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Fiction Writing Made Easy

How do I write a book? How do I create compelling characters that readers will love? How do I build a believable world for my story? What does it even mean to write a story that works? Do you have any writing tips? These are just some of the big questions that developmental editor and book coach, Savannah Gilbo, digs into on the Fiction Writing Made Easy Podcast. Each week, Savannah shares actionable tools, tips, and strategies that will help you write, edit, and publish your book. So, whether you're brand new to writing, or a seasoned author looking to improve your craft, this podcast is for you!

#172. A Week in the Life: 7 Days Behind the Scenes with Savannah (December 2024)

#171. How To Utilize Tone & Mood In Your Writing With Isobelle Lans

#170. How To Pick Your Publishing Path With Nicole Meier

#169. 5 Tips To Help Neurodivergent Writers Finish Their Books

#168. Women's Fiction vs. Romance: What's The Difference?

#167. Why Marketing Matters From Day One With Lacy Lieffers

#166. Student Spotlight: How Jennifer Sold 5,000+ Copies of Her Debut Novel in 18 Months (Without a Big Social Media Following)

#165. How To Interpret Agent Rejections (& What To Do Next)

#164. Student Spotlight: Why She Ditched Her Agent And Self-Published Her Debut Novel With Stefanie Medrek

#163. How To Find & Work With A Book Cover Designer With Zoe Norvell

#162. Book Recs: 5 Books Every Aspiring Writer Needs To Read

#161. Scene Beats: What They Are & Why They Matter

#160. How Tim Grahl Wrote His Best Book Yet In 6 Months

#159. A Week in the Life: 7 Days Behind the Scenes with Savannah (September 2024)

#158. How To Strengthen Your Writing with the Power of Social Media With Lara Ferrari

#157. 10 Surprising Lessons From My First Book Launch

#156. Student Spotlight: 5 Lessons Learned from Notes to Novel (Season 4)

#155. 10 Things That Will NOT Make You A Better Writer

#154. Coaching Call: Critiquing Jac Sahlin's Query And First Five Pages

#153. Scene Analysis: Chapter 5 "Diagon Alley" From Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone

#152. Three Act Structure Breakdown: Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone

Bonus: The Global Story Structure of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone

Bonus: How To Write Scenes Like Rowling (An Interview With Savannah Gilbo & Abigail K. Perry)

#151. How Rowling Built A World Ripe For Life Or Death Conflicts (An Interview With Savannah Gilbo & Abigail K. Perry)

Bonus: How Rowling Used Plot Catalysts to Keep Readers Engaged (A Sneak Peek From My Book!)

#150. How Rowling Created A Cast of Compelling Characters (An Interview With Savannah Gilbo & Abigail K. Perry)

Bonus: What Made Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone A Best Seller? (An Interview With Savannah Gilbo & Abigail K. Perry)

[SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT] My Book Is Available For Pre-Order!

#149. 5 Questions To Write Better Antagonists

#148. How To Use Universal Fantasy To Write Better Books (& Sell More Copies) With Theodora Taylor

#147. A Week in the Life: 7 Days Behind the Scenes with Savannah (June 2024)

#146. 6 Ways Mindfulness Can Make You A Happier & More Productive Writer With April Dávila

#145. How To Develop Your Character's Backstory

#144. Student Spotlight: How She Landed A Book Deal With Her Dream Publisher (With Savannah Carlisle)

#143. How To Pitch Podcasts With Michelle Glogovac

#142. How To Write A Query Letter That Get Requests

#141. How To Create Believable Monsters With Randy Ellefson

#140. First Chapter Analysis: Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins

#139: 5 Multi POV Mistakes (And How To Avoid Them)

#138: How To Manage Your Creative Anxiety With Rhonda Douglas

#137: 5 Tips For Writing Better Fiction (Even If You're Just Starting Out)

#136: First Chapter Analysis: Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins

#135: Mastering Point of View and Voice: Expert Tips From Gabriela Pereira Of DIY MFA

#134: How To Stop Procrastinating: 5 Productivity Tips For Writers

#133: A Week in the Life: 7 Days Behind the Scenes with Savannah (March 2024)

#132: First Chapter Analysis: The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

#131: 5 Steps To Start Planning Your Book Series

#130: How to Craft Romantic Chemistry & Tension Between Characters

#129: Overcoming The Fear Of Marketing With Alexa Bigwarfe

#128: What Are Obligatory Scenes And Conventions?

