January 6, 2026 • 18 mins
If you've been trying to write a novel with a full-time job, family, and everything else life throws at you, this episode is for you.
Maybe you squeeze writing into nights or weekends. You may start strong, then lose momentum when things don't go as planned. Or perhaps you keep telling yourself you’ll take your writing seriously when you have more time.
In this episode, I’m sharing five practical shifts to prioritize your novel and start making steady progress, even when your time is limited and unpredictable.
These shifts help you simplify your writing process, reduce decision fatigue, and use the time you already have more effectively, so your draft keeps moving forward instead of wobbling every time life gets busy.
You’ll hear me talk about things like:
[02:40] Why jumping between plotting methods can quietly stall your draft, and what really helps move the needle.
[04:30] How indecision eats up your writing time before you even start, and what to clarify before you sit down to write.
[06:33] The mistake most busy writers make when setting goals, and how to choose targets that actually fit your real life
[08:44] How to spot hidden pockets of writing time and why you need to protect them before your brain talks you out of it.
[10:50] Why isolation kills momentum, and how the right support system keeps you writing when motivation disappears.
[13:01] BONUS: Two real examples of busy writers who used the same approach, finished their drafts, and signed with agents.
And so much more…
You can finish your novel with a full, busy life. The time is already there. You just need a better plan. Listen in, choose one tip to try this week, and keep your first draft moving forward without waiting for perfect conditions.
🔗 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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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
SPEAKER_00 (00:37):
Progress isn't about having a lot of these marathon
type sessions.
It's about consistent,manageable steps that compound
over time.
And if you make little bits ofprogress here and there, then a
year from now you will be amazedat how far those small steps
have taken you.
Welcome to the Fiction WritingMade Easy Podcast.
(00:58):
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 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.
(01:20):
So pick up a pen and let's getstarted.
In today's episode, we'retalking about how to finish your
novel while working a full-timejob.
And this episode is for you ifyou've been wanting to write a
novel for years or maybe evendecades.
But between your full-time job,your commute, your
relationships, and everythingelse that demands your energy,
writing always seems to getpushed to someday.
(01:43):
Maybe you've even tried to workon your novel after work, but by
the time you get home, makedinner, and handle everything
else that life throws at you,the last thing you have energy
for is staring at a blank page.
Or maybe you've had bursts ofmomentum on weekends, only to
lose all of that progress whenMonday hits and the cycle starts
again.
And if you can relate toanything I just said, I want you
(02:05):
to know that it is possible towrite a novel with a full-time
job.
Sure, it's not the easiest thingever, but it is absolutely
possible, and I've seen hundredsof writers do it.
The key is having a strategythat works with your limited
time instead of against it.
So in this episode, I'm going toshare five tips that will help
you build real writing momentumno matter how busy life gets.
(02:26):
Then I'm going to talk about twowriters who put these ideas into
practice and not only finishedtheir novels, but signed with
literary agents this year.
Alright, now let's get into theepisode, starting with tip
number one.
Tip number one is to commit toone process or method and follow
it through all the way to theend of your draft.
If you've been collecting craftbooks, bookmarking blog posts,
(02:49):
and researching the quoteunquote best plotting or
character development methodsfor months or years, then this
first tip is for you.
Now, before we get into theactual tip, I understand why
you're doing this.
Research feels productive, itfeels like you're making forward
motion, and honestly, it feelssafer than actually writing.
Because as long as you're stillfiguring out the quote unquote
(03:11):
right approach, you don't haveto risk discovering that your
story doesn't work or thatyou're maybe not as good of a
writer yet as you had hoped.
But what I've noticed afterworking with hundreds of writers
is that hopping from method tomethod is one of the sneakiest
forms of procrastination.
And that's because it keeps youbusy without moving you forward.
Now, the truth is that the mostpopular methods out there for
(03:35):
plotting or characterdevelopment or scene structure,
whatever it is, the truth isthey're all going to get you to
a finished draft if you juststick with one of them.
The magic isn't in finding theperfect method, it's in
committing to one method or oneprocess and following it through
all the way to the end.
And so if everything I've saidso far is resonating with you,
(03:55):
then what I want you to do ispick the one approach or the one
method that feels like it makesthe most sense to you, and then
give yourself permission to stoplooking for something better.
You can always try a differentmethod or a different process
with your next book, but forthis one, I want you to commit
to just one.
