December 31, 2024 • 33 mins
The best writing advice sticks with us because it changes our thinking about our craft. In this special year-end episode, I'm counting down the top 10 most powerful tips from Fiction Writing Made Easy in 2024—from crafting sizzling character chemistry and developing compelling antagonists to building immersive story worlds and mastering your character's backstory.
Plus, learn how to overcome writer's block and tap into the power of the writing community to fuel your creative success. Let's celebrate the juicy nuggets that helped writers (like you) level up their storytelling this year.
In the episode, you’ll hear me talk about things like:
- [01:42] Mastering point of view fundamentals with Gabriela Pereira's "sphere of knowledge" technique—perfect for writers second-guessing their narrative perspective.
- [06:58] Learn how to create unforgettable ‘on-the-page’ chemistry and romantic tension with our in-depth analysis of the #1 New York Times bestseller Fourth Wing. Plus, I talk about the 3 sizzling ingredients that make readers fall head over heels in love with your characters.
- [08:54] Transform your story antagonist from flat to fascinating using the Harry Potter series as our guide. See how Voldemort's clear goals and plans create organic, gripping conflict that drives the entire story.
- [12:34] Break free from writer's block forever with April Davila's mindset-shifting strategy. Learn why this common creative obstacle might not be what you think—and how to overcome it.
- [18:36] Learn how to craft a story world that grows with your series, featuring examples from the #1 New York Times bestseller A Court of Thorns and Roses. Discover how your story world can evolve to create deeper story arcs and richer series development.
- [26:48] I'm so excited to share tip #1 with you. My chat with Save the Cat! expert Jessica Brody was your absolute favorite episode of 2024—and once you hear this perspective on story structure, you'll understand why. Trust me, this tip is a total game-changer.
And that's just a taste of our special year-end top 10 tip countdown. I'm so excited to share these writing tips with you—they're genuinely some of my favorites from this year!
So, cozy up with your favorite writing snacks, and let's celebrate the best writing advice of 2024 together.
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
If writing a lot and cranking out hundreds of
thousands of words was all ittook to be a great writer, then
many people would have turnedpro years and years ago.
But it just does not work thatway.
So, yes, keep practicing yourcraft by writing and, yes, keep
reading books to see howpublished authors have
constructed their stories, butalso get feedback on your pages.
(00:21):
Welcome to the Fiction WritingMade Easy podcast.
My name is Savannah Gilbo andI'm here to help you write a
story that works.
I want to prove to you thatwriting a novel doesn't have to
be overwhelming, so each week,I'll bring you a brand new
episode with simple, actionableand step-by-step strategies that
you can implement in yourwriting right away.
(00:42):
So, whether you're brand new towriting or more of a seasoned
author looking to improve yourcraft, this podcast is for you.
So pick up a pen and let's getstarted.
In today's episode, we're goingto do something a little fun and
different.
Since we're nearing the end of2024, I thought it would be fun
to continue with last week'stheme of lessons learned over
(01:04):
the past 12 months.
Now, I hope some of the lessonsthat you've learned this year
came from this podcast, and Ihope you walked away each week
with a new strategy to implementor a new idea to explore and,
most of all, I hope you'recloser to accomplishing your big
, beautiful writing goals.
So, as we inch our way closerto counting down until the ball
(01:25):
drops, I wanted to count downsome of the best clips from the
Fiction Writing Made Easypodcast in 2024.
You're going to hear clips fromthe top 10 most listened to
episodes, so I know it's goingto be full of good stuff.
So, with all of that being said,let's dive right in, starting
with tip number 10.
With all of that being said,let's dive right in, starting
(01:46):
with tip number 10.
The first tip on the list tipnumber 10, comes from episode
number 135, mastering, point ofView and Voice Expert Tips from
Gabriela Pereira of DIY MFA, andin this episode we talk about
some point of view, bestpractices, as well as where
writers tend to go wrong or feelconfused when it comes to point
of view.
In this clip, gabriela talksabout what she calls the
(02:07):
narrator's sphere of knowledge.
I won't spoil it for you, solet's dive right into the clip.
Speaker 2 (02:16):
So the thing with point of view, like the most
important thing to understand,to really wrap your head around
what point of view is and how itworks, is you have to
understand that it's all aboutsphere of knowledge.
So, like the narrator, theentity that's telling the story
has a certain sphere ofknowledge.
You, the writer, have a biggersphere of knowledge.
(02:37):
You know more things than thenarrator necessarily knows,
because you need to know all ofthose things like who your
character's third grade teacherwas and all of that stuff so
that you can write amazingcharacters.
But that doesn't need to gointo the book.
And then the narrator's sphereof knowledge isn't necessarily
the same sphere of knowledge asthe characters.
So there are going to be somecharacters who have information
(02:57):
and know things that are outsidethe range of what the narrator
has access to.
And the narrator's access iswhat's going to determine how
you tell your story.
So, going back to your question, how do you choose your point
of view?
There's sort of two things.
One of them is sort of artisticpreference.
Do you have a certain point ofview that speaks to you?
(03:18):
Like there's some people whothey can only write in the first
person.
That is their jam.
That is how they write, that ishow they experience their
characters.
I'll admit, that tends to be mydirection as well.
I tend to lean into firstperson a bit more than third
person.
But that's an artistic choice.
But then there's also thelogistical choice, like, do you
need to be able to get insidethe head of your villain?
(03:40):
If that's the case, then maybea multiple point of view is the
way to go, because then you canbe in one character's point of
view in chapter one and then inthe villain's point of view in
(04:01):
chapter two and then back to theprotagonist's point of view.
Because I think a lot of peoplekind of think oh, like first
person's my way of doing thingsand that's how I'm going to do
it, and then they paintthemselves into a corner where
they need access to acharacter's brain and they just
don't have that access.
Like, what are they going to do?
Speaker 1 (04:18):
All right.
This next clip comes fromepisode number 139.
That's called five multiplepoint of View Mistakes and how
to Avoid them, and you guessedit in the episode I share what
not to do when writing a storywith multiple point of view
characters.
But this tip is about dualtimeline stories, which may or
may not contain multiple pointsof view.
So let's take a listen.
(04:41):
Now I want to talk about dualtimeline novels for a second,
because dual timeline storiesare different from stories with
multiple points of view thatintersect.
So dual timeline novels havetwo separate but parallel
storylines set in differentperiods.
Typically there's going to beone timeline set in the present
and one timeline set at a pointin the past.
(05:02):
So they offer two different butconnected plots.
Each plot line in a dualtimeline story is going to have
its own main characters, its ownspecific settings and time
periods.
So on all accounts they are twostories that are distinct but
somehow connected, and they'reusually connected by the
parallels that exist betweenthem, which helps to harmonize
(05:24):
the two different realities orthe two different timelines.
So an example of a dual timelinenovel this is something like
the Lost Apothecary by SarahPenner.
In this story there are twotimelines.
The first is in the 1700s,which revolves around a woman
named Nella who runs anapothecary, and long story short
, a 12-year-old patron makes afatal mistake which kicks off a
(05:45):
string of consequences that echofrom her timeline out through
the centuries.
