May 6, 2025 • 22 mins
Discover the five most common big-picture mistakes writers make in their first drafts—and learn exactly what you can do to fix them.
Congratulations, you finished your first draft! …But now what? If you're feeling stuck or overwhelmed as you dive into editing your messy first draft, you're so not alone.
As a developmental editor, I've reviewed hundreds of first drafts, and I've noticed that most new writers struggle with the same core issues—problems that have nothing to do with your writing talent, but everything to do with fundamental story principles.
In this episode, I’m sharing the 5 most common big-picture mistakes I see writers make in their first drafts (and exactly what you can do to fix them).
You'll hear me talk about things like:
- [00:00] How to figure out if your story starts in the right place (and the one simple question that can help you find the perfect spot to begin your first chapter)
- [00:00] The difference between meaningful conflict vs. random plot events—and why your protagonist’s transformation depends on this key storytelling element
- [00:00] How to fix weak narrative drive (aka the dreaded "so what?" problem that causes readers to abandon books), and how to create seamless scene-to-scene connections
- [00:00] Character development strategies for increasing emotional stakes in your novel without resorting to melodramatic plot twists or artificial tension
- [00:00] The one mistake that might make readers feel cheated at the end of your novel (even if they can't explain why), and how to fix it
If you've finished your first draft but feel something's not quite working, or if you're struggling to revise a manuscript that just doesn't seem to come together, this episode will give you the clarity and direction you need to transform your story!
🔗 Links mentioned in this episode:
- Novel Editing Roadmap: 10 Steps To Editing Your First Draft (Free Guide)
- Ep. #13 - 5 Things That Kill Narrative Drive (& How To Fix It)
- Ep. #18 - 5 Mistakes Writers Make In Their Opening Pages
- Ep. #118 - How To Find The Major Dramatic Question Of Your Story
- Ep. #145 - How To Develop Your Character’s Backstory
- Ep. #149 - 5 Questions To Develop Better Antagonists
- Want my entire step-by-step process for brainstorming, outlining, and writing your first draft? Click here to learn more about my Notes to Novel program.
⭐ Follow & Review
If you loved this episode, please take a moment to follow the show and leave a review! Your review will help other writers find this podcast and get the insights they need to finish their
Click here to register for my FREE training: 3 Things You Need to Write Your Novel in 2025.
👉 Looking for a transcript? If you’re listening on Apple Podcasts or Spotify
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Stakes are what give your story emotional weight, and
they answer that reallyimportant question why does this
matter?
And without clear stakes, eventhe most beautifully written
manuscript is going to feelhollow.
So what are stakes really?
Well, stakes represent whatyour protagonist stands to lose
or gain based on the outcome oftheir journey.
So stakes can be externalthings like life or death,
(00:22):
winning or losing somethingtangible, things like that.
Or they can be internal stakes,so things like their identity,
their beliefs, relationships,things like that.
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
(00:43):
be overwhelming.
So each week, I'll bring you abrand new episode with simple,
actionable and step-by-stepstrategies that you can
implement in your writing rightaway.
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, I'm sharingthe five most common big picture
(01:05):
problems I see in first drafts.
Now, these aren't line levelconcerns like grammar or word
choice.
Those come later.
And if you're curious aboutwhen exactly those come in the
editing process.
I have a freebie that you willwant to download that walks you
through the 10 steps to editingyour first draft.
You can grab that by going tosavannahgilbocom forward slash
(01:26):
edit.
Now, like I was saying, theissues that we're going to talk
about today, these are thefoundational story elements that
, when they're working, whenthey're strengthened, can really
transform a strugglingmanuscript into a compelling
novel that readers won't want toput down.
So we're going to go througheach mistake.
I'm going to talk about how Isee these mistakes manifest and
then I'm going to give you somequick tips for fixing these
(01:48):
mistakes, if you've identifiedthese problems in your
manuscript.
So let's go ahead and dive in,starting with mistake number one
.
And mistake number one is thatthe story starts in the wrong
place, and this is one of themost common issues I see with
first drafts.
The story either begins tooearly or too late.
Now, I know that finding thatperfect entry point of where to
(02:09):
start your story can really feellike trying to hit a moving
target sometimes, but it'scrucial in terms of hooking your
reader from page one.
So let's talk through somesigns that maybe you've started
your story a little too early.
First, if your opening chaptersfeel like they're building up
to something significant, butthat something doesn't happen
until several chapters into thestory, then you probably have
(02:31):
started too early.
Another sign is that you mightfind yourself including
extensive backstory, characterintroductions that don't connect
to the main plot, or lengthydescriptions of the world before
anything meaningful happens.
Essentially, this is all likeclearing your throat before you
speak, right?
So let's talk about an example.
Let's say your story is about adetective who needs to solve a
(02:53):
murder, but you spend the firstthree chapters detailing her
morning routine, her childhoodand her drive to work before the
body is discovered.