So commit to just one approachor one method and see it through
all the way to the end of yourdraft.
(04:17):
And then once you've made thatcommitment, the next step is
knowing exactly what you'reworking on each time you sit
down to write.
Which brings us to tip numbertwo.
Tip number two is have a planfor what you're writing before
you sit down to write.
And this one's important becausewhat happens to a lot of busy
writers is they carve out, let'ssay, 20 to 30 precious minutes,
they sit down at their desk andthen they freeze.
(04:39):
All these questions pop up intheir mind, like should I work
on chapter three?
Should I skip ahead to thatscene I'm excited about?
Should I figure out that onelingering subplot first?
Should I reread what I wrotelast week?
Should I work on my outlinemore?
Right?
Question after question pops up.
And before they know it, halftheir writing time is gone
because it's been consumed byindecision.
(04:59):
And so when you have limitedtime like most of us do, you
can't afford to spend itfiguring out what to work on.
You need to know that before yousit down to write.
And the best way to do this isto have some kind of roadmap for
your story.
Now, I know some of youlistening are panters who break
out in hives at the wordoutline, and I'm not saying you
need some kind of 50-pagedocument with every detail
(05:21):
mapped out.
Your roadmap can be as simple asknowing you're going to write
the next scene in whateversequence of scenes you're
working on, or that you're goingto flesh out the conversation in
the scene you started yesterday.
So again, the idea is to nothave every single detail figured
out about your plot and yourcharacters and your world unless
you want to.
It's more about just knowingwhat you're going to work on
(05:43):
when you sit down to write.
But with that being said, I alsodo recommend having at least a
loose sense of your key scenes,a loose sense of your major plot
points, and roughly what happensin each part of your story.
And I recommend this becauseI've just seen too many writers
spend months or years wanderingaround with no direction, only
(06:03):
to realize they've writtenthemselves into a corner.
So I recommend having some kindof roadmap.
And again, a roadmap doesn'tneed to limit your creativity.
It's just there to give youdirection.
And when you're working withlimited time, that kind of
direction is everything.
All right, so that is tip numbertwo to have some kind of plan
when you sit down to write.
And with that plan or thatroadmap in place, then you can
(06:25):
start setting goals thatactually fit your life, which
brings us to tip number three.
And that is to set realisticgoals that are aligned with your
lifestyle.
Now, I know you've heard thisadvice before to set realistic
goals and don't overcommit andto be kind to yourself.
But my question for you is areyou actually doing it?
Because one of the fastest waysto burn out is setting goals
(06:48):
that don't match your actuallife or the time you have
available.
So if you're working full time,if you're caring for family, if
you're managing a household andtrying to maintain some
semblance of a social life, thena goal of writing 2,000 words
every day is probably going tobackfire.
What tends to happen is you missa few days, you feel like a
(07:09):
failure, and then you abandonthe whole thing.
But again, here's where havingsome kind of roadmap can change
everything for you.
Because when you see how manyscenes you have left to write,
you can then work backwards tocreate a timeline that fits your
actual schedule.
So not some idealistic versionof your life where you have
three free hours every evening.
No, it needs to be based on yourreal life with all of its
(07:32):
constraints.
So maybe that means writing 500words three times a week, or
maybe it's finishing one sceneper week, or maybe it's simply
opening your document andwriting anything five days out
of the week.
And what I'm kind of getting athere is that progress isn't
about having a lot of thesemarathon type sessions.
It's about consistent,manageable steps that compound
(07:54):
over time.
And if you make little bits ofprogress here and there, then a
year from now you will be amazedat how far those small steps
have taken you.
Alright, so that is tip numberthree.
I want you to set realisticgoals aligned with your
lifestyle and the time youactually have.
So you can ask yourself thingslike, how many scenes do I have
left?
How much time can Irealistically give to my writing
(08:16):
each week?
What kind of deadline feelsambitious yet achievable?
And then you can just do themath.
Yes, the answer might be slowerthan you'd like, but a realistic
goal that you actually hit willget you to the end faster than
an ambitious one that youabandon.
Plus, nothing feels worse thanmissing your goals anyway,
right?
So better to be realistic thanoverly ambitious.
(08:37):
Now, of course, getting clear onyour goals is one thing, but
finding the time to actually doit is another.