#127: First Chapter Analysis: The Five People You Meet In Heaven by Mitch Albom

#126: Save The Cat! Troubleshooting Common Plot Problems With Jessica Brody

#125: Novel Writing Pitfalls: Don't Make These 5 Mistakes

#124: Student Spotlight: 5 Lessons Learned from Notes to Novel (Season 3)

#123: How To Overcome The 5 Types Of Imposter Syndrome

#122: Counting Down The Best Tips From FWME In 2023

#121: 5 Takeaways From Coaching Writers in 2023

#120: First Chapter Analysis: Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros

#119: Student Spotlight: How Fern Bernstein Wrote A Dual Timeline Novel Based On The Edies of Grey Gardens

#118: How To Find The Major Dramatic Question Of Your Story

#117: Exploring the World of Beta and Sensitivity Reading with Julie Taylor from The Spun Yarn

#116: First Chapter Analysis: Anxious People by Fredrik Backman

#115: Student Spotlight: How Anne Mortensen Went From Inspiration to Publication (& Indie Published Her Novels)

#114: 3 Common Dialogue Mistakes (And How To Fix Them)

#113: First Chapter Analysis: The Magicians by Lev Grossman

#112: 5 Questions Your Reader Shouldn't Have To Ask

#111: Student Spotlight: From Messy First Draft to Publishing His Debut Novel With Edward J. Cembal

#110: Is A Writing Course Really Worth it For Beginners?

#109: 5 Common Scene Issues (And How to Fix Them)

#108: Why Your Capacity For Zero is Crucial As A Writer

#107: Email List Building Essentials For Authors

#106: 5 Steps to Building Your Author Platform

#105: First Chapter Analysis: Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus

#104: 10 Tips For Writing Better Dialogue

#103: Morality Genre Conventions

#102: 3 Common Interiority Mistakes (and How to Fix Them)

#101: First Chapter Analysis: Remarkably Bright Creatures by Shelby Van Pelt

#100: A Week in the Life: 7 Days Behind the Scenes with Savannah (July 2023)

#99: 5 Mindset Tips to Help You Unlock Your Writing Potential

#98: How to Add Subplots to Your Novel

#97: First Chapter Analysis: A Discovery of Witches by Deborah Harkness

#96: 5 Worldbuilding Tips for Sci-Fi & Fantasy Writers

#95: How to Start Writing Your Science Fiction or Fantasy Novel

#94: How to Reveal Your Character’s Inner Life on the Page

#93: First Chapter Analysis: Legendborn by Tracy Deonn

#92: The 5 Functions of Dialogue in Your Story

#91: Student Spotlight: How She Went From First Draft to Landing Her Dream Agent with Jamie Varon

#90: How to Choose the Best Point of View for Your Story

#89: Student Spotlight: How She Used Short Stories to Hone Her Craft (and Publish Her Debut Novel) with Pauline Yates

#88: Perfectionism vs. Procrastination: What's REALLY Going On?

#87: First Chapter Analysis: The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by V.E. Schwab

#86: A Week in the Life: 7 Days Behind the Scenes with Savannah (February 2023)

#85: Student Spotlight: How She Overcame Her Fear of the Blank Page (and Indie Published Her Novel) with Jennifer Lauer

#84: The 6 Scenes Every Status Story Needs

Bonus: Ask Savannah (Listener Q&A)

#83: What Kind Of Editor Do You Need For Your Book?

#82: Show, Don't Tell: What This Advice Really Means

#81: First Chapter Analysis: Ugly Love by Colleen Hoover

#80: Student Spotlight: 5 Lessons Learned From Writing a First Draft

#79: 3 Things to Focus on if You’re a Brand New Writer

#78: Down The Best Tips From FWME In 2022

#77: 5 Takeaways from Coaching Writers in 2022

#76: Student Spotlight: The Power of Outlining (and How He Finished a First Draft in 3 Months) With James Beswick

#75: Crime Genre Conventions

#74: When Should You Write in Scene vs. Summary?

