August 5, 2025 • 14 mins
The myth of "writing free" is keeping talented writers stuck on Chapter One. Here's why story structure actually enhances creativity—and how to use it to finally finish your novel.
You've been told that outlining kills creativity. That real writers don't need structure. That planning your novel will turn it into a formulaic mess. But what if everything you believe about story structure is wrong?
In this episode, I'm revealing why the writers who resist structure often end up trapped in the smallest creative box of all—and how embracing the right kind of framework can actually set your imagination free.
Tune in to hear me talk about:
- [02:00] The romantic myth of the "pure" creative process and why the image of writers channeling pure inspiration without planning is actually sabotaging your novel writing journey
- [02:22] What really happens when you try to "just write" without structure (and the predictable pattern that traps pantsers: from magical first chapters to tangled plots to endless rewrites of your opening pages)
- [04:34] Why constraints breed creativity—and how having boundaries actually pushes you past the obvious into innovative storytelling
- [05:43] The 5 hidden costs of avoiding story structure (aka what you're really sacrificing when you resist novel outlining)
- [08:27] Why understanding story beats and plot points doesn't make your writing formulaic and how it actually makes your story more powerful
Plus, I share real examples of writers who went from structure-phobic to finishing their first novels in record time—including one creative writing student who completed 114,000 words in just 88 days after finally embracing the outlining process!
🔗 Links mentioned in this episode:
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👉 Looking for a transcript? If you’re listening on Apple Podcasts or Spotify, scroll down below the episode player until you see the transcript.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
So here's what writers who resist structure
don't realize they'resacrificing.
They're sacrificing the joy offorward momentum, and what I
mean by this is that when youdon't know where you're going,
every writing session becomes astruggle.
You spend more time thinkingthan writing, more time doubting
than creating, and none of thatis very fun, right?
They're also sacrificing thesatisfaction of completion.
(00:23):
So those drawers full ofunfinished manuscripts well,
they're monuments to the myththat structure kills creativity,
when, in reality, lack ofstructure is what really killed
those stories.
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
(00:46):
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.
(01:06):
In today's episode, we'retalking about how story
structure can free yourcreativity and help you finish
your novel, and I want to startthis episode by saying that, if
the word outlining or the wordplotting makes you want to close
your laptop and walk away.
You are not alone.
Maybe you're someone who'stried plotting your novel and
you feel like you're filling outa tax form instead of creating
art.
Or maybe you've heard aboutstory structure so the three-act
(01:29):
structure, the plot points,whatever it is and you've
thought something like well,that's not how real writers work
.
Real writers just write.
Or maybe you're someone whobelieves that planning your
story will kill your creativity,turn your unique vision into a
formulaic mess or suck all thejoy out of writing.
Either way, I will tell youagain you are not alone.
(01:49):
But what if I told you thatstory structure doesn't have to
be your enemy?
What if the very thing you'vebeen avoiding is actually the
key to unlocking your creativityand finally finishing your
novel?
Now there's this romantic imagewe have of writers sitting at a
typewriter or maybe a coffeeshop, channeling pure
inspiration directly onto thepage.
(02:09):
There's no outlining, there'sno planning, it's just raw
creativity flowing from theirminds to their manuscripts.
But it's also a lie, and here'swhat actually happens when most
writers try to quote-unquotejust write.
They sit down, they write thefirst chapter and it feels
(02:30):
magical.
You're discovering yourcharacters, exploring your world
, laying down gorgeous prose.
Then by around chapter three,chapter four, things start to
get a little murky.
But you push through Chapterfive, chapter six, the wheels
start coming off.
Your plot has wandered intoterritory you didn't expect.
Your protagonist feelsinconsistent that brilliant
(02:50):
ending that you were envisioning.
Well, now you have no idea howto get there anymore.
So what tends to happen is yougo back to chapter one.
Maybe if you just get thatbeginning a little more perfect,
then the rest will flownaturally.