So that brings us to tip numberfour, to find and protect
pockets of writing time.
Now, you don't need hours ofuninterrupted time to make
progress on your novel.
Some of the most consistentprogress happens in short focus
(08:57):
bursts.
You might feel like 15 minutesisn't quote unquote real writing
time, but it is.
Small sessions like that can addup faster than you think, but
only if you treat them as sacredcreative space and not left over
time that you'll get to if youcan.
So where do you find pockets oftime like this?
Well, maybe it's 15 minutesbefore the rest of your house
(09:17):
wakes up if you're an earlybird, or maybe it's your lunch
break with headphones in, ormaybe it's the time you have for
your lunch break and you putyour headphones in and get some
work done.
Or maybe it's 20 minutes beforebed instead of scrolling on your
phone.
Your weekends count too, so evenone focused hour on Saturday
morning before the day gets awayfrom you, that can keep your
(09:38):
story alive in your mind, andthat can keep you kind of
touching your story before theday gets away from you, can keep
your story alive in your mind.
And don't overlook your commuteeither if you are someone who
commutes.
If you're spending time in a caror on a train, that's usable
time as well.
You can use a voice memo app tobrainstorm scenes, dictate
dialogue, or talk through a plotproblem out loud.
(10:01):
If you're on a train, of course,you have a little more
flexibility.
You can actually type out sceneson your laptop or your phone or
whatever you're using.
So don't overlook your commute.
Now, with all of this, the keyis identifying these pockets of
time in advance and protectingthem.
Because when you follow tipsone, two, and three, or when you
have a process when you knowwhat you're writing and you know
(10:22):
the specific goal you're goingto achieve with the time you
have, those short sessions canbecome surprisingly productive,
mostly because you're notwasting precious minutes trying
to figure out what to do.
You're actually spending thattime writing.
All right, so that is tip numberfour.
Find and protect pockets ofwriting time.
Now, even with protected writingtime and a clear plan, there
(10:44):
will still be tough weeks.
And that is where the final tipcomes in.
So tip number five is to build asupport system.
Now, we all know that writingcan feel incredibly isolating,
especially when you're trying tosqueeze it into the margins of
your already full life.
And when work is exhausting,when life gets chaotic, when the
last thing you want to do isopen up your laptop, that's when
(11:05):
most writers quietly give up.
But having people in your cornermakes all the difference.
Not because they're gonna writeyour book for you, but because
they'll help you keep going whenmotivation disappears and when
discipline feels impossible.
So what does this actually looklike in practice?
Well, it could mean finding awriting buddy or someone else
working on a novel who gets whatyou're going through.
(11:27):
You don't have to be working onthe same genre or be at the same
stage in your process.
Ideally, this is just someonewho will check in with you,
celebrate your wins, and remindyou to keep going when you want
to quit.
It could also look like joininga writing community, whether
that's a local writer's group,an online community like one in
Facebook or on Discord, or apaid program like My Notes to
(11:48):
Novel course, where you'resurrounded by people on the same
journey.
It doesn't really matter whereyou tap into the writing
community, but there issomething powerful about being
in a room, even if it's avirtual one, that is full of
people who are all workingtowards the same goal.
And really, it's because theirmomentum and their excitement
and hearing about theirprogress, all of that kind of
(12:10):
becomes your momentum and yourexcitement and you making
progress, right?
So don't be afraid to lookonline for a writing community,
even if you don't know anybodyin that particular community
just yet.
But you could also do somethingas simple as just telling a
friend or family member aboutyour goal.
So make your goal real by sayingit out loud and give someone
else permission to ask you howyour book's coming along.
(12:33):
And I know it sounds simple, butsometimes just knowing
somebody's going to ask orsomebody cares can really give
you a reason to keep showing up.
And I truly believe that thewriters who finish aren't the
ones who just somehow magicallynever struggle.
They're the ones who havesomeone in their corner when
they do struggle.
All right, so that is tip numberfive to build a support system.
(12:55):
Now I want to talk about whatthis actually looks like in
practice because these tipsaren't just theory.
I want to tell you about twowriters who were in my notes to
novel program last year who putthese tips into practice and
both of them finished theirdraft and ended up signing with
literary agents last year.
So the first person I want totell you about is Maddie, who is
a mom of four kids.
(13:15):
And if you've ever parentedyoung children, you know it's
its own kind of full-time job.