#73: The 4 Phases of Editing: How to Revise Your Novel

#72: The 6 Scenes Every Morality Story Needs

#71: Student Spotlight: How She Wrote a Novel in 6 Months (and Landed an Agent 10 Months Later) with Stefanie Medrek

#70: Status Genre Conventions

#69: First Chapter Analysis: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows

#68: First Chapter Analysis: Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince

#67: The Pros And Cons Of Independent Publishing

#66: The Pros And Cons Of Traditional Publishing

#65: First Chapter Analysis: Harry Potter & the Order of the Phoenix with Abigail Perry

#64: First Chapter Analysis: Harry Potter & the Goblet of Fire with Abigail Perry

#63: Don't Start a Scene Without These 3 Things

#62: The 6 Key Scenes Every Crime Novel Needs

#61: First Chapter Analysis: Harry Potter & the Prisoner of Azkaban with Abigail Perry

#60: First Chapter Analysis: Harry Potter & the Chamber of Secrets with Abigail Perry

#59: First Chapter Analysis: Harry Potter & the Sorcerer's Stone with Abigail Perry

#58: 10 Querying Mistakes (and How to Avoid Them)

Bonus: Be A Bestseller 3.0 Summit Interview with Emma Dhesi

#57: Action Genre Conventions

#56: 5 Reasons Why Readers Stop Reading

#55: 3 Tips for Writing a First Draft in 90 Days

#54: How to Test Your Story Idea Before Writing

#53: Counting Down the Best Tips from FWME in 2021

#52: 5 Takeaways From Coaching Writers in 2021

#51: 3 Tips for Writing Unforgettable Secondary Characters

#50: Save the Cat! The Ending Beats

#49: Save the Cat! The Middle Beats (Part 2)

#48: Save the Cat! The Middle Beats (Part 1)

#47: Save the Cat! The Beginning Beats

#46: The 6 Scenes Every Worldview Novel Needs

#45: How to Deal With Imposter Syndrome

#44: Performance Genre Conventions

#43: 10 Tips for Writing Better Scenes

#42: 10 Reasons Why Novels Get Rejected

#41: The 6 Scenes Every Action Novel Needs

#40: How to Write a Well-Structured Scene

#39: The #1 Reason Why So Many Novels Go Unfinished

#38: Romance Genre Conventions

#37: 5 Questions to Ask Before Writing a First Draft

#36: What is a Book Coach?

#35: 3 Reasons Why You're Not Writing

#34: How to Plan Your Writing Projects for the New Year

#33: 5 Takeaways From Coaching Writers in 2020

#32: How to Start Editing Your NaNowriMo Draft

#31: The 6 Scenes Every Thriller Novel Needs

#30: 4 Reasons Why You Need a Target Word Count

#29: Horror Genre Conventions

#28: Red Herrings: How to Mislead and Surprise Readers

#27: The 6 Scenes Every Performance Story Needs

#26: The Inciting Incident: How to Get Your Story Into Motion

Bonus: Conquering the Writing Blues Summit Interview with Dr. Susan Hickman

#25: Worldview Genre Conventions

#24: 10 Steps to Get Ready for NaNoWriMo

#23: The 6 Scenes Every Romance Novel Needs

#22: How to Evaluate the Conflict in Your Draft

#21: Progressive Complications: How to Write Better Conflict in Your Novel

#20: 5 Strategies for Getting Unstuck While Writing

#19: Thriller Genre Conventions

#18: 5 Mistakes Writers Make in Their Opening Pages

#17: The 6 Scenes Every Horror Novel Needs

#16: Conventions vs. Tropes: What's the Difference?

#15: How to Figure Out the Shape of Your Story

#14: How to Handle Character Backstory in Your Novel

#13: 5 Things That Kill Narrative Drive (and How to Fix it)

#12: 3 Ways to Create Narrative Drive in Your Story

#11: 10 Tips for Writing Better Love Triangles

#10: How to Create Memorable Characters Using Hooks

#9: Value Shifts: The Quickest Way to Determine if a Scene Works

#8: 7 Secrets to Success That Every Writer Should Know

#7: 5 Questions to Help You Write Better Characters

#6: 3 Reasons You Should Write in Scenes vs. Chapters

#5: 3 Ways to Figure Out the Theme of Your Story

Bonus: Ask Savannah (Listener Q&A)

#4: How to Identify Your Story's Ideal Reader

#3: How to Decide Which Story Idea to Write Next

#2: How to Choose the Best Genre for Your Story

#1: The #1 Myth That Holds Writers Back

Introducing the Fiction Writing Made Easy Podcast!