Then we flash forward to sixmonths later and you've
rewritten that opening 10, 12,15, 17 times and you're no
closer to chapter 10 than youwere when you started.
(03:12):
If you can relate again, youare not alone.
I see this pattern constantly.
Writers who believe structurewill limit them end up trapped
in an even smaller box, and thatbox is the prison of their own
opening chapters.
Now the resistance to outliningusually sounds something like
this I want to discover thestory as I write it.
If I know what happens, I'll bebored while I write it.
(03:34):
Outlining feels mechanical.
I'm an artist, not an engineer.
My favorite author says intheir book that they never
outline, so why should I?
I get the idea of structure,but I don't want to make my
story predictable.
And all of these concerns makesense on the surface, right?
Who wants to turn theircreative passion into a
paint-by-numbers exercise?
Not many of us do.
But here's what this kind ofthinking misses Structure isn't
(03:57):
about predetermining everydetail of your story.
It's about understanding theemotional journey that your
reader needs and wants toexperience.
And I want you to think aboutmusic for a second.
So every song has some kind ofstructure.
There's verses, choruses,bridges but does knowing that
that structure exists make allthe songs in the world sound the
(04:18):
same?
Does it prevent musicians fromcreating something original and
moving?
Of course not.
And that structure is invisibleto the listener, right?
All we experience as consumersof music is the emotion, the
journey and the artistry, andthe same is true for novels.
Now here's something that soundscontradictory, but is
absolutely true the moreconstraints you have, the more
(04:39):
creative you will become.
Give someone a blank canvas andinfinite options, and they'll
often create nothing, right?
That's very overwhelming.
Here's a blank canvas.
You have an unlimited amount ofoptions.
Go ahead and make something.
A lot of us would freeze up atthat, right.
But when you give someonespecific parameters for example,
write a story using only 100words, or paint only using
(05:00):
shades of blue, or composesomething using only five notes,
then suddenly creativityexplodes.
And that's because these kindof creative constraints force
you to think differently, sothey force you to push past
what's obvious and they forceyou to innovate.
And story structure works theexact same way.
When you know your story needsa moment where everything falls
(05:21):
apart for your protagonist, youstop asking what happens next
and you start asking the farmore interesting question what's
the most devastating way thingscould fall apart for this
specific character in thisspecific story?
And that's where truecreativity lives.
It's not in the absence ofstructure, but in how you
fulfill structural needs in newand unexpected ways.
(05:42):
So let me clear up the biggestmisconception about story
structure and outlining rightnow.
Neither of these things tellsyou what your characters should
say.
They don't tell you what eventsneed to happen in every single
scene of your plot.
They don't tell you what yourstory needs to mean to yourself
or to readers.
They don't tell you how towrite your sentences and they
don't tell you what your storyneeds to mean to yourself or to
readers.
They don't tell you how towrite your sentences and they
don't tell you what makes yourown story unique.
(06:03):
Instead, structure andoutlining and planning however
you want to think about it helpsyou understand the rhythm of
storytelling, so it reveals whycertain moments hit harder at
certain times, it shows you howto build tension that keeps
pages turning and it ensuresthat your ending satisfies
rather than disappoints.
One of my notes to novelstudents spent years as a
(06:24):
self-proclaimed pantser, ridingby the seat of her pants, with
no outline or no plan.
She had drawers full ofunfinished manuscripts, each one
abandoned when the plot tangledbeyond repair.
And then, when she finallylearned story structure,
something clicked in her brain.
She didn't lose her ability todiscover and explore and be
creative.
Instead, she gained the abilityto discover stories that
(06:46):
actually worked.
And then, within six months ofthat discovery, when everything
clicked, she completed her firstfull manuscript.
So it wasn't because she'dbecome a different writer.
It was because she had finallyfound a framework for her
creativity.
So here's what writers whoresist structure don't realize
they're sacrificing.
They're sacrificing the joy offorward momentum, and what I
(07:08):
mean by this is that when youdon't know where you're going,
every writing session becomes astruggle.