But Maddie also is a freelancecopywriter and she volunteers
full-time at her local youthministry.
So her writing time is extremelylimited.
But instead of waiting for moretime to magically appear, Maddie
committed to one process andcreated a roadmap for her story.
(13:37):
That roadmap meant she knewexactly what scene to work on
every time she sat down towrite.
So there was no time wastedwondering what to do next.
She also set realistic goalsthat fit into her actual life
and not some fantasy idealisticversion of it.
And then she protected smallpockets of time and leaned on
her community for support whenthings got hard.
(13:57):
And Maddie even took a full yearoff during her pregnancy and the
newborn phase.
And then when she came back toher writing, she picked right up
where she left off because heroutline or that roadmap she had
was waiting for her.
And because of that, shefinished her first draft in
under six months of actualwriting time.
And like I mentioned earlier,she queried and signed with her
dream literary agent last year.
(14:19):
Now, you might recognizeMaddie's story.
We had her on the podcast backin episode number 225, which I
will link to in the show notesif you want to listen to the
whole thing.
But the next writer I want totell you about, her name is
Pornika, and she works full-timein corporate finance.
She's also a self-describedperfectionist who kept putting
off her novel because she wasafraid of getting stuck on the
(14:41):
small details.
But once she committed to oneprocess and learned to keep
moving forward using her roadmapto guide each writing session,
she was able to finally stopgetting hung up on the little
stuff.
So Pornica set a realistic goalof writing for just a couple of
hours most evenings, protectedthat time fiercely, and built
accountability by connectingwith other writers who were on
(15:04):
the same journey.
And Pornica was able to finishher draft in under 90 days.
She also queried agents andsigned with an amazing literary
agent last year as well.
And this is a little spoilerpreview because you're actually
going to get to hear Pornika'sfull story on an episode coming
out next week.
But my point here is that Maddieand Pornica lived two very
different lives and had two verydifferent schedules, but they
(15:27):
took the same approach to theirwriting.
They committed to one process,they knew what they were going
to write every time they satdown at their desk, they set
realistic goals, protected theirwriting time, and got support
when they needed it.
Alright, so Maddie and Pornicaprove what I see again and
again, that finishing a novel isnot necessarily about having
more time.
It's about using the time thatyou do have strategically.
(15:51):
Now, let me quickly recap whatthe five tips are that we
covered today.
Tip number one was I want you tocommit to one process and follow
it all the way through to theend of your draft.
Tip number two is I want you toknow exactly what you're going
to work on before you sit downto write.
Tip number three is I want youto set realistic goals that are
aligned with your lifestyle.
So remember we're not trying tobe idealistic here.
(16:12):
We want to be realistic, notidealistic.
Tip number four was to find andprotect pockets of writing time
here and there.
And finally, tip number five wasto build a support system.
All right, now you don't need toimplement all five of these tips
at once.
My recommendation is to startwith the first two.
So commit to following oneprocess or method all the way to
(16:33):
the end of your draft, and thencreate some kind of roadmap or
outline, whatever that lookslike for you.
And I suggest these two firstbecause once you do these two,
the other tips will kind of fallinto place a little bit more
naturally.
And remember, throughout all ofthis, throughout the entire
writing process, remember to bekind to yourself.
Celebrate every scene that youfinish, every problem that you
(16:55):
solve, and every small step youtake forward.
If you are someone who's writinga novel while working full time,
you are doing something hard.
But remember the writers whofinish aren't the ones who never
struggle.
They're the ones who don't giveup and who keep coming back.
So what I really want you totake away from this episode is
that your busy life isn't abarrier to finishing your novel.
(17:15):
It just means you need a clearpath forward and it needs to be
one that works with yourschedule instead of against it.
Now, if you want my help puttingall five of these tips into
practice, and if you're ready tostop putting your novel aside
for someday when life feels lessbusy, and if you want to start
making real progress, my notesto novel course will give you
the step-by-step process tobrainstorm, outline, and draft
(17:38):
your novel even with limitedtime.
It's the same course thatMaddie, Pornika, and hundreds of
other writers have been through,and it will help you make the
most of those precious pocketsof time to actually move you
towards the end of your draft.
Enrollment opens very soon, sogo to Savannah Gilbo.com forward
slash waitlist to put your nameon the wait list and you'll be
the first to know when doorsopen.