In that case, you've likelystarted too early, and that
example perfectly summarizes thetwo things I just talked
through building up to somethingthat doesn't happen until
several chapters in, orincluding too much backstory,
(03:13):
character introductions orlengthy descriptions before
anything meaningful happens.
Okay, now let's flip this aroundand let's talk about some signs
that you've started too late,because I see this happen too,
and in this scenario, readerswill feel like they've just been
dropped into the middle ofchaos with no orientation, so
they're scrambling to figure outwhat's happening or why they
should care, who they shouldcare about things like that, and
(03:36):
sometimes importantrelationships or events that
really should be shown on thepage are referenced as if
they've already happened.
So an example of this I saw theother day.
I was looking at the firstdraft of a romance novel and
what happened in this story wasit started a week after the
characters first meeting.
So that left readers feelinglike they missed a crucial
(03:56):
moment in that relationship'sdevelopment and remember key
scenes like this one in aromance where the couple is
first meeting.
That's a really significantmoment in that type of story.
So when you don't includethings like that on the page,
readers will feel cheated.
Now let's talk about why thismatters.
Why does it matter to start yourstory in the right place?
Well, we all know that readersmake decisions about whether
(04:19):
they're going to keep reading abook within the first few pages.
If you start your story tooearly, they'll get bored,
waiting for something to happen.
If you start it too late,they're going to feel confused
and disconnected from your storyand your characters.
So let's talk about a quick fixfor what to do if you've
started your story too early ortoo late.
I would ask yourself this onequestion what is the inciting
(04:41):
incident that truly sets yourstory in motion.
I will link to another episodeof this podcast.
It's episode number 26, where Italk about how to write a great
, inciting incident for yourstory that sets everything into
motion.
So if you're not sure, I woulddefinitely recommend listening
to that episode and identifyingthis moment in your story.
And the reason is is becausethe ideal starting point for
(05:03):
your story is usually justbefore this event, and that's
because we want to give readersjust enough context to
understand its significancewithout that unnecessary
preamble starts in the wrongplace.
(05:25):
So either too early or too late, all right.
So the second big mistake I seeis that there's just not enough
conflict, and I really shouldsay there's not enough
compelling conflict.
And we all know that storieswithout strong conflict are like
cars without engines they justwon't go anywhere.
Right, but a lot of firstdrafts I see suffer from
conflict that's either too weak,too vague or just entirely
missing.
So what does compellingconflict look like?
(05:47):
Well, compelling conflict isn'tjust quote-unquote bad stuff
happening to your character.
Really, it should be a directopposition to what your
protagonist desperately wants orneeds, and it should force
difficult choices and createtension on every single page.
So here are some signs that theconflict in your story isn't
strong enough.
Number one your protagonistgets what they want too easily.
(06:10):
Number two there's no clearforce of opposition, whether
that's a person, society, nature, themselves, whatever.
Number three nothing trulychallenges your character's
beliefs or forces them to growand change.
Number four your protagonist ismainly an observer rather than
an active participant in thestory.
And number five your scenesfeel pleasant, but they lack
(06:32):
tension.
So those are five signs thatthe conflict in your story isn't
yet strong enough.
Now remember that the best wayto get your character to grow
and change is going to requireyou to put pressure on them, and
that's because people rarelychange without being pushed to
their limits, and the same istrue for our characters.
Without having sufficientconflict pushing them towards
(06:53):
that change, your protagonist isjust going to remain static,
and static characters rarelymake for compelling stories.
So let's say that you've madethis mistake in your draft, or
you've identified that theconflict in your story just
isn't strong enough.
How do we fix that?
Well, here are two questionsthat you can ask yourself to
really hone on what you'll needto do to fix it.
Number one what does myprotagonist want more than
(07:17):
anything?
And then number two what's theworst yet believable thing that
could stand in their way?
The answers to these twoquestions will help you form the
backbone of your story'sconflict.
So if this is something youneed to work on in your story, I
want you to consider bothexternal conflicts, so these are
visible obstacles, likeantagonists or natural disasters
(07:37):
or things like that, and alsointernal conflicts, so inner
struggles, like fear, guilt orcompeting desires.
The most powerful stories, theones that stick with us for
years and years.
These often feature both typesof conflict working in tandem
and on that note, I'm going tolink to two different podcasts
for you in the show notes, ifthis is something you need to
(07:57):
work on.
So the first one is episodenumber 149, and in this episode
I share five questions to helpyou develop your antagonist.
So if you need help getting tothe root of who your antagonist
is, what they want and why, golisten to that episode and
that'll help you flesh out theexternal conflict that your
character faces.
I'm also going to link toepisode number 145, which is all
(08:19):
about how to develop yourcharacter's backstory.
So if you haven't done thiswork yet, or if you're feeling
like the internal conflict yourcharacter faces could be
stronger, then I definitelyrecommend listening to that
episode.
All right, so that is mistakenumber two.