In a different timeline, inpresent-day London, there is a
character named Caroline whostumbles upon a clue to the
unresolved apothecary murdersthat haunted London 200 years
ago.
So it's a dual timeline storythat's connected by these
murders 200 years ago.
(06:07):
So it's a dual timeline storythat's connected by these
murders.
Now, in contrast to that thinkabout something like Six of
Crows by Leigh Bardugo there aresix main point of view
characters technically seven ifyou include the first point of
view, which only appears onceand all six of these point of
view characters are broughttogether by the heist that makes
up the plot.
So they're all connected andaffected by the heist, and all
of the plot lines occur in thesame time period.
(06:29):
Okay, so the key point here isto make sure that if you're
writing a true multi-point ofview novel, you want to make
sure that the point of viewcharacters are all connected in
some way.
So, generally speaking, thismeans your point of view
characters should be in arelationship together, have
their fates bound together andor face a common form of
conflict.
This is what connects themtogether and allows you to weave
(06:51):
their individual storylinestogether to create a cohesive
whole.
Alright, tip number eight comesfrom episode number 130, how to
Craft Romantic Chemistry andTension Between Characters, and
in this clip you'll hear threeingredients for sizzling
chemistry between yourcharacters.
Now, if this sounds interesting, or if this tip piques your
(07:15):
interest, you'll definitely wantto check out this episode,
because I do a whole breakdownof the chemistry and tension
between Violet Sorengale andZayden Ryerson in Fourth Wing by
Rebecca Yaros, and I comparedtheir chemistry to that of
Violet and Dane Atos.
So it's kind of fun.
I'll put that link in the shownotes for you, but here is the
clip.
So, with all of this characterwork, what you're ultimately
(07:37):
looking for when craftingchemistry between characters are
three ingredients.
Number one vulnerability.
Number two, desire.
And number three, resistance.
Okay, so when I sayvulnerability, I'm referring to
the willingness to show emotionor let one's weaknesses,
insecurities, fears and or hopesand dreams be seen by another
(07:59):
person.
Okay, so that's number one.
When I talk about desire, I'mreferring to the strong feeling
of wanting to have something orwishing for something to happen,
and since we're talking aboutrelationships, you know we can
say of wanting something toaccept or comply with something,
or the attempt to preventsomething by action or argument.
So we want to identify thevulnerability, the desire and
(08:32):
the resistance that's occurringbetween these two characters.
If you can identify how yourcharacters will be vulnerable
with each other, what they likeabout each other, both
physically, mentally andemotionally, and their reason
for not wanting to be together.
This is what's going to helpyou create the push-pull dynamic
that makes for really greaton-the-page chemistry.
(08:54):
Tip number seven comes fromepisode number 149, called Five
Questions to Develop BetterAntagonists, and in this episode
I talk through how giving equalattention to developing your
antagonist, as you would foryour protagonist, can actually
make the writing process so mucheasier and more straightforward
, and this clip is an example ofwhy and how.
(09:15):
So let's dive right in.
So we kind of talked about thisa little bit earlier, but once
you know what your antagonist'sgoal and motivation are and
what's at stake should theysucceed or fail, it's time to
break their goal down intoaction steps.
So what is their plan forgetting what they want?
And to flesh that out, you canconsider the following questions
(09:38):
.
So, number one what steps wouldthey take to get what they want
?
Number two in what order wouldthey take those steps and why?
So why would they take thesteps in that order?
Sometimes, just forcing yourselfto think through that will help
you find plot holes or holes inlogic, even as early as in the
outlining or brainstorming stage.
Number three what kind ofroadblocks might naturally get
(10:01):
in their way as they pursuethose action steps or their goal
?
So this could be, you know,just things that would occur in
the world, things that wouldmake it difficult, things like
that.
And then, number four how doesyour protagonist specifically
start to get in their way?
So how do their goals interferewith each other?
And then, number five whatconsequences would your
(10:21):
antagonist naturally face fortheir actions?
So, like I mentioned earlier,the goal is just to kind of come
up with a list or a brain dumpof all the possible action steps
and consequences and thingslike that that will come into
play as your antagonist pursuestheir goal.
Once you're done brainstorming,you can consider how your
antagonist's goals and planswill interfere with your
(10:43):
protagonist's goals and plans.
This is what's going to helpyou create some really nice
organic conflict for your story.
So, as an example, considerLord Voldemort's goal of
acquiring and using theSorcerer's Stone.
Voldemort's plan is to useProfessor Quirrell to steal the
stone for him.
And to do that, quirrell needsto find the stone, he needs to
(11:03):
figure out how to get pastwhatever's guarding it once it
gets moved to Hogwarts, and thenhe has to actually steal it,
right?
But then Harry starts gettingcurious about what's hidden on
the forbidden third floor, whichwe know is the stone, and he
starts getting in the way ofVoldemort and Quirrell's plans.
And this causes problems forthem, right.
And these problems result innew actions or different actions
(11:27):
being taken against Harry tostop him from interfering.
And I like this example becausein real life this is how
conflict works, right?
The person who's in control ofa conflict in this case the
antagonist doesn't really plantheir actions around the other
person, which in this case isthe protagonist.
Usually what happens is thereactive person who, at the
(11:51):
beginning of the story, isalmost always the protagonist.
They are bombarded with eventsoutside of their control and
then from there they struggleagainst that antagonistic force
to bring their life back intobalance.
So that's just kind of howconflict occurs in real life
right Now.
A lot of writers go about thisbackwards.
So if you're someone who's usedto planning the conflict in
your story by deciding what youwant your protagonist to do and
(12:15):
then deciding what yourantagonist should do, then you
are going about things a littlebit backwards, and that's OK A
lot of people do this but thiswill create a less than solid
plot and it's also going to makeyour job of plotting and
outlining your novel way harderthan it needs to be.
Alrighty, tip number six comesfrom episode number 146, six
(12:39):
ways that mindfulness can makeyou a happier and more
productive writer with AprilDavila, and in this episode,
april shares some reallyfantastic mindset shifts as well
as practical things you can doto have a happy and more
fulfilling writing life.
But in this clip, april talksabout how important it is to
mind our thoughts and how, if wedon't mind our thoughts, they
(12:59):
can run wild and start to createa narrative that just isn't
true.
So let's take a listen to theclip.
Speaker 3 (13:08):
So I don't believe in writer's block.
I think it's kind of acatch-all phrase that we use to
describe whatever reason we'renot writing.
But when we start to get betterat noticing those thoughts, we
can start to think like why am Inot writing?
Like, as an example, I was on aretreat one time and I was
teaching at it and I was gettingup early to write on my novel
before I went and taught and thealarm went off one morning and
(13:29):
I was like, oh, I don't want togo write.
And I heard that thought in myhead and I was like I love
writing.
Where did that thought comefrom?
And when I stopped and I tookthe thought and actually
analyzed a little bit, I didn'twant to go write in the space
that I've been writing becauseit was full of gossiping ladies
and it was very distracting.
I'm like, oh well, I'll just gosomewhere else.