(17:59):
So one more time, that'sSavannah Gilbo.com forward slash
waitlist to get on the notes tonovel wait list and be the first
to know when enrollment opens.
Alright, so that's it for thisepisode of the Fiction Writing
Made Easy Podcast.
Head over to Savannah Gilbo.comforward slash podcast for the
complete show notes, includingthe resources I mentioned today,
(18:19):
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
savannaGilbo.com forward slashquiz.
You'll get a customized podcastplaylist that'll meet you right
(18:40):
where you're at and help you getto your next big milestone.
Last but not least, make sure tofollow this podcast in your
podcast player of choice becauseI'll be back next week with
another episode full ofactionable tips, tools, and
strategies to help you become abetter writer.
Until then, happy writing.
Progress isn't about having a lot of these marathon
type sessions.
It's about consistent,manageable steps that compound
over time.
And if you make little bits ofprogress here and there, then a
year from now you will be amazedat how far those small steps
have taken you.
Welcome to the Fiction WritingMade Easy Podcast.
(00:58):
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 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.
(01:20):
So pick up a pen and let's getstarted.
In today's episode, we'retalking about how to finish your
novel while working a full-timejob.
And this episode is for you ifyou've been wanting to write a
novel for years or maybe evendecades.
But between your full-time job,your commute, your
relationships, and everythingelse that demands your energy,
writing always seems to getpushed to someday.
(01:43):
Maybe you've even tried to workon your novel after work, but by
the time you get home, makedinner, and handle everything
else that life throws at you,the last thing you have energy
for is staring at a blank page.
Or maybe you've had bursts ofmomentum on weekends, only to
lose all of that progress whenMonday hits and the cycle starts
again.
And if you can relate toanything I just said, I want you
(02:05):
to know that it is possible towrite a novel with a full-time
job.
Sure, it's not the easiest thingever, but it is absolutely
possible, and I've seen hundredsof writers do it.
The key is having a strategythat works with your limited
time instead of against it.
So in this episode, I'm going toshare five tips that will help
you build real writing momentumno matter how busy life gets.
(02:26):
Then I'm going to talk about twowriters who put these ideas into
practice and not only finishedtheir novels, but signed with
literary agents this year.
Alright, now let's get into theepisode, starting with tip
number one.
Tip number one is to commit toone process or method and follow
it through all the way to theend of your draft.
If you've been collecting craftbooks, bookmarking blog posts,
(02:49):
and researching the quoteunquote best plotting or
character development methodsfor months or years, then this
first tip is for you.
Now, before we get into theactual tip, I understand why
you're doing this.
Research feels productive, itfeels like you're making forward
motion, and honestly, it feelssafer than actually writing.
Because as long as you're stillfiguring out the quote unquote
(03:11):
right approach, you don't haveto risk discovering that your
story doesn't work or thatyou're maybe not as good of a
writer yet as you had hoped.
But what I've noticed afterworking with hundreds of writers
is that hopping from method tomethod is one of the sneakiest
forms of procrastination.
And that's because it keeps youbusy without moving you forward.
Now, the truth is that the mostpopular methods out there for
(03:35):
plotting or characterdevelopment or scene structure,
whatever it is, the truth isthey're all going to get you to
a finished draft if you juststick with one of them.
The magic isn't in finding theperfect method, it's in
committing to one method or oneprocess and following it through
all the way to the end.
And so if everything I've saidso far is resonating with you,
(03:55):
then what I want you to do ispick the one approach or the one
method that feels like it makesthe most sense to you, and then
give yourself permission to stoplooking for something better.
You can always try a differentmethod or a different process
with your next book, but forthis one, I want you to commit
to just one.
So commit to just one approachor one method and see it through
all the way to the end of yourdraft.
(04:17):
And then once you've made thatcommitment, the next step is
knowing exactly what you'reworking on each time you sit
down to write.
Which brings us to tip numbertwo.
Tip number two is have a planfor what you're writing before
you sit down to write.
And this one's important becausewhat happens to a lot of busy
writers is they carve out, let'ssay, 20 to 30 precious minutes,
they sit down at their desk andthen they freeze.
(04:39):
All these questions pop up intheir mind, like should I work
on chapter three?
Should I skip ahead to thatscene I'm excited about?
Should I figure out that onelingering subplot first?
