To Novel Waitlist ⭐ Follow & Review If you loved this episode, please take a moment to follow the show and leave a review on Apple Podcasts! Your review will help other writers find this podcast and get the insights they need to finish their books. Thanks for tuning in to The Fiction Writing Made Easy Podcast! See you next week! FREE QUIZ: Take this 30-second quiz to get a custom action plan that'll help you move from stuck writer to published author! Support the show