And so the writer's block ofwhat that woo-woo like magic
(13:52):
phrase of writer's blocksuddenly starts to dissolve when
you can notice the thoughtsthat are around it and be like
okay, is that really true or isit just?
It's kind of just gettingpushed into a like general, I
don't feel like writing idea.
Speaker 1 (14:07):
Okay, we're about halfway through.
Now we're at tip number five,and this one comes from episode
number 155.
That's called 10 Things thatWill Not Make you a Better
Writer, and this episode isexactly what it sounds like.
I share 10 things I see writersdoing all the time that don't
actually move the needle and, asa result, don't make them
better writers.
This tip specifically, is aboutnot understanding the
(14:31):
importance of getting outsidefeedback on your work.
So here's the tip Now.
I know we've all heard theadvice from Stephen King that
says if you want to be a writer,you must do two things above
all others Read a lot and writea lot, and I do agree with
Stephen King.
Practicing your craft bywriting and reading other books
(14:53):
is really important.
Of course it is right.
But if you write, let's say, athousand words a day for an
entire year and you never getfeedback on what you're writing,
well, guess what happens Inmost cases?
You'll probably end up makingsome of the same fundamental
mistakes that many aspiringwriters make over and over again
, and turning those mistakesinto ingrained habits.
(15:14):
So imagine that, withoutgetting feedback on what's
working and not working in yourpages, you might actually end up
becoming a worse writer thanwhen you started.
Now, I know that's not the casefor everyone, but I do see it
happen often enough that Iwanted to include it in this
list.
So it's really important to getoutside feedback on your work.
(15:35):
It's important to know whatyou're doing well so that you
can keep doing it, and what youneed to work on so you can
actually improve your writing.
Because here's the thing ifwriting a lot and cranking out
hundreds of thousands of wordswas all it took to be a great
writer, then many people wouldhave turned pro years and years
ago.
But it just does not work thatway.
So, yes, keep practicing yourcraft by writing and, yes, keep
(15:58):
reading books to see howpublished authors have
constructed their stories, butalso get feedback on your pages.
So find someone you trustwhether that be a developmental
editor, a book coach, betareaders, a critique partner,
whoever it is and get somefeedback on your work.
This is what's going to helpyou become a better writer, not
just writing an arbitrary numberof words each day to tick a box
(16:19):
.
All right, moving on to tipnumber four.
Tip number four comes fromepisode number 158, how to
strengthen your Writing with thePower of Social Media with Lara
Ferrari, and in thisconversation, lara shares a ton
of great advice for using socialmedia to become a better writer
.
If you haven't heard thisepisode yet, I do recommend
(16:42):
checking it out, because whatshe shares is probably not what
you think.
And in this little preview,lara talks about how important
having a community is forwriters.
Let's take a listen.
Speaker 5 (16:55):
Talking about your book with other people people
who get it, people who are alsopassionate about books and
stories and storytelling likeit's fun.
I mean, it's not if you'retalking to somebody who's just
like I don't care, like I haveno interest in this.
It's draining.
But the opposite is true whenyou're talking to people who are
(17:17):
on the same wavelength as you.
So if you have a community ofpeople, this is, you know, kind
of crossing over, but getting totalk about your book, it can be
really exciting, especiallywhen you get excitement back,
and then that can be reallyexciting, especially when you
get excitement back, and thenthat can be motivating and it's
kind of this cycle, that sort offeeds on each other, that
excitement, that motivation.
(17:42):
Let's be honest, like when you,a lot of us write by ourselves,
right, we're just alone with ourthoughts for long stretches of
time.
It's just us and us.
You know us and characters.
I haven't written for a reallylong time, but I'm going to
gonna, I'm gonna talk as if I'man author as well, yeah, and and
yeah, sort of it can.
It can also be a bit draining.
You can talk about mindfulness.
You know that we get thatimposter syndrome sometimes, all
of us and we sort of doubtwhether we're really any good,
(18:05):
whether this story is worthtelling.
So to be able to kind of sharethat with other people and kind
of get a different perspectivecan help to sort of reinvigorate
that and kind of just remindyou about what it is that you
love about your story in thefirst place.
So yeah, creativity,inspiration, passion, motivation
I think that all increases whenyou are kind of bouncing these
(18:29):
ideas around with other peoplewho, like I said, they just get
it.
Speaker 1 (18:36):
Tip number three comes from episode number 131,
five steps to start planning abook series, and this episode is
great for anyone who knows theywant to write a series but is
feeling overwhelmed about allthe moving pieces and all the
planning that goes into writinga series.
So if this sounds like you,then you'll definitely want to
go check this episode out.
Now, this tip is actually kindof a bonus tip I shared in the
(18:59):
episode and it's all about worldbuilding.
So let's take a listen.
After this point, it's kind ofnatural to start thinking about
your story world, right?
So I always get questions abouthow to develop a world across
your book series and althoughthis is not something you
totally need to have figured outin the planning stage, it is
(19:21):
something to be aware of, right?
Because you want to make surethe world building is consistent
across all your books and youwant to build a world that plays
into your story, so that playsinto the themes and that impacts
the central conflict and yourprotagonist arc of change and
all that stuff.
And also, you know, just asyour character needs to change,
so can your story world.
(19:41):
I find that often it's the same, you know conflict, the same
events that trigger things inyour character or trigger that
kind of internal change thatalso can start to trigger change
in your character or triggerthat kind of internal change
that also can start to triggerchange in your world.
So we talked about this alittle bit in the Hunger Games
example, remember, you know thethings that start to change
Katniss.
It also ripples out into thebigger world and causes the
(20:02):
districts of Panem to rise upagainst the capital.
In Harry Potter, voldemortcoming back to full power
definitely spurs the world intoaction and once he's defeated,
the world is left in a differentplace than it was before.
So just something to keep inmind.
At this stage you can start tokind of think about how your
world or how you're setting thegroups and the communities, the
(20:24):
political systems, whatever itis, how those things start to
change in your world as well.
And I really wanted to includethis kind of as a bonus tip,
because sometimes, when it comesdown to growing, escalating and
complicating the goals and theconflict from book to book in
your series, sometimes you needto think in terms of expanding
the story world or exploring.
(20:46):
You know different parts of theworld and different characters,
so, for example, you might needto kind of expand where your
character goes in the world.
They might need to visit newcountries, new territories or
lands that were maybe previouslymentioned, but we haven't been
to those yet.
An example of this is in the ACourt of Thorns and Roses series
.
In the second book we see themain character, feyre.
She goes to the Night Court.
(21:07):
So you know that was mentionedin book one but we've never
actually been there.
By visiting this new location itbroadens the world and causes
conflict for the characters toface.
Also, taking your protagonistfarther away from home usually
organically triggers newrealizations about themselves
and can often either aid or kindof halt progress along their
(21:27):
series arc.
So just something to keep inmind and just something to think
about.
The other thing to think aboutis exploring different
characters in different parts ofthe world.
So sometimes as we progressfurther through a series there
are different points of viewintroduced.
I'm thinking of the books inthe Lunar Chronicles, right, we
see different points of view inthat series as the series
progresses and things like that.