You spend more time thinkingthan writing, more time doubting
than creating, and none of thatis very fun, right?
They're also sacrificing thesatisfaction of completion.
So those drawers full ofunfinished manuscripts Well,
they're monuments to the myththat structure kills creativity,
(07:29):
when in reality, lack ofstructure is what really killed
those stories.
They're also sacrificing theability to write fearlessly, and
that's because when you have aroadmap, you can take more
creative risks because you knowyou won't get permanently lost.
You can explore interestingtangents because you know how to
get back to the main path.
They're also sacrificing theconfidence that comes from craft
(07:51):
.
So understanding storystructure and what I mean by
this is that understanding storystructure can really transform
you from someone who hopes theirstory is going to work to
someone who knows how to makeany idea or any story work.
And then, lastly, they'resacrificing time they could
spend actually writing.
So, without structure, you'rebound to waste countless hours
(08:13):
wandering in circles, writingand rewriting the same chapters
and second-guessing everycreative decision.
All of this time that you'regoing in circles and rewriting
and second-guessing, that's alltime you could have spent moving
your story forward if you hadthat structure in place.
All right, so let me give you adifferent way to think about
structure and story planning.
What if, instead of seeing anoutline as a rigid set of rules,
(08:35):
you saw it as more of a safetynet for your creativity?
And the way I like to thinkabout this is by imagining a
tightrope walker.
So the net below them doesn'ttell them how to walk or what
tricks to perform right, itsimply makes sure that if they
fall, they can get back up andtry again.
So it gives them the confidenceto attempt those more daring
moves, and your story outline orthe structure you apply to your
(08:58):
work can work the same way.
It's not there to restrict yourcreative choices.
It's there to ensure thosechoices lead somewhere
meaningful.
Now, some writers really needdetailed outlines that map out
every scene For them.
That's their process and itworks.
Other writers just need ahandful of major plot points to
guide them through their draft.
Some writers like visual storymaps, others prefer lists of
(09:21):
things.
The specific method of how yououtline, how you plan, how you
add structure to your work thatdoesn't matter nearly as much as
having some kind of frameworkthat keeps you moving forward
instead of in circles.
So this shift in perspectivefrom seeing structure as
limiting to seeing it as more ofsomething that's liberating.
That's what separates writerswho finish their novels from
(09:43):
those who don't.
And that brings me to somethingthat you might not want to hear,
but I'm going to say it anyway.
If you've been writingseriously for more than a year
and you haven't finished a draft, it's not because you need more
inspiration or visits from themagical muse.
It's not because you haven'tfound your voice or because you
haven't set up the perfectwriting environment.
It's not because you need 25plus hours a week to dedicate to
(10:06):
your writing.
It's because you're trying tonavigate without a map.
Think about it like this youwould not expect an architect to
design a skyscraper throughpure intuition, right.
You wouldn't expect a filmmakerto shoot a movie without a
script, but somehow we'veconvinced ourselves that, as
novelists, we should be able tocraft 80,000 words of compelling
story through instinct alone,which makes no sense, right?
(10:28):
And here's what I really wantyou to know.
The writers who finish theirnovels understand something that
the eternal beginners don'tCreativity and craft work
together, not against each other.
So these writers they usestructure as a tool to channel
their creativity, not to cage it.
They know that understandingstory structure doesn't make
them less artistic.
(10:49):
It actually makes them morecapable of creating a story that
actually reaches readers.
So, to summarize structuredoesn't diminish creativity.
It gives it shape, purpose andpower.
Now, this kind of transformationhappens when you stop seeing
structure as the enemy ofcreativity and start seeing it
as creativity's best tool.
So instead of asking isoutlining going to kill my
(11:10):
spontaneity and my creativity,I'd rather you ask how can
structure help me discover mystory more effectively?
Instead of thinking realwriters don't need outlines,
remember that real writers dowhatever helps them finish their
books.