There's not enough compellingconflict to move the story
forward and make the storyimpactful.
Mistake number three is thatthere's a lack of narrative
(08:40):
drive, and narrative drive isreally just what keeps readers
turning the pages.
It's what pushes your storyforward through clear cause and
effect relationships betweenevents.
So what does that look like?
So let's say that your currentdraft features a series of
disconnected scenes where thingsjust kind of happen to your
protagonist rather than becauseof their choices.
(09:01):
Then you're likely lacking thatsense of narrative drive.
So this might feel like thishappened in this scene, then
this happened in this scene andthen this other thing happened
in this other scene, with noreal clear connection between
each scene or each event.
And this is what I like to callthe.
So what problem?
Readers finish a scene andinstead of being pulled into the
(09:22):
next one, they pause and theythink, well.
So what problem?
Readers finish a scene and,instead of being pulled into the
next one, they pause and theythink, well, so what?
Why should I care what happensnext?
And this is important because,unlike real life, which is often
random and chaotic.
Stories need to follow aninternal logic that creates
meaning.
So each scene needs to grownaturally from what came before
it and plant seeds for whatcomes after it.
(09:43):
This deliberate type of causeand effect chain is what's going
to distinguish a story that'swell crafted from a story that's
full of just a sequence ofevents.
So if you think you have thisproblem in your draft, let's
talk about how to fix it.
I want you to go through eachone of your scenes and ask
yourself does this scene happenbecause of choices made in
previous scenes?
(10:03):
Does it force new choices thatwill affect future scenes?
If not, then you might need tostrengthen all the connections
between scenes or reconsiderwhether a particular scene
belongs in your story at all.
And if you want to zoom out andjust kind of evaluate the
biggest picture of your story,so maybe, like your main plot
points, you can just askyourself this exercise is going
(10:25):
to quickly reveal where thatsense of narrative drive in your
story breaks down and or whereit needs reinforcement.
And if you want to go deeperinto this topic on narrative
drive, I'm going to link in theshow notes to episode number 13.
That one's called five thingsthat kill narrative drive and
how to fix it.
So if you think you have thisproblem in your draft, I highly
recommend checking out thatepisode.
All right, so that is mistakenumber three a lack of narrative
(10:47):
drive.
Now, mistake number four is thatthere's nothing significant at
stake.
Stakes are what give your storyemotional weight, and they
answer that really importantquestion why does this matter?
And without clear stakes, eventhe most beautifully written
manuscript is going to feelhollow.
And without clear stakes, eventhe most beautifully written
manuscript is going to feelhollow.
So what are stakes really?
Well, stakes represent whatyour protagonist stands to lose
(11:09):
or gain, based on the outcome oftheir journey.
So stakes can be externalthings like life or death,
winning or losing somethingtangible, things like that.
Or they can be internal stakes,so things like their identity,
their beliefs, relationships,things like that.
So here are some signs that thestakes in your story aren't high
enough.
Number one the consequences offailure feel minimal or unclear.
(11:31):
Number two your protagonistcould walk away from their goal
with little or no cost.
Number three the reader feelsno anxiety about potential
outcomes.
Number four characters don'tseem truly invested in the
results.
And number five the story feelssafe and predictable.
Now let's talk about how toraise the stakes in your story
(11:52):
effectively, especially ifyou've identified this as one of
the problems in your manuscript.
And contrary to popular belief,raising the stakes does not
mean making everything bigger ormore dramatic.
Instead, I would recommendfocusing on making the stakes
more personal and specific toyour character, and to do that,
you can ask yourself these threequestions.
Number one what would be theworst possible outcome for this
(12:16):
specific character?
Number two what matters most tothis character personally?
And number three what is thischaracter afraid of losing
specifically?
And the answers you come upwith should guide you toward
stakes that feel bothsignificant and authentic to
your story.
Now, something else I want tomention here is that different
genres have differentexpectations for stakes.
(12:37):
So, in a thriller, the stakesmight be around saving lives,
while in a romance, the stakescenter around finding or losing
love.
So, yes, I want you to askyourself the questions we just
went over, to get to know what'sat stake for your protagonist
specifically, but I also wantyou to think in terms of your
genre, because understanding theexpectations readers will have
(12:58):
of a story like yours is justgoing to help you deliver that
kind of emotional experience andreading experience that they
are seeking.
Okay, so that is mistake numberfour.
There's nothing significant atstake.
And that brings us to mistakenumber five unresolved story
promises.
And what I mean by this is thatevery story makes promises to
(13:18):
its readers, starting from thatvery first page.
These promises createexpectations about the type of
story being told and theemotional experience readers can
anticipate.
And when those promises gounfulfilled, readers feel
cheated, even if they can'treally articulate why.
So what are story promises?
Well, story promises caninclude elements like genre
(13:40):
signals.
So, for example, if there's adead body in chapter one, that's
going to promise that a mysterywill be solved.