(21:49):
So thinking about your storyworld definitely isn't one of
the first five steps I wouldtake, just because you know
things like character and themeare probably more important in
the planning stage, but you canstill think about your story
world and how it may undergo itsown arc of change and how it
can provide conflict for yourseries and for each individual
books and things like that.
So, as you can probably seefrom this episode, there is a
(22:13):
lot that goes into planning abook series right.
As I've said multiple timesthroughout the episode, I don't
want you to expect to haveeverything figured out in one or
two sittings.
This is something that you'redefinitely going to need to
start and then, you know, add toover time.
So I really want you to know,going into the process, that
it's totally normal to gothrough these steps once and
then kind of start over and goback through them again, just to
(22:36):
, you know, continue to developand add to your ideas.
So it's not just one or twotimes, it's probably a handful
of times you're going to need togo through these steps.
Totally normal, totally okay.
But at least this will help youget your ideas out of your head
(22:56):
and onto the page and hopefullyget your series underway.
All right.
Tip number two comes fromepisode number 145, how to
develop your character'sbackstory and, as you can
imagine.
This whole episode is about howto discover your character's
backstory or what made them theperson they are today.
But in this clip I'm talkingabout how your character's
backstory can actually influencetheir current present day
behaviors and motivations.
(23:17):
So let's check it out.
Now, moving on to step three,step three is to brainstorm how
this will all show up in thepresent day and by present day I
mean from page one of yourstory to the end of your story.
And like I just kind of hintedat your character's backstory in
this inner obstacle and thiswounding event, they can all
(23:38):
help you decide how to start andend your story.
Because at the beginning ofyour story your character is
going to be acting and behavingfrom a place of believing that
inner obstacle and if they don'tlearn the lesson of the story
or they don't, you know, learnthat theme, they're not going to
get what they want right.
So in order for them to getwhat they want and to move on
and find happiness or succeed orwhatever that is, your
(24:01):
character will need to dismantlethat inner obstacle and
basically dampen the effect thatthat wounding event has on
their present life.
And I will say here this is notalways true for every single
story.
This is true if you're writinga story with a positive change
arc.
So if you're writing the kindof story where the protagonist
learns a lesson and they grow bythe end, even if that growth is
(24:22):
painful, you're probablywriting a story with a positive
change arc, and what I just saidwill apply.
If you're writing a story witha negative change arc, change
arc and what I just said willapply.
If you're writing a story witha negative change arc, then your
character's most likely notlearning that lesson.
So in that scenario, usuallythey're doubling down on their
inner obstacle or that outdatedbelief.
So just something to keep inmind.
(24:42):
But at this stage you want touse all the information you've
already fleshed out to furtherdevelop your character's flaws,
behaviors and traits.
So you can consider things likeokay, if my character has lived
with this specific internalobstacle for this amount of time
by the start of page one, howare they going to act on a daily
basis?
(25:03):
You can also think about whattheir emotional armor looks like
.
So, because of that wound andtrying to, you know, protect
this inner obstacle and not gettriggered, what kind of
emotional armor did they have todevelop?
What are some behaviors they'vedeveloped based on that inner
obstacle and that wound.
And what flaws do they have now?
So there might be, you know,flaws that came out of this
(25:25):
wounding experience, but therealso might be some really good
things too.
So what qualities and flaws dothey have now?
All of this brainstorming workaround your character's wound
and internal obstacle can alsohelp inform your plot.
So the plot of your story shouldbe constantly challenging your
character's internal obstacle.
It should force them to chooserepeatedly between upholding
(25:48):
that flawed belief or clingingto that inner obstacle or
finally dismantling it.
And each time they fail tochange, there should be
consequences that furthercomplicate your plot.
So this is also where it helpsto think of, you know, what are
those things that trigger mycharacter's wound or that make
them put up that emotional armor?
What kinds of events are theynot going to want to be in that
(26:10):
are actually quite good for themin terms of learning their
lesson and growing and changing?
Just some things to think about.
So that's step three justthinking about how the wound and
their inner obstacle and theirbackstory can show up in the
present day.
And it's not just reminders ofhow it shows up, right, it's how
your character has internalizedthat wounding event and the
(26:31):
fear and the inner obstacle thatis birthed from that wounding
event and how it shows up intheir behavior and their actions
.
And I think that's a really keypiece of the puzzle that
writers can dig into a littlebit more and use to their
benefit.
All right, we've made it allthe way to tip number one and
this tip comes from one of mymost popular episodes of last
(26:54):
year and I'm not surprised thatyou love this episode as much as
you did, because I really loveit too and I'm talking about
episode number 126, save the Cat, troubleshooting Common Plot
Problems with Jessica Brody, andin this clip Jessica talks
about how to marry the externalplot of your story to your
characters and their innergrowth.
(27:14):
Let's have a listen.
Speaker 4 (27:19):
When you look at Save the Cat method, it was based on
a screenwriting method.
Screenwriting is all visual,it's all external and things are
happening to the character.
But it has to be portrayed bythe actor and it does come out
in the writing.
But as novelists, we have thisopportunity, this golden,
wonderful opportunity, to getinside a character's head which
you know we call it interiorityand see exactly how each of
(27:43):
these external plot points arechanging them.
It's the part of writing that Ilove the most is that kind of
deft hand it requires toexternally show something
happening and then allow thereader to piece together how
it's changing the characterwithout really spelling it out
for the reader, which we calltelling instead of showing.
So really, the beat sheet isdesigned to help you construct
(28:07):
external plot points that aredesigned to change your
character, and that's why I tellwriters that it's easier to
start with a character first atleast those three things We've
got the flaw or the big problemthat the character is facing.
We've got the want or the thingthat the character is
externally pursuing, and thenwe've got the need, which is
really what they require tointernally transform by the end
(28:28):
of the story and if you comeinto the beat sheet.
With those three things in mindas kind of the pillars or the
rudders that guide you, it's alot easier to design plot points
for that character.
So if you have a character whoreally needs to learn how to
trust, for example, then yeah,one of those external plot
points needs to be a betrayal,because that's the thing that's
(28:49):
going to really test them andpush their boundaries.
So there's about five beats inthe beat sheet.
I call them the foundationbeats.
I talk about this in the book aswell.
Those are the external plotpoints that trigger all of these
things.
That kind of are tent poles inthe story and they direct the
story and they turn the storyinto different directions.
(29:09):
So you can call them the fivemajor turning points, and those
are the catalyst, the break intotwo, the midpoint the all is
lost and the break into three.
These are the places where youreally want to lean on external
devices, things happening fromthe outside to the character.
For example, you don't wantyour catalyst to be something
like my character realizes that,because that's an internal
(29:31):
thing for somebody to realize.
You want the catalyst to bethis happened to my character
therefore causing them torealize something Right.
So that's where I guide peopleto really lean into external.
Speaker 1 (29:47):
All right, there you have it.
Some of the best clips from theFiction Writing Made Easy
podcast in 2024.
If any of these clips sparkedyour attention and you haven't
checked out the full episode yet, be sure to go back and take a
listen.
I'll have all of the episodeslinked up for you in the show
notes.
Thank you so much for joiningme, not only today, but week
after week or whenever there's anew episode.