Instead of fearing that plotstructure will make your story
predictable, realize thatreaders don't experience
(11:31):
structure.
They experience the story.
When structure is done well,it's actually invisible to
readers.
Alright, now, if you can relateto what we've talked about in
this episode so far, and ifyou're like I am this exact
person you're talking about,then your novel exists in the
space between imagination andreality.
You can see it, you can feel it, you can almost taste it, but
(11:51):
you can't seem to build thebridge that will carry it from
your mind to the page.
Not rigid creativity, killingrules, not a paint by numbers
formula that produces cookiecutter stories, but a flexible,
supportive framework thatchannels your creativity into a
story that works, a story thatmoves readers, a story that
(12:11):
satisfies, a story that actuallygets finished.
And I want you to remember thatyour creative writing process
doesn't have to be this strugglebetween art and craft, because
when you understand how tooutline your novel in a way that
supports rather than stiflesyour creativity, you unlock the
ability to write stories thatare both imaginative and
structurally sound.
(12:32):
Alright, so what I really wantyou to know is that your
creativity isn't the problem,your story isn't the problem,
your ideas aren't the problem.
The only problem is the myththat's keeping you from the
tools that would set yourcreativity free Alright.
So if you're ready to stopfearing structure and start
using it, if you want to channelyour creative energy into a
(12:52):
complete novel instead ofendless chapter ones, if you're
tired of watching other writerssucceed while you struggle with
the same opening pages, thenit's time for you to learn how
structure and creativity worktogether, not against each other
.
As you might have heard by now,my Notes to Novel course is
opening for enrollment very soon, and this is my proven
step-by-step process that willhelp you take your ideas and
(13:14):
turn them into a finished draft.
We just opened up the waitlist,and if you want to be first in
line when doors open.
Go to savannahgilbocom forwardslash waitlist.
Put your name on the waitlistnow.
So one more time that'ssavannahgilbocom forward slash
waitlist to put your name on thenotes to novel waitlist and be
the first to know when doorsopen.
Head over to savannahgilbocomforward slash podcast for the
(13:41):
complete show notes, includingthe resources I mentioned today,
as well as bonus materials tohelp you implement what you've
learned.
And if you're ready to get morepersonalized guidance for your
specific writing stage whetheryou're just starting out, stuck
somewhere in the middle of adraft drowning in revisions, or
getting ready to publish, takemy free 30-second quiz at
savannahgilbocom forward slashquiz.
(14:02):
You'll get a customized podcastplaylist that'll meet you right
where you're at and help youget to your next big milestone.
Last but not least, make sureto follow this podcast in your
podcast player of choice,because I'll be back next week
with another episode full ofactionable tips, tools and
strategies to help you become abetter writer.
Until then, happy writing.
So here's what writers who resist structure
don't realize they'resacrificing.
They're sacrificing the joy offorward momentum, and what I
mean by this is that when youdon't know where you're going,
every writing session becomes astruggle.
You spend more time thinkingthan writing, more time doubting
than creating, and none of thatis very fun, right?
They're also sacrificing thesatisfaction of completion.
(00:23):
So those drawers full ofunfinished manuscripts well,
they're monuments to the myththat structure kills creativity,
when, in reality, lack ofstructure is what really killed
those stories.
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
(00:46):
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.
(01:06):
In today's episode, we'retalking about how story
structure can free yourcreativity and help you finish
your novel, and I want to startthis episode by saying that, if
the word outlining or the wordplotting makes you want to close
your laptop and walk away.
You are not alone.
Maybe you're someone who'stried plotting your novel and
you feel like you're filling outa tax form instead of creating
art.
Or maybe you've heard aboutstory structure so the three-act
(01:29):
structure, the plot points,whatever it is and you've
thought something like well,that's not how real writers work
.
Real writers just write.
Or maybe you're someone whobelieves that planning your
story will kill your creativity,turn your unique vision into a
formulaic mess or suck all thejoy out of writing.