Should I reread what I wrotelast week?
Should I work on my outlinemore?
Right?
Question after question pops up.
And before they know it, halftheir writing time is gone
because it's been consumed byindecision.
(04:59):
And so when you have limitedtime like most of us do, you
can't afford to spend itfiguring out what to work on.
You need to know that before yousit down to write.
And the best way to do this isto have some kind of roadmap for
your story.
Now, I know some of youlistening are panters who break
out in hives at the wordoutline, and I'm not saying you
need some kind of 50-pagedocument with every detail
(05:21):
mapped out.
Your roadmap can be as simple asknowing you're going to write
the next scene in whateversequence of scenes you're
working on, or that you're goingto flesh out the conversation in
the scene you started yesterday.
So again, the idea is to nothave every single detail figured
out about your plot and yourcharacters and your world unless
you want to.
It's more about just knowingwhat you're going to work on
(05:43):
when you sit down to write.
But with that being said, I alsodo recommend having at least a
loose sense of your key scenes,a loose sense of your major plot
points, and roughly what happensin each part of your story.
And I recommend this becauseI've just seen too many writers
spend months or years wanderingaround with no direction, only
(06:03):
to realize they've writtenthemselves into a corner.
So I recommend having some kindof roadmap.
And again, a roadmap doesn'tneed to limit your creativity.
It's just there to give youdirection.
And when you're working withlimited time, that kind of
direction is everything.
All right, so that is tip numbertwo to have some kind of plan
when you sit down to write.
And with that plan or thatroadmap in place, then you can
(06:25):
start setting goals thatactually fit your life, which
brings us to tip number three.
And that is to set realisticgoals that are aligned with your
lifestyle.
Now, I know you've heard thisadvice before to set realistic
goals and don't overcommit andto be kind to yourself.
But my question for you is areyou actually doing it?
Because one of the fastest waysto burn out is setting goals
(06:48):
that don't match your actuallife or the time you have
available.
So if you're working full time,if you're caring for family, if
you're managing a household andtrying to maintain some
semblance of a social life, thena goal of writing 2,000 words
every day is probably going tobackfire.
What tends to happen is you missa few days, you feel like a
(07:09):
failure, and then you abandonthe whole thing.
But again, here's where havingsome kind of roadmap can change
everything for you.
Because when you see how manyscenes you have left to write,
you can then work backwards tocreate a timeline that fits your
actual schedule.
So not some idealistic versionof your life where you have
three free hours every evening.
No, it needs to be based on yourreal life with all of its
(07:32):
constraints.
So maybe that means writing 500words three times a week, or
maybe it's finishing one sceneper week, or maybe it's simply
opening your document andwriting anything five days out
of the week.
And what I'm kind of getting athere is that progress isn't
about having a lot of thesemarathon type sessions.
It's about consistent,manageable steps that compound
(07:54):
over time.
And if you make little bits ofprogress here and there, then a
year from now you will be amazedat how far those small steps
have taken you.
Alright, so that is tip numberthree.
I want you to set realisticgoals aligned with your
lifestyle and the time youactually have.
So you can ask yourself thingslike, how many scenes do I have
left?
How much time can Irealistically give to my writing
(08:16):
each week?
What kind of deadline feelsambitious yet achievable?
And then you can just do themath.
Yes, the answer might be slowerthan you'd like, but a realistic
goal that you actually hit willget you to the end faster than
an ambitious one that youabandon.
Plus, nothing feels worse thanmissing your goals anyway,
right?
So better to be realistic thanoverly ambitious.
(08:37):
Now, of course, getting clear onyour goals is one thing, but
finding the time to actually doit is another.
So that brings us to tip numberfour, to find and protect
pockets of writing time.
Now, you don't need hours ofuninterrupted time to make
progress on your novel.
Some of the most consistentprogress happens in short focus
(08:57):
bursts.
You might feel like 15 minutesisn't quote unquote real writing
time, but it is.
Small sessions like that can addup faster than you think, but
only if you treat them as sacredcreative space and not left over
time that you'll get to if youcan.
So where do you find pockets oftime like this?
Well, maybe it's 15 minutesbefore the rest of your house
(09:17):
wakes up if you're an earlybird, or maybe it's your lunch
break with headphones in, ormaybe it's the time you have for
your lunch break and you putyour headphones in and get some
work done.