So, for example, if there's adead body in chapter one, that's
going to promise that a mysterywill be solved.
So it promises that if theykeep reading, we will find out
who done it or why done it.
Story promises can also includeelements like character goals
that were established early onin the draft.
So, for example, if yourprotagonist wants to win a
competition that seems reallyimportant to them, readers are
(14:03):
going to expect to see this playout and they will want to know
did that person win or lose?
Story promises also includeelements like themes introduced
at the beginning.
So if you're exploringforgiveness early on in your
story, then readers are going toexpect some kind of resolution
or some kind of lesson learnedon this theme.
And then, lastly, your story'semotional tone also makes a
(14:25):
promise to the reader.
So, for example, if your storystarts out feeling pretty
humorous, that's going to setexpectations for a generally
lighthearted or humorous story.
So just some things to thinkabout.
And I wanna tell you kind of thebiggest way that I see this
mistake manifest, and it's whatI like to call a story with a
genre identity crisis.
So what this looks like is astory will start out being one
(14:49):
type of story and then it endsbeing another type of story.
So, for example, imagine youstart out reading a draft that
feels like a romance and then atthe end there is an emphasis on
solving a crime instead ofresolving the relationship.
Now, of course, you can write astory where both things happen,
right.
You can write, let's say, acrime story with a romantic
subplot or vice versa, but theredoes need to be that one
(15:11):
central through line that makesthe promise in the beginning and
delivers on the promise in theend.
And let's talk about why thishappens, because it is more
common than I think most peoplewould believe.
So often, writers will discovernew and interesting directions
while they're drafting, and thenthey follow these new paths
without circling back, tofulfill their initial promises,
(15:32):
and this type of exploration isreally valuable during the first
draft.
But once you're done writing thefirst draft, it's time to make
deliberate decisions about whatkind of story you're telling,
and then, throughout therevision process, you can make
sure your story delivers onwhatever you've decided, all
right.
So let's talk about how toidentify if your draft has this
issue.
What you can do is review youropening scenes or chapters and
(15:56):
note what kind of expectationsyou're setting.
So what kind of questions arebeing raised?
What type of story are youpromising Then?
What would a satisfyingresolution to these elements
look like?
Then I want you to go to theending of your story and compare
it.
So do the final scenes orchapters deliver on those early
promises, or has your storydrifted into a different
(16:17):
territory?
If it's the latter, that isokay, but you will need to
either revise your beginning toalign with your actual story or
adjust your ending to fulfillyour original promises, all
right.
And if you want to go deeperinto learning more about how to
craft a through line for yourstory.
I want you to go back and listento episode number 118.
That one's called how to Findthe Major Dramatic Question of
your Story and I will link to goback and listen to episode
number 118.
That one's called how to Findthe Major Dramatic Question of
(16:38):
your Story and I will link tothat one in the show notes as
well.
All right, so that is mistakenumber five unresolved story
promises.
Now let's do a quick recap andthen I have some final thoughts
for you.
So don't go anywhere just yet,all right.
So mistake number one isstarting your story in the wrong
place, either too early or toolate, and remember, the fix to
(16:59):
this is identifying your story'sinciting incident and starting
your story just before thatevent occurs.
Mistake number two is nothaving enough meaningful
conflict, and remember thisisn't just about having bad
stuff happen to your character.
It's more about creatingmeaningful conflicts and
obstacles that will put pressureon your protagonist and
eventually force them to growand change.
(17:20):
Mistake number three is a lackof narrative drive.
So what this tends to look likeis just a bunch of stuff that
happens with no clear cause andeffect from scene to scene.
So to fix this, you'll justwant to review each of your
scenes and think about how thescenes before it are affecting
that scene, as well as how thatscene will affect the scenes
that come later.
Mistake number four is thatthere's nothing significant at
(17:41):
stake.
And remember, fixing this isnot about making things bigger
or more dramatic.
It's really more about makingthings more personal and
specific to your character.
You'll also want to considerthe typical stakes of your genre
and see how that plays intothings as well.
And then, lastly, mistake numberfive is unresolved story
promises.
And, as I said, usually thismanifests as one half of the
(18:04):
draft will look differently orbe a different type of story
than the other half of the storyis.
So to fix this, you'll justwant to compare your beginning
and your ending and say did Iraise the appropriate question
in the beginning and did Ianswer that in a satisfying way
at the end?
All right.
So if you've identified some orall of these issues in your
manuscript, that doesn't meanyour story's broken.
(18:26):
So just take a deep breath.
Having this kind of awarenessand being able to recognize
these problems in your draft issuch a huge skill that many
writers never develop.
So, yes, I know it's a littlepainful to realize there are
issues you need to fix, butagain, that's what first drafts
are for right.
First drafts are supposed to beexploratory, and that's because
(18:46):
sometimes the only way todiscover what your story is
truly about is to write all theway through to the end.
So now that you have all thatraw material to work with, you
can start the revision processwith clarity and purpose.