Either way, I will tell youagain you are not alone.
(01:49):
But what if I told you thatstory structure doesn't have to
be your enemy?
What if the very thing you'vebeen avoiding is actually the
key to unlocking your creativityand finally finishing your
novel?
Now there's this romantic imagewe have of writers sitting at a
typewriter or maybe a coffeeshop, channeling pure
inspiration directly onto thepage.
(02:09):
There's no outlining, there'sno planning, it's just raw
creativity flowing from theirminds to their manuscripts.
But it's also a lie, and here'swhat actually happens when most
writers try to quote-unquotejust write.
They sit down, they write thefirst chapter and it feels
(02:30):
magical.
You're discovering yourcharacters, exploring your world
, laying down gorgeous prose.
Then by around chapter three,chapter four, things start to
get a little murky.
But you push through Chapterfive, chapter six, the wheels
start coming off.
Your plot has wandered intoterritory you didn't expect.
Your protagonist feelsinconsistent that brilliant
(02:50):
ending that you were envisioning.
Well, now you have no idea howto get there anymore.
So what tends to happen is yougo back to chapter one.
Maybe if you just get thatbeginning a little more perfect,
then the rest will flownaturally.
Then we flash forward to sixmonths later and you've
rewritten that opening 10, 12,15, 17 times and you're no
closer to chapter 10 than youwere when you started.
(03:12):
If you can relate again, youare not alone.
I see this pattern constantly.
Writers who believe structurewill limit them end up trapped
in an even smaller box, and thatbox is the prison of their own
opening chapters.
Now the resistance to outliningusually sounds something like
this I want to discover thestory as I write it.
If I know what happens, I'll bebored while I write it.
(03:34):
Outlining feels mechanical.
I'm an artist, not an engineer.
My favorite author says intheir book that they never
outline, so why should I?
I get the idea of structure,but I don't want to make my
story predictable.
And all of these concerns makesense on the surface, right?
Who wants to turn theircreative passion into a
paint-by-numbers exercise?
Not many of us do.
But here's what this kind ofthinking misses Structure isn't
(03:57):
about predetermining everydetail of your story.
It's about understanding theemotional journey that your
reader needs and wants toexperience.
And I want you to think aboutmusic for a second.
So every song has some kind ofstructure.
There's verses, choruses,bridges but does knowing that
that structure exists make allthe songs in the world sound the
(04:18):
same?
Does it prevent musicians fromcreating something original and
moving?
Of course not.
And that structure is invisibleto the listener, right?
All we experience as consumersof music is the emotion, the
journey and the artistry, andthe same is true for novels.
Now here's something that soundscontradictory, but is
absolutely true the moreconstraints you have, the more
(04:39):
creative you will become.
Give someone a blank canvas andinfinite options, and they'll
often create nothing, right?
That's very overwhelming.
Here's a blank canvas.
You have an unlimited amount ofoptions.
Go ahead and make something.
A lot of us would freeze up atthat, right.
But when you give someonespecific parameters for example,
write a story using only 100words, or paint only using
(05:00):
shades of blue, or composesomething using only five notes,
then suddenly creativityexplodes.
And that's because these kindof creative constraints force
you to think differently, sothey force you to push past
what's obvious and they forceyou to innovate.
And story structure works theexact same way.
When you know your story needsa moment where everything falls
(05:21):
apart for your protagonist, youstop asking what happens next
and you start asking the farmore interesting question what's
the most devastating way thingscould fall apart for this
specific character in thisspecific story?
And that's where truecreativity lives.
It's not in the absence ofstructure, but in how you
fulfill structural needs in newand unexpected ways.
(05:42):
So let me clear up the biggestmisconception about story
structure and outlining rightnow.
Neither of these things tellsyou what your characters should
say.
They don't tell you what eventsneed to happen in every single
scene of your plot.
They don't tell you what yourstory needs to mean to yourself
or to readers.
They don't tell you how towrite your sentences and they
don't tell you what your storyneeds to mean to yourself or to
readers.
