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

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
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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
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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!
FREE TRAINING: Why You Keep Getting Stuck & How to Finally Finish Your Novel - Join me LIVE to learn 3 secrets for turning your ideas into a complete first draft—without getting stuck in the middle, constantly second-guessing, or spending years rewriting instead of finishing. Save your seat here.

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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 TRAINING: Why You Keep Getting Stuck & How to Finally Finish Your Novel - Join me LIVE to learn 3 secrets for turning your ideas into a complete first draft—without getting stuck in the middle, constantly second-guessing, or spending years rewriting instead of finishing. Save your seat here.

FREE QUIZ: Take this 30-second quiz to get a custom action plan that'll help you move from stuck writer to published author!
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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 TRAINING: Why You Keep Getting Stuck & How to Finally Finish Your Novel - Join me LIVE to learn 3 secrets for turning your ideas into a complete first draft—without getting stuck in the middle, constantly second-guessing, or spending years rewriting instead of finishing. Save your seat here.

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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 TRAINING: Why You Keep Getting Stuck & How to Finally Finish Your Novel - Join me LIVE to learn 3 secrets for turning your ideas into a complete first draft—without getting stuck in the middle, constantly second-guessing, or spending years rewriting instead of finishing. Save your seat here.

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