(30:08):
I'm so grateful that I get toshow up for you and share all of
these writing tips andstrategies with you, and I'm
really excited to see all thewonderful things that 2025 has
in store for us.
So, with all of that being said, I will talk to you in the new
year.
So that's it for today's episode.
As always, thank you so muchfor tuning in and for showing
(30:31):
your support.
If you want to check out any ofthe links I mentioned in this
episode, you can find them inthe show notes listed in the
description of each episode,inside your podcast player or at
savannahgilbocom forward slashpodcast.
If you're an Apple user, I'dreally appreciate it if you took
a few seconds to leave a ratingand a review.
Your ratings and reviews tellApple that this is a podcast
(30:53):
that's worth listening to and,in turn, your reviews will help
this podcast get in front ofmore fiction writers just like
you.
And while you're there, goahead and hit that follow button
, because there's going to beanother brand new episode next
week, full of actionable tips,tools and strategies to help you
become a better writer.
So I'll see you next week anduntil then, happy writing.
If writing a lot and cranking out hundreds of
thousands of words was all ittook to be a great writer, then
many people would have turnedpro years and years ago.
But it just does not work thatway.
So, yes, keep practicing yourcraft by writing and, yes, keep
reading books to see howpublished authors have
constructed their stories, butalso get feedback on your pages.
(00:21):
Welcome to the Fiction WritingMade Easy podcast.
My name is Savannah Gilbo andI'm here to help you write a
story that works.
I want to prove to you thatwriting a novel doesn't have to
be overwhelming, so each week,I'll bring you a brand new
episode with simple, actionableand step-by-step strategies that
you can implement in yourwriting right away.
(00:42):
So, whether you're brand new towriting or more of a seasoned
author looking to improve yourcraft, this podcast is for you.
So pick up a pen and let's getstarted.
In today's episode, we're goingto do something a little fun and
different.
Since we're nearing the end of2024, I thought it would be fun
to continue with last week'stheme of lessons learned over
(01:04):
the past 12 months.
Now, I hope some of the lessonsthat you've learned this year
came from this podcast, and Ihope you walked away each week
with a new strategy to implementor a new idea to explore and,
most of all, I hope you'recloser to accomplishing your big
, beautiful writing goals.
So, as we inch our way closerto counting down until the ball
(01:25):
drops, I wanted to count downsome of the best clips from the
Fiction Writing Made Easypodcast in 2024.
You're going to hear clips fromthe top 10 most listened to
episodes, so I know it's goingto be full of good stuff.
So, with all of that being said,let's dive right in, starting
with tip number 10.
With all of that being said,let's dive right in, starting
(01:46):
with tip number 10.
The first tip on the list tipnumber 10, comes from episode
number 135, mastering, point ofView and Voice Expert Tips from
Gabriela Pereira of DIY MFA, andin this episode we talk about
some point of view, bestpractices, as well as where
writers tend to go wrong or feelconfused when it comes to point
of view.
In this clip, gabriela talksabout what she calls the
(02:07):
narrator's sphere of knowledge.
I won't spoil it for you, solet's dive right into the clip.
Speaker 2 (02:16):
So the thing with point of view, like the most
important thing to understand,to really wrap your head around
what point of view is and how itworks, is you have to
understand that it's all aboutsphere of knowledge.
So, like the narrator, theentity that's telling the story
has a certain sphere ofknowledge.
You, the writer, have a biggersphere of knowledge.
(02:37):
You know more things than thenarrator necessarily knows,
because you need to know all ofthose things like who your
character's third grade teacherwas and all of that stuff so
that you can write amazingcharacters.
But that doesn't need to gointo the book.
And then the narrator's sphereof knowledge isn't necessarily
the same sphere of knowledge asthe characters.
So there are going to be somecharacters who have information
(02:57):
and know things that are outsidethe range of what the narrator
has access to.
And the narrator's access iswhat's going to determine how
you tell your story.
So, going back to your question, how do you choose your point
of view?
There's sort of two things.
One of them is sort of artisticpreference.
Do you have a certain point ofview that speaks to you?
(03:18):
Like there's some people whothey can only write in the first
person.
That is their jam.
That is how they write, that ishow they experience their
characters.
I'll admit, that tends to be mydirection as well.
I tend to lean into firstperson a bit more than third
person.
But that's an artistic choice.
But then there's also thelogistical choice, like, do you
need to be able to get insidethe head of your villain?
(03:40):
If that's the case, then maybea multiple point of view is the
way to go, because then you canbe in one character's point of
view in chapter one and then inthe villain's point of view in
(04:01):
chapter two and then back to theprotagonist's point of view.
Because I think a lot of peoplekind of think oh, like first
person's my way of doing thingsand that's how I'm going to do
it, and then they paintthemselves into a corner where
they need access to acharacter's brain and they just
don't have that access.
Like, what are they going to do?
Speaker 1 (04:18):
All right.
This next clip comes fromepisode number 139.
That's called five multiplepoint of View Mistakes and how
to Avoid them, and you guessedit in the episode I share what
not to do when writing a storywith multiple point of view
characters.
But this tip is about dualtimeline stories, which may or
may not contain multiple pointsof view.
So let's take a listen.
(04:41):
Now I want to talk about dualtimeline novels for a second,
because dual timeline storiesare different from stories with
multiple points of view thatintersect.
So dual timeline novels havetwo separate but parallel
storylines set in differentperiods.
Typically there's going to beone timeline set in the present
and one timeline set at a pointin the past.
(05:02):
So they offer two different butconnected plots.
Each plot line in a dualtimeline story is going to have
its own main characters, its ownspecific settings and time
periods.
So on all accounts they are twostories that are distinct but
somehow connected, and they'reusually connected by the
parallels that exist betweenthem, which helps to harmonize
(05:24):
the two different realities orthe two different timelines.
So an example of a dual timelinenovel this is something like
the Lost Apothecary by SarahPenner.
In this story there are twotimelines.
The first is in the 1700s,which revolves around a woman
named Nella who runs anapothecary, and long story short
, a 12-year-old patron makes afatal mistake which kicks off a
(05:45):
string of consequences that echofrom her timeline out through
the centuries.
In a different timeline, inpresent-day London, there is a
character named Caroline whostumbles upon a clue to the
unresolved apothecary murdersthat haunted London 200 years
ago.
So it's a dual timeline storythat's connected by these
murders 200 years ago.
(06:07):
So it's a dual timeline storythat's connected by these
murders.
Now, in contrast to that thinkabout something like Six of
Crows by Leigh Bardugo there aresix main point of view
characters technically seven ifyou include the first point of
view, which only appears onceand all six of these point of
view characters are broughttogether by the heist that makes
up the plot.
So they're all connected andaffected by the heist, and all
of the plot lines occur in thesame time period.
(06:29):
Okay, so the key point here isto make sure that if you're
writing a true multi-point ofview novel, you want to make
sure that the point of viewcharacters are all connected in
some way.
So, generally speaking, thismeans your point of view
characters should be in arelationship together, have
their fates bound together andor face a common form of
conflict.
This is what connects themtogether and allows you to weave
(06:51):
their individual storylinestogether to create a cohesive
whole.