They don't tell you how towrite your sentences and they
don't tell you what makes yourown story unique.
(06:03):
Instead, structure andoutlining and planning however
you want to think about it helpsyou understand the rhythm of
storytelling, so it reveals whycertain moments hit harder at
certain times, it shows you howto build tension that keeps
pages turning and it ensuresthat your ending satisfies
rather than disappoints.
One of my notes to novelstudents spent years as a
(06:24):
self-proclaimed pantser, ridingby the seat of her pants, with
no outline or no plan.
She had drawers full ofunfinished manuscripts, each one
abandoned when the plot tangledbeyond repair.
And then, when she finallylearned story structure,
something clicked in her brain.
She didn't lose her ability todiscover and explore and be
creative.
Instead, she gained the abilityto discover stories that
(06:46):
actually worked.
And then, within six months ofthat discovery, when everything
clicked, she completed her firstfull manuscript.
So it wasn't because she'dbecome a different writer.
It was because she had finallyfound a framework for her
creativity.
So here's what writers whoresist structure don't realize
they're sacrificing.
They're sacrificing the joy offorward momentum, and what I
(07:08):
mean by this is that when youdon't know where you're going,
every writing session becomes astruggle.
You spend more time thinkingthan writing, more time doubting
than creating, and none of thatis very fun, right?
They're also sacrificing thesatisfaction of completion.
So those drawers full ofunfinished manuscripts Well,
they're monuments to the myththat structure kills creativity,
(07:29):
when in reality, lack ofstructure is what really killed
those stories.
They're also sacrificing theability to write fearlessly, and
that's because when you have aroadmap, you can take more
creative risks because you knowyou won't get permanently lost.
You can explore interestingtangents because you know how to
get back to the main path.
They're also sacrificing theconfidence that comes from craft
(07:51):
.
So understanding storystructure and what I mean by
this is that understanding storystructure can really transform
you from someone who hopes theirstory is going to work to
someone who knows how to makeany idea or any story work.
And then, lastly, they'resacrificing time they could
spend actually writing.
So, without structure, you'rebound to waste countless hours
(08:13):
wandering in circles, writingand rewriting the same chapters
and second-guessing everycreative decision.
All of this time that you'regoing in circles and rewriting
and second-guessing, that's alltime you could have spent moving
your story forward if you hadthat structure in place.
All right, so let me give you adifferent way to think about
structure and story planning.
What if, instead of seeing anoutline as a rigid set of rules,
(08:35):
you saw it as more of a safetynet for your creativity?
And the way I like to thinkabout this is by imagining a
tightrope walker.
So the net below them doesn'ttell them how to walk or what
tricks to perform right, itsimply makes sure that if they
fall, they can get back up andtry again.
So it gives them the confidenceto attempt those more daring
moves, and your story outline orthe structure you apply to your
(08:58):
work can work the same way.
It's not there to restrict yourcreative choices.
It's there to ensure thosechoices lead somewhere
meaningful.
Now, some writers really needdetailed outlines that map out
every scene For them.
That's their process and itworks.
Other writers just need ahandful of major plot points to
guide them through their draft.
Some writers like visual storymaps, others prefer lists of
(09:21):
things.
The specific method of how yououtline, how you plan, how you
add structure to your work thatdoesn't matter nearly as much as
having some kind of frameworkthat keeps you moving forward
instead of in circles.
So this shift in perspectivefrom seeing structure as
limiting to seeing it as more ofsomething that's liberating.
That's what separates writerswho finish their novels from
(09:43):
those who don't.
And that brings me to somethingthat you might not want to hear,
but I'm going to say it anyway.
If you've been writingseriously for more than a year
and you haven't finished a draft, it's not because you need more
inspiration or visits from themagical muse.
It's not because you haven'tfound your voice or because you
haven't set up the perfectwriting environment.
It's not because you need 25plus hours a week to dedicate to
(10:06):
your writing.