And if this still feelsoverwhelming, I want you to go
download the free guide thatwill walk you through 10 steps
to editing your messy firstdraft, because in that guide,
(19:07):
it's going to tell you how toapproach revision strategically.
So what I don't want you to dois to dive right into line level
editing before you've addressedthese big picture issues.
You've probably heard me saythis before, but there's no
point perfecting your sentencesin scenes that might ultimately
be cut or significantly changed.
So that's what this guide willhelp you avoid doing, and it
(19:28):
will also help you make astrategic plan for tackling your
revisions.
You can download that for freeat savannagilbocom forward slash
edit.
So one more time, that'ssavannagilbocom forward slash
edit.
Now the last thing I want tosay is that, as you revise,
please be patient with yourself.
These big picture foundationalelements do take time to get
(19:49):
right, but doing all this work,investing your time in this now,
is going to pay offtremendously in terms of the
quality of your final manuscript.
So trust that your story isworth the effort and keep moving
forward.
So that's it for today's episode.
As always, thank you so muchfor tuning in and for showing
your support.
If you want to check out any ofthe links I mentioned in this
(20:12):
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
that's worth listening to and,in turn, your reviews will help
(20:33):
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.
Stakes are what give your story emotional weight, and
they answer that reallyimportant question why does this
matter?
And without clear stakes, eventhe most beautifully written
manuscript is going to feelhollow.
So what are stakes really?
Well, stakes represent whatyour protagonist stands to lose
or gain based on the outcome oftheir journey.
So stakes can be externalthings like life or death,
(00:22):
winning or losing somethingtangible, things like that.
Or they can be internal stakes,so things like their identity,
their beliefs, relationships,things like that.
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
(00:43):
be overwhelming.
So each week, I'll bring you abrand new episode with simple,
actionable and step-by-stepstrategies that you can
implement in your writing rightaway.
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, I'm sharingthe five most common big picture
(01:05):
problems I see in first drafts.
Now, these aren't line levelconcerns like grammar or word
choice.
Those come later.
And if you're curious aboutwhen exactly those come in the
editing process.
I have a freebie that you willwant to download that walks you
through the 10 steps to editingyour first draft.
You can grab that by going tosavannahgilbocom forward slash
(01:26):
edit.
Now, like I was saying, theissues that we're going to talk
about today, these are thefoundational story elements that
, when they're working, whenthey're strengthened, can really
transform a strugglingmanuscript into a compelling
novel that readers won't want toput down.
So we're going to go througheach mistake.
I'm going to talk about how Isee these mistakes manifest and
then I'm going to give you somequick tips for fixing these
(01:48):
mistakes, if you've identifiedthese problems in your
manuscript.
So let's go ahead and dive in,starting with mistake number one
.
And mistake number one is thatthe story starts in the wrong
place, and this is one of themost common issues I see with
first drafts.
The story either begins tooearly or too late.
Now, I know that finding thatperfect entry point of where to
(02:09):
start your story can really feellike trying to hit a moving
target sometimes, but it'scrucial in terms of hooking your
reader from page one.
So let's talk through somesigns that maybe you've started
your story a little too early.
First, if your opening chaptersfeel like they're building up
to something significant, butthat something doesn't happen
until several chapters into thestory, then you probably have
(02:31):
started too early.
Another sign is that you mightfind yourself including
extensive backstory, characterintroductions that don't connect
to the main plot, or lengthydescriptions of the world before
anything meaningful happens.
Essentially, this is all likeclearing your throat before you
speak, right?
So let's talk about an example.
Let's say your story is about adetective who needs to solve a
(02:53):
murder, but you spend the firstthree chapters detailing her
morning routine, her childhoodand her drive to work before the
body is discovered.
In that case, you've likelystarted too early, and that
example perfectly summarizes thetwo things I just talked
through building up to somethingthat doesn't happen until
several chapters in, orincluding too much backstory,
(03:13):
character introductions orlengthy descriptions before
anything meaningful happens.
Okay, now let's flip this aroundand let's talk about some signs
that you've started too late,because I see this happen too,
and in this scenario, readerswill feel like they've just been
dropped into the middle ofchaos with no orientation, so
they're scrambling to figure outwhat's happening or why they
should care, who they shouldcare about things like that, and
(03:36):
sometimes importantrelationships or events that
really should be shown on thepage are referenced as if
they've already happened.
So an example of this I saw theother day.
I was looking at the firstdraft of a romance novel and
what happened in this story wasit started a week after the
characters first meeting.
So that left readers feelinglike they missed a crucial
(03:56):
moment in that relationship'sdevelopment and remember key
scenes like this one in aromance where the couple is
first meeting.
That's a really significantmoment in that type of story.
So when you don't includethings like that on the page,
readers will feel cheated.
Now let's talk about why thismatters.
Why does it matter to start yourstory in the right place?
Well, we all know that readersmake decisions about whether
(04:19):
they're going to keep reading abook within the first few pages.