Alright, tip number eight comesfrom episode number 130, how to
Craft Romantic Chemistry andTension Between Characters, and
in this clip you'll hear threeingredients for sizzling
chemistry between yourcharacters.
Now, if this sounds interesting, or if this tip piques your
(07:15):
interest, you'll definitely wantto check out this episode,
because I do a whole breakdownof the chemistry and tension
between Violet Sorengale andZayden Ryerson in Fourth Wing by
Rebecca Yaros, and I comparedtheir chemistry to that of
Violet and Dane Atos.
So it's kind of fun.
I'll put that link in the shownotes for you, but here is the
clip.
So, with all of this characterwork, what you're ultimately
(07:37):
looking for when craftingchemistry between characters are
three ingredients.
Number one vulnerability.
Number two, desire.
And number three, resistance.
Okay, so when I sayvulnerability, I'm referring to
the willingness to show emotionor let one's weaknesses,
insecurities, fears and or hopesand dreams be seen by another
(07:59):
person.
Okay, so that's number one.
When I talk about desire, I'mreferring to the strong feeling
of wanting to have something orwishing for something to happen,
and since we're talking aboutrelationships, you know we can
say of wanting something toaccept or comply with something,
or the attempt to preventsomething by action or argument.
So we want to identify thevulnerability, the desire and
(08:32):
the resistance that's occurringbetween these two characters.
If you can identify how yourcharacters will be vulnerable
with each other, what they likeabout each other, both
physically, mentally andemotionally, and their reason
for not wanting to be together.
This is what's going to helpyou create the push-pull dynamic
that makes for really greaton-the-page chemistry.
(08:54):
Tip number seven comes fromepisode number 149, called Five
Questions to Develop BetterAntagonists, and in this episode
I talk through how giving equalattention to developing your
antagonist, as you would foryour protagonist, can actually
make the writing process so mucheasier and more straightforward
, and this clip is an example ofwhy and how.
(09:15):
So let's dive right in.
So we kind of talked about thisa little bit earlier, but once
you know what your antagonist'sgoal and motivation are and
what's at stake should theysucceed or fail, it's time to
break their goal down intoaction steps.
So what is their plan forgetting what they want?
And to flesh that out, you canconsider the following questions
(09:38):
.
So, number one what steps wouldthey take to get what they want
?
Number two in what order wouldthey take those steps and why?
So why would they take thesteps in that order?
Sometimes, just forcing yourselfto think through that will help
you find plot holes or holes inlogic, even as early as in the
outlining or brainstorming stage.
Number three what kind ofroadblocks might naturally get
(10:01):
in their way as they pursuethose action steps or their goal
?
So this could be, you know,just things that would occur in
the world, things that wouldmake it difficult, things like
that.
And then, number four how doesyour protagonist specifically
start to get in their way?
So how do their goals interferewith each other?
And then, number five whatconsequences would your
(10:21):
antagonist naturally face fortheir actions?
So, like I mentioned earlier,the goal is just to kind of come
up with a list or a brain dumpof all the possible action steps
and consequences and thingslike that that will come into
play as your antagonist pursuestheir goal.
Once you're done brainstorming,you can consider how your
antagonist's goals and planswill interfere with your
(10:43):
protagonist's goals and plans.
This is what's going to helpyou create some really nice
organic conflict for your story.
So, as an example, considerLord Voldemort's goal of
acquiring and using theSorcerer's Stone.
Voldemort's plan is to useProfessor Quirrell to steal the
stone for him.
And to do that, quirrell needsto find the stone, he needs to
(11:03):
figure out how to get pastwhatever's guarding it once it
gets moved to Hogwarts, and thenhe has to actually steal it,
right?
But then Harry starts gettingcurious about what's hidden on
the forbidden third floor, whichwe know is the stone, and he
starts getting in the way ofVoldemort and Quirrell's plans.
And this causes problems forthem, right.
And these problems result innew actions or different actions
(11:27):
being taken against Harry tostop him from interfering.
And I like this example becausein real life this is how
conflict works, right?
The person who's in control ofa conflict in this case the
antagonist doesn't really plantheir actions around the other
person, which in this case isthe protagonist.
Usually what happens is thereactive person who, at the
(11:51):
beginning of the story, isalmost always the protagonist.
They are bombarded with eventsoutside of their control and
then from there they struggleagainst that antagonistic force
to bring their life back intobalance.
So that's just kind of howconflict occurs in real life
right Now.
A lot of writers go about thisbackwards.
So if you're someone who's usedto planning the conflict in
your story by deciding what youwant your protagonist to do and
(12:15):
then deciding what yourantagonist should do, then you
are going about things a littlebit backwards, and that's OK A
lot of people do this but thiswill create a less than solid
plot and it's also going to makeyour job of plotting and
outlining your novel way harderthan it needs to be.
Alrighty, tip number six comesfrom episode number 146, six
(12:39):
ways that mindfulness can makeyou a happier and more
productive writer with AprilDavila, and in this episode,
april shares some reallyfantastic mindset shifts as well
as practical things you can doto have a happy and more
fulfilling writing life.
But in this clip, april talksabout how important it is to
mind our thoughts and how, if wedon't mind our thoughts, they
(12:59):
can run wild and start to createa narrative that just isn't
true.
So let's take a listen to theclip.
Speaker 3 (13:08):
So I don't believe in writer's block.
I think it's kind of acatch-all phrase that we use to
describe whatever reason we'renot writing.
But when we start to get betterat noticing those thoughts, we
can start to think like why am Inot writing?
Like, as an example, I was on aretreat one time and I was
teaching at it and I was gettingup early to write on my novel
before I went and taught and thealarm went off one morning and
(13:29):
I was like, oh, I don't want togo write.
And I heard that thought in myhead and I was like I love
writing.
Where did that thought comefrom?
And when I stopped and I tookthe thought and actually
analyzed a little bit, I didn'twant to go write in the space
that I've been writing becauseit was full of gossiping ladies
and it was very distracting.
I'm like, oh well, I'll just gosomewhere else.
And so the writer's block ofwhat that woo-woo like magic
(13:52):
phrase of writer's blocksuddenly starts to dissolve when
you can notice the thoughtsthat are around it and be like
okay, is that really true or isit just?
It's kind of just gettingpushed into a like general, I
don't feel like writing idea.
Speaker 1 (14:07):
Okay, we're about halfway through.
Now we're at tip number five,and this one comes from episode
number 155.
That's called 10 Things thatWill Not Make you a Better
Writer, and this episode isexactly what it sounds like.
I share 10 things I see writersdoing all the time that don't
actually move the needle and, asa result, don't make them
better writers.
This tip specifically, is aboutnot understanding the
(14:31):
importance of getting outsidefeedback on your work.
So here's the tip Now.
I know we've all heard theadvice from Stephen King that
says if you want to be a writer,you must do two things above
all others Read a lot and writea lot, and I do agree with
Stephen King.
Practicing your craft bywriting and reading other books
(14:53):
is really important.
Of course it is right.
But if you write, let's say, athousand words a day for an
entire year and you never getfeedback on what you're writing,
well, guess what happens Inmost cases?