It's because you're trying tonavigate without a map.
Think about it like this youwould not expect an architect to
design a skyscraper throughpure intuition, right.
You wouldn't expect a filmmakerto shoot a movie without a
script, but somehow we'veconvinced ourselves that, as
novelists, we should be able tocraft 80,000 words of compelling
story through instinct alone,which makes no sense, right?
(10:28):
And here's what I really wantyou to know.
The writers who finish theirnovels understand something that
the eternal beginners don'tCreativity and craft work
together, not against each other.
So these writers they usestructure as a tool to channel
their creativity, not to cage it.
They know that understandingstory structure doesn't make
them less artistic.
(10:49):
It actually makes them morecapable of creating a story that
actually reaches readers.
So, to summarize structuredoesn't diminish creativity.
It gives it shape, purpose andpower.
Now, this kind of transformationhappens when you stop seeing
structure as the enemy ofcreativity and start seeing it
as creativity's best tool.
So instead of asking isoutlining going to kill my
(11:10):
spontaneity and my creativity,I'd rather you ask how can
structure help me discover mystory more effectively?
Instead of thinking realwriters don't need outlines,
remember that real writers dowhatever helps them finish their
books.
Instead of fearing that plotstructure will make your story
predictable, realize thatreaders don't experience
(11:31):
structure.
They experience the story.
When structure is done well,it's actually invisible to
readers.
Alright, now, if you can relateto what we've talked about in
this episode so far, and ifyou're like I am this exact
person you're talking about,then your novel exists in the
space between imagination andreality.
You can see it, you can feel it, you can almost taste it, but
(11:51):
you can't seem to build thebridge that will carry it from
your mind to the page.
Not rigid creativity, killingrules, not a paint by numbers
formula that produces cookiecutter stories, but a flexible,
supportive framework thatchannels your creativity into a
story that works, a story thatmoves readers, a story that
(12:11):
satisfies, a story that actuallygets finished.
And I want you to remember thatyour creative writing process
doesn't have to be this strugglebetween art and craft, because
when you understand how tooutline your novel in a way that
supports rather than stiflesyour creativity, you unlock the
ability to write stories thatare both imaginative and
structurally sound.
(12:32):
Alright, so what I really wantyou to know is that your
creativity isn't the problem,your story isn't the problem,
your ideas aren't the problem.
The only problem is the myththat's keeping you from the
tools that would set yourcreativity free Alright.
So if you're ready to stopfearing structure and start
using it, if you want to channelyour creative energy into a
(12:52):
complete novel instead ofendless chapter ones, if you're
tired of watching other writerssucceed while you struggle with
the same opening pages, thenit's time for you to learn how
structure and creativity worktogether, not against each other
.
As you might have heard by now,my Notes to Novel course is
opening for enrollment very soon, and this is my proven
step-by-step process that willhelp you take your ideas and
(13:14):
turn them into a finished draft.
We just opened up the waitlist,and if you want to be first in
line when doors open.
Go to savannahgilbocom forwardslash waitlist.
Put your name on the waitlistnow.
So one more time that'ssavannahgilbocom forward slash
waitlist to put your name on thenotes to novel waitlist and be
the first to know when doorsopen.
Head over to savannahgilbocomforward slash podcast for the
(13:41):
complete show notes, includingthe resources I mentioned today,
as well as bonus materials tohelp you implement what you've
learned.
And if you're ready to get morepersonalized guidance for your
specific writing stage whetheryou're just starting out, stuck
somewhere in the middle of adraft drowning in revisions, or
getting ready to publish, takemy free 30-second quiz at
savannahgilbocom forward slashquiz.
(14:02):
You'll get a customized podcastplaylist that'll meet you right
where you're at and help youget to your next big milestone.
Last but not least, make sureto follow this podcast in your
podcast player of choice,because I'll be back next week
with another episode full ofactionable tips, tools and
strategies to help you become abetter writer.
Until then, happy writing.
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