If you start your story tooearly, they'll get bored,
waiting for something to happen.
If you start it too late,they're going to feel confused
and disconnected from your storyand your characters.
So let's talk about a quick fixfor what to do if you've
started your story too early ortoo late.
I would ask yourself this onequestion what is the inciting
(04:41):
incident that truly sets yourstory in motion.
I will link to another episodeof this podcast.
It's episode number 26, where Italk about how to write a great
, inciting incident for yourstory that sets everything into
motion.
So if you're not sure, I woulddefinitely recommend listening
to that episode and identifyingthis moment in your story.
And the reason is is becausethe ideal starting point for
(05:03):
your story is usually justbefore this event, and that's
because we want to give readersjust enough context to
understand its significancewithout that unnecessary
preamble starts in the wrongplace.
(05:25):
So either too early or too late, all right.
So the second big mistake I seeis that there's just not enough
conflict, and I really shouldsay there's not enough
compelling conflict.
And we all know that storieswithout strong conflict are like
cars without engines they justwon't go anywhere.
Right, but a lot of firstdrafts I see suffer from
conflict that's either too weak,too vague or just entirely
missing.
So what does compellingconflict look like?
(05:47):
Well, compelling conflict isn'tjust quote-unquote bad stuff
happening to your character.
Really, it should be a directopposition to what your
protagonist desperately wants orneeds, and it should force
difficult choices and createtension on every single page.
So here are some signs that theconflict in your story isn't
strong enough.
Number one your protagonistgets what they want too easily.
(06:10):
Number two there's no clearforce of opposition, whether
that's a person, society, nature, themselves, whatever.
Number three nothing trulychallenges your character's
beliefs or forces them to growand change.
Number four your protagonist ismainly an observer rather than
an active participant in thestory.
And number five your scenesfeel pleasant, but they lack
(06:32):
tension.
So those are five signs thatthe conflict in your story isn't
yet strong enough.
Now remember that the best wayto get your character to grow
and change is going to requireyou to put pressure on them, and
that's because people rarelychange without being pushed to
their limits, and the same istrue for our characters.
Without having sufficientconflict pushing them towards
(06:53):
that change, your protagonist isjust going to remain static,
and static characters rarelymake for compelling stories.
So let's say that you've madethis mistake in your draft, or
you've identified that theconflict in your story just
isn't strong enough.
How do we fix that?
Well, here are two questionsthat you can ask yourself to
really hone on what you'll needto do to fix it.
Number one what does myprotagonist want more than
(07:17):
anything?
And then number two what's theworst yet believable thing that
could stand in their way?
The answers to these twoquestions will help you form the
backbone of your story'sconflict.
So if this is something youneed to work on in your story, I
want you to consider bothexternal conflicts, so these are
visible obstacles, likeantagonists or natural disasters
(07:37):
or things like that, and alsointernal conflicts, so inner
struggles, like fear, guilt orcompeting desires.
The most powerful stories, theones that stick with us for
years and years.
These often feature both typesof conflict working in tandem
and on that note, I'm going tolink to two different podcasts
for you in the show notes, ifthis is something you need to
(07:57):
work on.
So the first one is episodenumber 149, and in this episode
I share five questions to helpyou develop your antagonist.
So if you need help getting tothe root of who your antagonist
is, what they want and why, golisten to that episode and
that'll help you flesh out theexternal conflict that your
character faces.
I'm also going to link toepisode number 145, which is all
(08:19):
about how to develop yourcharacter's backstory.
So if you haven't done thiswork yet, or if you're feeling
like the internal conflict yourcharacter faces could be
stronger, then I definitelyrecommend listening to that
episode.
All right, so that is mistakenumber two.
There's not enough compellingconflict to move the story
forward and make the storyimpactful.
Mistake number three is thatthere's a lack of narrative
(08:40):
drive, and narrative drive isreally just what keeps readers
turning the pages.
It's what pushes your storyforward through clear cause and
effect relationships betweenevents.
So what does that look like?
So let's say that your currentdraft features a series of
disconnected scenes where thingsjust kind of happen to your
protagonist rather than becauseof their choices.
(09:01):
Then you're likely lacking thatsense of narrative drive.
So this might feel like thishappened in this scene, then
this happened in this scene andthen this other thing happened
in this other scene, with noreal clear connection between
each scene or each event.
And this is what I like to callthe.
So what problem?
Readers finish a scene andinstead of being pulled into the
(09:22):
next one, they pause and theythink, well.
So what problem?
Readers finish a scene and,instead of being pulled into the
next one, they pause and theythink, well, so what?
Why should I care what happensnext?
And this is important because,unlike real life, which is often
random and chaotic.
Stories need to follow aninternal logic that creates
meaning.
So each scene needs to grownaturally from what came before
it and plant seeds for whatcomes after it.
(09:43):
This deliberate type of causeand effect chain is what's going
to distinguish a story that'swell crafted from a story that's
full of just a sequence ofevents.