You'll probably end up makingsome of the same fundamental
mistakes that many aspiringwriters make over and over again
, and turning those mistakesinto ingrained habits.
(15:14):
So imagine that, withoutgetting feedback on what's
working and not working in yourpages, you might actually end up
becoming a worse writer thanwhen you started.
Now, I know that's not the casefor everyone, but I do see it
happen often enough that Iwanted to include it in this
list.
So it's really important to getoutside feedback on your work.
(15:35):
It's important to know whatyou're doing well so that you
can keep doing it, and what youneed to work on so you can
actually improve your writing.
Because here's the thing ifwriting a lot and cranking out
hundreds of thousands of wordswas all it took to be a great
writer, then many people wouldhave turned pro years and years
ago.
But it just does not work thatway.
So, yes, keep practicing yourcraft by writing and, yes, keep
(15:58):
reading books to see howpublished authors have
constructed their stories, butalso get feedback on your pages.
So find someone you trustwhether that be a developmental
editor, a book coach, betareaders, a critique partner,
whoever it is and get somefeedback on your work.
This is what's going to helpyou become a better writer, not
just writing an arbitrary numberof words each day to tick a box
(16:19):
.
All right, moving on to tipnumber four.
Tip number four comes fromepisode number 158, how to
strengthen your Writing with thePower of Social Media with Lara
Ferrari, and in thisconversation, lara shares a ton
of great advice for using socialmedia to become a better writer
.
If you haven't heard thisepisode yet, I do recommend
(16:42):
checking it out, because whatshe shares is probably not what
you think.
And in this little preview,lara talks about how important
having a community is forwriters.
Let's take a listen.
Speaker 5 (16:55):
Talking about your book with other people people
who get it, people who are alsopassionate about books and
stories and storytelling likeit's fun.
I mean, it's not if you'retalking to somebody who's just
like I don't care, like I haveno interest in this.
It's draining.
But the opposite is true whenyou're talking to people who are
(17:17):
on the same wavelength as you.
So if you have a community ofpeople, this is, you know, kind
of crossing over, but getting totalk about your book, it can be
really exciting, especiallywhen you get excitement back,
and then that can be reallyexciting, especially when you
get excitement back, and thenthat can be motivating and it's
kind of this cycle, that sort offeeds on each other, that
excitement, that motivation.
(17:42):
Let's be honest, like when you,a lot of us write by ourselves,
right, we're just alone with ourthoughts for long stretches of
time.
It's just us and us.
You know us and characters.
I haven't written for a reallylong time, but I'm going to
gonna, I'm gonna talk as if I'man author as well, yeah, and and
yeah, sort of it can.
It can also be a bit draining.
You can talk about mindfulness.
You know that we get thatimposter syndrome sometimes, all
of us and we sort of doubtwhether we're really any good,
(18:05):
whether this story is worthtelling.
So to be able to kind of sharethat with other people and kind
of get a different perspectivecan help to sort of reinvigorate
that and kind of just remindyou about what it is that you
love about your story in thefirst place.
So yeah, creativity,inspiration, passion, motivation
I think that all increases whenyou are kind of bouncing these
(18:29):
ideas around with other peoplewho, like I said, they just get
it.
Speaker 1 (18:36):
Tip number three comes from episode number 131,
five steps to start planning abook series, and this episode is
great for anyone who knows theywant to write a series but is
feeling overwhelmed about allthe moving pieces and all the
planning that goes into writinga series.
So if this sounds like you,then you'll definitely want to
go check this episode out.
Now, this tip is actually kindof a bonus tip I shared in the
(18:59):
episode and it's all about worldbuilding.
So let's take a listen.
After this point, it's kind ofnatural to start thinking about
your story world, right?
So I always get questions abouthow to develop a world across
your book series and althoughthis is not something you
totally need to have figured outin the planning stage, it is
(19:21):
something to be aware of, right?
Because you want to make surethe world building is consistent
across all your books and youwant to build a world that plays
into your story, so that playsinto the themes and that impacts
the central conflict and yourprotagonist arc of change and
all that stuff.
And also, you know, just asyour character needs to change,
so can your story world.
(19:41):
I find that often it's the same, you know conflict, the same
events that trigger things inyour character or trigger that
kind of internal change thatalso can start to trigger change
in your character or triggerthat kind of internal change
that also can start to triggerchange in your world.
So we talked about this alittle bit in the Hunger Games
example, remember, you know thethings that start to change
Katniss.
It also ripples out into thebigger world and causes the
(20:02):
districts of Panem to rise upagainst the capital.
In Harry Potter, voldemortcoming back to full power
definitely spurs the world intoaction and once he's defeated,
the world is left in a differentplace than it was before.
So just something to keep inmind.
At this stage you can start tokind of think about how your
world or how you're setting thegroups and the communities, the
(20:24):
political systems, whatever itis, how those things start to
change in your world as well.
And I really wanted to includethis kind of as a bonus tip,
because sometimes, when it comesdown to growing, escalating and
complicating the goals and theconflict from book to book in
your series, sometimes you needto think in terms of expanding
the story world or exploring.
(20:46):
You know different parts of theworld and different characters,
so, for example, you might needto kind of expand where your
character goes in the world.
They might need to visit newcountries, new territories or
lands that were maybe previouslymentioned, but we haven't been
to those yet.
An example of this is in the ACourt of Thorns and Roses series
.
In the second book we see themain character, feyre.
She goes to the Night Court.
(21:07):
So you know that was mentionedin book one but we've never
actually been there.
By visiting this new location itbroadens the world and causes
conflict for the characters toface.
Also, taking your protagonistfarther away from home usually
organically triggers newrealizations about themselves
and can often either aid or kindof halt progress along their
(21:27):
series arc.
So just something to keep inmind and just something to think
about.
The other thing to think aboutis exploring different
characters in different parts ofthe world.
So sometimes as we progressfurther through a series there
are different points of viewintroduced.
I'm thinking of the books inthe Lunar Chronicles, right, we
see different points of view inthat series as the series
progresses and things like that.
(21:49):
So thinking about your storyworld definitely isn't one of
the first five steps I wouldtake, just because you know
things like character and themeare probably more important in
the planning stage, but you canstill think about your story
world and how it may undergo itsown arc of change and how it
can provide conflict for yourseries and for each individual
books and things like that.
So, as you can probably seefrom this episode, there is a
(22:13):
lot that goes into planning abook series right.
As I've said multiple timesthroughout the episode, I don't
want you to expect to haveeverything figured out in one or
two sittings.
This is something that you'redefinitely going to need to
start and then, you know, add toover time.
So I really want you to know,going into the process, that
it's totally normal to gothrough these steps once and
then kind of start over and goback through them again, just to
(22:36):
, you know, continue to developand add to your ideas.
So it's not just one or twotimes, it's probably a handful
of times you're going to need togo through these steps.
Totally normal, totally okay.
But at least this will help youget your ideas out of your head
(22:56):
and onto the page and hopefullyget your series underway.
All right.
Tip number two comes fromepisode number 145, how to
develop your character'sbackstory and, as you can
imagine.