Or maybe it's 20 minutes beforebed instead of scrolling on your
phone.
Your weekends count too, so evenone focused hour on Saturday
morning before the day gets awayfrom you, that can keep your
(09:38):
story alive in your mind, andthat can keep you kind of
touching your story before theday gets away from you, can keep
your story alive in your mind.
And don't overlook your commuteeither if you are someone who
commutes.
If you're spending time in a caror on a train, that's usable
time as well.
You can use a voice memo app tobrainstorm scenes, dictate
dialogue, or talk through a plotproblem out loud.
(10:01):
If you're on a train, of course,you have a little more
flexibility.
You can actually type out sceneson your laptop or your phone or
whatever you're using.
So don't overlook your commute.
Now, with all of this, the keyis identifying these pockets of
time in advance and protectingthem.
Because when you follow tipsone, two, and three, or when you
have a process when you knowwhat you're writing and you know
(10:22):
the specific goal you're goingto achieve with the time you
have, those short sessions canbecome surprisingly productive,
mostly because you're notwasting precious minutes trying
to figure out what to do.
You're actually spending thattime writing.
All right, so that is tip numberfour.
Find and protect pockets ofwriting time.
Now, even with protected writingtime and a clear plan, there
(10:44):
will still be tough weeks.
And that is where the final tipcomes in.
So tip number five is to build asupport system.
Now, we all know that writingcan feel incredibly isolating,
especially when you're trying tosqueeze it into the margins of
your already full life.
And when work is exhausting,when life gets chaotic, when the
last thing you want to do isopen up your laptop, that's when
(11:05):
most writers quietly give up.
But having people in your cornermakes all the difference.
Not because they're gonna writeyour book for you, but because
they'll help you keep going whenmotivation disappears and when
discipline feels impossible.
So what does this actually looklike in practice?
Well, it could mean finding awriting buddy or someone else
working on a novel who gets whatyou're going through.
(11:27):
You don't have to be working onthe same genre or be at the same
stage in your process.
Ideally, this is just someonewho will check in with you,
celebrate your wins, and remindyou to keep going when you want
to quit.
It could also look like joininga writing community, whether
that's a local writer's group,an online community like one in
Facebook or on Discord, or apaid program like My Notes to
(11:48):
Novel course, where you'resurrounded by people on the same
journey.
It doesn't really matter whereyou tap into the writing
community, but there issomething powerful about being
in a room, even if it's avirtual one, that is full of
people who are all workingtowards the same goal.
And really, it's because theirmomentum and their excitement
and hearing about theirprogress, all of that kind of
(12:10):
becomes your momentum and yourexcitement and you making
progress, right?
So don't be afraid to lookonline for a writing community,
even if you don't know anybodyin that particular community
just yet.
But you could also do somethingas simple as just telling a
friend or family member aboutyour goal.
So make your goal real by sayingit out loud and give someone
else permission to ask you howyour book's coming along.
(12:33):
And I know it sounds simple, butsometimes just knowing
somebody's going to ask orsomebody cares can really give
you a reason to keep showing up.
And I truly believe that thewriters who finish aren't the
ones who just somehow magicallynever struggle.
They're the ones who havesomeone in their corner when
they do struggle.
All right, so that is tip numberfive to build a support system.
(12:55):
Now I want to talk about whatthis actually looks like in
practice because these tipsaren't just theory.
I want to tell you about twowriters who were in my notes to
novel program last year who putthese tips into practice and
both of them finished theirdraft and ended up signing with
literary agents last year.
So the first person I want totell you about is Maddie, who is
a mom of four kids.
(13:15):
And if you've ever parentedyoung children, you know it's
its own kind of full-time job.
But Maddie also is a freelancecopywriter and she volunteers
full-time at her local youthministry.
So her writing time is extremelylimited.
But instead of waiting for moretime to magically appear, Maddie
committed to one process andcreated a roadmap for her story.
(13:37):
That roadmap meant she knewexactly what scene to work on
every time she sat down towrite.
So there was no time wastedwondering what to do next.
She also set realistic goalsthat fit into her actual life
and not some fantasy idealisticversion of it.
And then she protected smallpockets of time and leaned on
her community for support whenthings got hard.
(13:57):
And Maddie even took a full yearoff during her pregnancy and the
newborn phase.