So if you think you have thisproblem in your draft, let's
talk about how to fix it.
I want you to go through eachone of your scenes and ask
yourself does this scene happenbecause of choices made in
previous scenes?
(10:03):
Does it force new choices thatwill affect future scenes?
If not, then you might need tostrengthen all the connections
between scenes or reconsiderwhether a particular scene
belongs in your story at all.
And if you want to zoom out andjust kind of evaluate the
biggest picture of your story,so maybe, like your main plot
points, you can just askyourself this exercise is going
(10:25):
to quickly reveal where thatsense of narrative drive in your
story breaks down and or whereit needs reinforcement.
And if you want to go deeperinto this topic on narrative
drive, I'm going to link in theshow notes to episode number 13.
That one's called five thingsthat kill narrative drive and
how to fix it.
So if you think you have thisproblem in your draft, I highly
recommend checking out thatepisode.
All right, so that is mistakenumber three a lack of narrative
(10:47):
drive.
Now, mistake number four is thatthere's nothing significant at
stake.
Stakes are what give your storyemotional weight, and they
answer that really importantquestion why does this matter?
And without clear stakes, eventhe most beautifully written
manuscript is going to feelhollow.
And without clear stakes, eventhe most beautifully written
manuscript is going to feelhollow.
So what are stakes really?
Well, stakes represent whatyour protagonist stands to lose
(11:09):
or gain, based on the outcome oftheir journey.
So stakes can be externalthings like life or death,
winning or losing somethingtangible, things like that.
Or they can be internal stakes,so things like their identity,
their beliefs, relationships,things like that.
So here are some signs that thestakes in your story aren't high
enough.
Number one the consequences offailure feel minimal or unclear.
(11:31):
Number two your protagonistcould walk away from their goal
with little or no cost.
Number three the reader feelsno anxiety about potential
outcomes.
Number four characters don'tseem truly invested in the
results.
And number five the story feelssafe and predictable.
Now let's talk about how toraise the stakes in your story
(11:52):
effectively, especially ifyou've identified this as one of
the problems in your manuscript.
And contrary to popular belief,raising the stakes does not
mean making everything bigger ormore dramatic.
Instead, I would recommendfocusing on making the stakes
more personal and specific toyour character, and to do that,
you can ask yourself these threequestions.
Number one what would be theworst possible outcome for this
(12:16):
specific character?
Number two what matters most tothis character personally?
And number three what is thischaracter afraid of losing
specifically?
And the answers you come upwith should guide you toward
stakes that feel bothsignificant and authentic to
your story.
Now, something else I want tomention here is that different
genres have differentexpectations for stakes.
(12:37):
So, in a thriller, the stakesmight be around saving lives,
while in a romance, the stakescenter around finding or losing
love.
So, yes, I want you to askyourself the questions we just
went over, to get to know what'sat stake for your protagonist
specifically, but I also wantyou to think in terms of your
genre, because understanding theexpectations readers will have
(12:58):
of a story like yours is justgoing to help you deliver that
kind of emotional experience andreading experience that they
are seeking.
Okay, so that is mistake numberfour.
There's nothing significant atstake.
And that brings us to mistakenumber five unresolved story
promises.
And what I mean by this is thatevery story makes promises to
(13:18):
its readers, starting from thatvery first page.
These promises createexpectations about the type of
story being told and theemotional experience readers can
anticipate.
And when those promises gounfulfilled, readers feel
cheated, even if they can'treally articulate why.
So what are story promises?
Well, story promises caninclude elements like genre
(13:40):
signals.
So, for example, if there's adead body in chapter one, that's
going to promise that a mysterywill be solved.
So, for example, if there's adead body in chapter one, that's
going to promise that a mysterywill be solved.
So it promises that if theykeep reading, we will find out
who done it or why done it.
Story promises can also includeelements like character goals
that were established early onin the draft.
So, for example, if yourprotagonist wants to win a
competition that seems reallyimportant to them, readers are
(14:03):
going to expect to see this playout and they will want to know
did that person win or lose?
Story promises also includeelements like themes introduced
at the beginning.
So if you're exploringforgiveness early on in your
story, then readers are going toexpect some kind of resolution
or some kind of lesson learnedon this theme.
And then, lastly, your story'semotional tone also makes a
(14:25):
promise to the reader.
So, for example, if your storystarts out feeling pretty
humorous, that's going to setexpectations for a generally
lighthearted or humorous story.
So just some things to thinkabout.
And I wanna tell you kind of thebiggest way that I see this
mistake manifest, and it's whatI like to call a story with a
genre identity crisis.
So what this looks like is astory will start out being one
(14:49):
type of story and then it endsbeing another type of story.
So, for example, imagine youstart out reading a draft that
feels like a romance and then atthe end there is an emphasis on
solving a crime instead ofresolving the relationship.
Now, of course, you can write astory where both things happen,
right.