This whole episode is about howto discover your character's
backstory or what made them theperson they are today.
But in this clip I'm talkingabout how your character's
backstory can actually influencetheir current present day
behaviors and motivations.
(23:17):
So let's check it out.
Now, moving on to step three,step three is to brainstorm how
this will all show up in thepresent day and by present day I
mean from page one of yourstory to the end of your story.
And like I just kind of hintedat your character's backstory in
this inner obstacle and thiswounding event, they can all
(23:38):
help you decide how to start andend your story.
Because at the beginning ofyour story your character is
going to be acting and behavingfrom a place of believing that
inner obstacle and if they don'tlearn the lesson of the story
or they don't, you know, learnthat theme, they're not going to
get what they want right.
So in order for them to getwhat they want and to move on
and find happiness or succeed orwhatever that is, your
(24:01):
character will need to dismantlethat inner obstacle and
basically dampen the effect thatthat wounding event has on
their present life.
And I will say here this is notalways true for every single
story.
This is true if you're writinga story with a positive change
arc.
So if you're writing the kindof story where the protagonist
learns a lesson and they grow bythe end, even if that growth is
(24:22):
painful, you're probablywriting a story with a positive
change arc, and what I just saidwill apply.
If you're writing a story witha negative change arc, change
arc and what I just said willapply.
If you're writing a story witha negative change arc, then your
character's most likely notlearning that lesson.
So in that scenario, usuallythey're doubling down on their
inner obstacle or that outdatedbelief.
So just something to keep inmind.
(24:42):
But at this stage you want touse all the information you've
already fleshed out to furtherdevelop your character's flaws,
behaviors and traits.
So you can consider things likeokay, if my character has lived
with this specific internalobstacle for this amount of time
by the start of page one, howare they going to act on a daily
basis?
(25:03):
You can also think about whattheir emotional armor looks like
.
So, because of that wound andtrying to, you know, protect
this inner obstacle and not gettriggered, what kind of
emotional armor did they have todevelop?
What are some behaviors they'vedeveloped based on that inner
obstacle and that wound.
And what flaws do they have now?
So there might be, you know,flaws that came out of this
(25:25):
wounding experience, but therealso might be some really good
things too.
So what qualities and flaws dothey have now?
All of this brainstorming workaround your character's wound
and internal obstacle can alsohelp inform your plot.
So the plot of your story shouldbe constantly challenging your
character's internal obstacle.
It should force them to chooserepeatedly between upholding
(25:48):
that flawed belief or clingingto that inner obstacle or
finally dismantling it.
And each time they fail tochange, there should be
consequences that furthercomplicate your plot.
So this is also where it helpsto think of, you know, what are
those things that trigger mycharacter's wound or that make
them put up that emotional armor?
What kinds of events are theynot going to want to be in that
(26:10):
are actually quite good for themin terms of learning their
lesson and growing and changing?
Just some things to think about.
So that's step three justthinking about how the wound and
their inner obstacle and theirbackstory can show up in the
present day.
And it's not just reminders ofhow it shows up, right, it's how
your character has internalizedthat wounding event and the
(26:31):
fear and the inner obstacle thatis birthed from that wounding
event and how it shows up intheir behavior and their actions
.
And I think that's a really keypiece of the puzzle that
writers can dig into a littlebit more and use to their
benefit.
All right, we've made it allthe way to tip number one and
this tip comes from one of mymost popular episodes of last
(26:54):
year and I'm not surprised thatyou love this episode as much as
you did, because I really loveit too and I'm talking about
episode number 126, save the Cat, troubleshooting Common Plot
Problems with Jessica Brody, andin this clip Jessica talks
about how to marry the externalplot of your story to your
characters and their innergrowth.
(27:14):
Let's have a listen.
Speaker 4 (27:19):
When you look at Save the Cat method, it was based on
a screenwriting method.
Screenwriting is all visual,it's all external and things are
happening to the character.
But it has to be portrayed bythe actor and it does come out
in the writing.
But as novelists, we have thisopportunity, this golden,
wonderful opportunity, to getinside a character's head which
you know we call it interiorityand see exactly how each of
(27:43):
these external plot points arechanging them.
It's the part of writing that Ilove the most is that kind of
deft hand it requires toexternally show something
happening and then allow thereader to piece together how
it's changing the characterwithout really spelling it out
for the reader, which we calltelling instead of showing.
So really, the beat sheet isdesigned to help you construct
(28:07):
external plot points that aredesigned to change your
character, and that's why I tellwriters that it's easier to
start with a character first atleast those three things We've
got the flaw or the big problemthat the character is facing.
We've got the want or the thingthat the character is
externally pursuing, and thenwe've got the need, which is
really what they require tointernally transform by the end
(28:28):
of the story and if you comeinto the beat sheet.
With those three things in mindas kind of the pillars or the
rudders that guide you, it's alot easier to design plot points
for that character.
So if you have a character whoreally needs to learn how to
trust, for example, then yeah,one of those external plot
points needs to be a betrayal,because that's the thing that's
(28:49):
going to really test them andpush their boundaries.
So there's about five beats inthe beat sheet.
I call them the foundationbeats.
I talk about this in the book aswell.
Those are the external plotpoints that trigger all of these
things.
That kind of are tent poles inthe story and they direct the
story and they turn the storyinto different directions.
(29:09):
So you can call them the fivemajor turning points, and those
are the catalyst, the break intotwo, the midpoint the all is
lost and the break into three.
These are the places where youreally want to lean on external
devices, things happening fromthe outside to the character.
For example, you don't wantyour catalyst to be something
like my character realizes that,because that's an internal
(29:31):
thing for somebody to realize.
You want the catalyst to bethis happened to my character
therefore causing them torealize something Right.
So that's where I guide peopleto really lean into external.
Speaker 1 (29:47):
All right, there you have it.
Some of the best clips from theFiction Writing Made Easy
podcast in 2024.
If any of these clips sparkedyour attention and you haven't
checked out the full episode yet, be sure to go back and take a
listen.
I'll have all of the episodeslinked up for you in the show
notes.
Thank you so much for joiningme, not only today, but week
after week or whenever there's anew episode.
(30:08):
I'm so grateful that I get toshow up for you and share all of
these writing tips andstrategies with you, and I'm
really excited to see all thewonderful things that 2025 has
in store for us.
So, with all of that being said, I will talk to you in the new
year.
So that's it for today's episode.
As always, thank you so muchfor tuning in and for showing
(30:31):
your support.
If you want to check out any ofthe links I mentioned in this
episode, you can find them inthe show notes listed in the
description of each episode,inside your podcast player or at
savannahgilbocom forward slashpodcast.
If you're an Apple user, I'dreally appreciate it if you took
a few seconds to leave a ratingand a review.
Your ratings and reviews tellApple that this is a podcast
(30:53):
that's worth listening to and,in turn, your reviews will help
this podcast get in front ofmore fiction writers just like
you.
And while you're there, goahead and hit that follow button
, because there's going to beanother brand new episode next
week, full of actionable tips,tools and strategies to help you
become a better writer.
So I'll see you next week anduntil then, happy writing.
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