And then when she came back toher writing, she picked right up
where she left off because heroutline or that roadmap she had
was waiting for her.
And because of that, shefinished her first draft in
under six months of actualwriting time.
And like I mentioned earlier,she queried and signed with her
dream literary agent last year.
(14:19):
Now, you might recognizeMaddie's story.
We had her on the podcast backin episode number 225, which I
will link to in the show notesif you want to listen to the
whole thing.
But the next writer I want totell you about, her name is
Pornika, and she works full-timein corporate finance.
She's also a self-describedperfectionist who kept putting
off her novel because she wasafraid of getting stuck on the
(14:41):
small details.
But once she committed to oneprocess and learned to keep
moving forward using her roadmapto guide each writing session,
she was able to finally stopgetting hung up on the little
stuff.
So Pornica set a realistic goalof writing for just a couple of
hours most evenings, protectedthat time fiercely, and built
accountability by connectingwith other writers who were on
(15:04):
the same journey.
And Pornica was able to finishher draft in under 90 days.
She also queried agents andsigned with an amazing literary
agent last year as well.
And this is a little spoilerpreview because you're actually
going to get to hear Pornika'sfull story on an episode coming
out next week.
But my point here is that Maddieand Pornica lived two very
different lives and had two verydifferent schedules, but they
(15:27):
took the same approach to theirwriting.
They committed to one process,they knew what they were going
to write every time they satdown at their desk, they set
realistic goals, protected theirwriting time, and got support
when they needed it.
Alright, so Maddie and Pornicaprove what I see again and
again, that finishing a novel isnot necessarily about having
more time.
It's about using the time thatyou do have strategically.
(15:51):
Now, let me quickly recap whatthe five tips are that we
covered today.
Tip number one was I want you tocommit to one process and follow
it all the way through to theend of your draft.
Tip number two is I want you toknow exactly what you're going
to work on before you sit downto write.
Tip number three is I want youto set realistic goals that are
aligned with your lifestyle.
So remember we're not trying tobe idealistic here.
(16:12):
We want to be realistic, notidealistic.
Tip number four was to find andprotect pockets of writing time
here and there.
And finally, tip number five wasto build a support system.
All right, now you don't need toimplement all five of these tips
at once.
My recommendation is to startwith the first two.
So commit to following oneprocess or method all the way to
(16:33):
the end of your draft, and thencreate some kind of roadmap or
outline, whatever that lookslike for you.
And I suggest these two firstbecause once you do these two,
the other tips will kind of fallinto place a little bit more
naturally.
And remember, throughout all ofthis, throughout the entire
writing process, remember to bekind to yourself.
Celebrate every scene that youfinish, every problem that you
(16:55):
solve, and every small step youtake forward.
If you are someone who's writinga novel while working full time,
you are doing something hard.
But remember the writers whofinish aren't the ones who never
struggle.
They're the ones who don't giveup and who keep coming back.
So what I really want you totake away from this episode is
that your busy life isn't abarrier to finishing your novel.
(17:15):
It just means you need a clearpath forward and it needs to be
one that works with yourschedule instead of against it.
Now, if you want my help puttingall five of these tips into
practice, and if you're ready tostop putting your novel aside
for someday when life feels lessbusy, and if you want to start
making real progress, my notesto novel course will give you
the step-by-step process tobrainstorm, outline, and draft
(17:38):
your novel even with limitedtime.
It's the same course thatMaddie, Pornika, and hundreds of
other writers have been through,and it will help you make the
most of those precious pocketsof time to actually move you
towards the end of your draft.
Enrollment opens very soon, sogo to Savannah Gilbo.com forward
slash waitlist to put your nameon the wait list and you'll be
the first to know when doorsopen.
(17:59):
So one more time, that'sSavannah Gilbo.com forward slash
waitlist to get on the notes tonovel wait list and be the first
to know when enrollment opens.
Alright, so that's it for thisepisode of the Fiction Writing
Made Easy Podcast.
Head over to Savannah Gilbo.comforward slash podcast for the
complete show notes, includingthe resources I mentioned today,
(18:19):
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
savannaGilbo.com forward slashquiz.
You'll get a customized podcastplaylist that'll meet you right
(18:40):
where you're at and help you getto your next big milestone.
Last but not least, make sure tofollow this podcast in your
podcast player of choice becauseI'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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