You can write, let's say, acrime story with a romantic
subplot or vice versa, but theredoes need to be that one
(15:11):
central through line that makesthe promise in the beginning and
delivers on the promise in theend.
And let's talk about why thishappens, because it is more
common than I think most peoplewould believe.
So often, writers will discovernew and interesting directions
while they're drafting, and thenthey follow these new paths
without circling back, tofulfill their initial promises,
(15:32):
and this type of exploration isreally valuable during the first
draft.
But once you're done writing thefirst draft, it's time to make
deliberate decisions about whatkind of story you're telling,
and then, throughout therevision process, you can make
sure your story delivers onwhatever you've decided, all
right.
So let's talk about how toidentify if your draft has this
issue.
What you can do is review youropening scenes or chapters and
(15:56):
note what kind of expectationsyou're setting.
So what kind of questions arebeing raised?
What type of story are youpromising Then?
What would a satisfyingresolution to these elements
look like?
Then I want you to go to theending of your story and compare
it.
So do the final scenes orchapters deliver on those early
promises, or has your storydrifted into a different
(16:17):
territory?
If it's the latter, that isokay, but you will need to
either revise your beginning toalign with your actual story or
adjust your ending to fulfillyour original promises, all
right.
And if you want to go deeperinto learning more about how to
craft a through line for yourstory.
I want you to go back and listento episode number 118.
That one's called how to Findthe Major Dramatic Question of
your Story and I will link to goback and listen to episode
number 118.
That one's called how to Findthe Major Dramatic Question of
(16:38):
your Story and I will link tothat one in the show notes as
well.
All right, so that is mistakenumber five unresolved story
promises.
Now let's do a quick recap andthen I have some final thoughts
for you.
So don't go anywhere just yet,all right.
So mistake number one isstarting your story in the wrong
place, either too early or toolate, and remember, the fix to
(16:59):
this is identifying your story'sinciting incident and starting
your story just before thatevent occurs.
Mistake number two is nothaving enough meaningful
conflict, and remember thisisn't just about having bad
stuff happen to your character.
It's more about creatingmeaningful conflicts and
obstacles that will put pressureon your protagonist and
eventually force them to growand change.
(17:20):
Mistake number three is a lackof narrative drive.
So what this tends to look likeis just a bunch of stuff that
happens with no clear cause andeffect from scene to scene.
So to fix this, you'll justwant to review each of your
scenes and think about how thescenes before it are affecting
that scene, as well as how thatscene will affect the scenes
that come later.
Mistake number four is thatthere's nothing significant at
(17:41):
stake.
And remember, fixing this isnot about making things bigger
or more dramatic.
It's really more about makingthings more personal and
specific to your character.
You'll also want to considerthe typical stakes of your genre
and see how that plays intothings as well.
And then, lastly, mistake numberfive is unresolved story
promises.
And, as I said, usually thismanifests as one half of the
(18:04):
draft will look differently orbe a different type of story
than the other half of the storyis.
So to fix this, you'll justwant to compare your beginning
and your ending and say did Iraise the appropriate question
in the beginning and did Ianswer that in a satisfying way
at the end?
All right.
So if you've identified some orall of these issues in your
manuscript, that doesn't meanyour story's broken.
(18:26):
So just take a deep breath.
Having this kind of awarenessand being able to recognize
these problems in your draft issuch a huge skill that many
writers never develop.
So, yes, I know it's a littlepainful to realize there are
issues you need to fix, butagain, that's what first drafts
are for right.
First drafts are supposed to beexploratory, and that's because
(18:46):
sometimes the only way todiscover what your story is
truly about is to write all theway through to the end.
So now that you have all thatraw material to work with, you
can start the revision processwith clarity and purpose.
And if this still feelsoverwhelming, I want you to go
download the free guide thatwill walk you through 10 steps
to editing your messy firstdraft, because in that guide,
(19:07):
it's going to tell you how toapproach revision strategically.
So what I don't want you to dois to dive right into line level
editing before you've addressedthese big picture issues.
You've probably heard me saythis before, but there's no
point perfecting your sentencesin scenes that might ultimately
be cut or significantly changed.
So that's what this guide willhelp you avoid doing, and it
(19:28):
will also help you make astrategic plan for tackling your
revisions.
You can download that for freeat savannagilbocom forward slash
edit.
So one more time, that'ssavannagilbocom forward slash
edit.
Now the last thing I want tosay is that, as you revise,
please be patient with yourself.
These big picture foundationalelements do take time to get
(19:49):
right, but doing all this work,investing your time in this now,
is going to pay offtremendously in terms of the
quality of your final manuscript.
So trust that your story isworth the effort and keep moving
forward.
So that's it for today's episode.
As always, thank you so muchfor tuning in and for showing
your support.
If you want to check out any ofthe links I mentioned in this
(20:12):
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
that's worth listening to and,in turn, your reviews will help
(20:33):
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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