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

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
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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!
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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!
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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
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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!
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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!
Support the show