August 7, 2025 • 17 mins
The myth that plotting kills creativity is keeping countless discovery writers stuck in an endless cycle of abandoned manuscripts—but what if structure could actually set your creativity free?
If you're a pantser convinced that outlining will ruin your creative process, or you've been discovery writing through multiple unfinished manuscripts, this episode will change how you think about story structure.
You'll hear from three committed pantsers who thought outlining meant creative death. Katherine could sprint to 50k words in three weeks but spent a year editing manuscripts she'd abandon. Bree followed "only see as far as your headlights" advice for a decade, stuck on the same 25 pages. Casey watched her stories die in the middle with no way forward.
Their discoveries transformed their entire approach to storytelling—proving that the right structure actually amplifies creativity instead of stifling it.
In this episode, you'll learn:
- [03:15] How a discovery writer transformed 7 abandoned manuscripts into a polished novel by creating a "flexible outline" while drafting—eliminating 9 months of developmental editing
- [4:50] The simple daily practice of checking scenes for goal, motivation, and conflict that turned a chronic underwriter's 50k-word sprint into a robust 72k-word draft
- [08:45] Why the common pantser advice to "only see as far as your headlights" kept one writer stuck on the same 25 pages for a decade (and what finally freed her)
- [09:25] How understanding genre expectations finally helped a pantser break through the dreaded middle of her novel where stories kept dying
- [11:20] Why "pantsing with direction" gives discovery writers the best of both worlds—creative spontaneity with a clear story roadmap to reach "The End"
If you're ready to find the perfect balance between structure and creativity—and want the complete framework these writers used to finish their novels—join the waitlist for the next open enrollment of my Notes to Novel course. Don’t miss your chance to turn your ideas into a finished draft you’re proud of!
🔗 Links mentioned in this episode:
- Grab this free guide to see how real writers (like you!) pushed past the most common writing roadblocks to finish their novels: 5 Writing Roadblocks Keeping You Stuck & How to Break Through
- Katherine Varley on Instagram
- Bree Cox on Instagram
- Casey Drillette on Instagram
⭐ Follow & Review
If you loved this episode, please take a moment to follow the show and leave a review on Apple Podcasts! Your review will help other writers find this podcast and get the insights they need to finish their books. Thanks for tuning in to The Fiction Writing Made Easy Podcast! See you next week!
Ready to stop overthinking and start writing? Join my LIVE 3-Day Writer Breakthrough Bootcamp and I'll help you go from stuck and overwhelmed to clear, confident, and ready to write your story. Click here to save your spot for just $27!
👉 Looking for a transcript? If you’re listening on Apple Podcasts or Spotify, scroll down below the episode player until you see the transcript.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
By slowing down to check in with my scenes and the
outline I was creating, I endedup with the cleanest zero draft
I've ever written.
Instead of one year to editthose 50,000 words and then
abandoning it out of frustration, it took me only two months to
do a developmental edit on the72,000 words.
For anyone who likes math, thismeans I went from around 2,300
(00:24):
words per daily writing sessionto 800.
I eliminated nine months ofpainful developmental edits
while also writing less each day.
I slowed down to speed up and,for someone who loves efficiency
, that was my biggest andhappiest aha moment of the
entire course my biggest andhappiest aha moment of the
(00:49):
entire course.
Speaker 2 (00:50):
Welcome to the Fiction Writing Made Easy
podcast.
My name is Savannah Gilbo andI'm here to help you write a
story that works.
I want to prove to you thatwriting a novel doesn't have to
be overwhelming, so each weekI'll bring you a brand new
episode with simple, actionableand step-by-step strategies that
you can implement in yourwriting right away.
So whether you're brand new towriting or more of a seasoned
author looking to improve yourcraft, this podcast is for you.
(01:11):
So pick up a pen and let's getstarted.
In today's episode, we'retackling one of the most
stubborn myths in the writingworld, and that is that plotting
and structure kill yourcreativity.
If you're a discovery writerwho's been told that you need to
outline but you're convinced itwill ruin your process, or if
you've been pantsing your waythrough multiple manuscripts
(01:31):
without ever reaching the end,then this episode is for you.
You'll hear from threecommitted pantsers who thought
outlining was creative.
Death Catherine, a discoverywriter who could easily write
50,000 words in three weeks, butthen who would spend a year
trying to edit manuscripts she'deventually abandon.
Bree, who identified as apantser for a decade, editing
(01:51):
and re-editing the same 25 pagesfor years and years, while
following the advice that youonly need to see as far as your
headlights in the dark, andCasey who kept getting stuck
when her stories would just diein the middle with no idea how
to move forward.
Now here's what I love aboutthese stories.
Each writer discovered that theright kind of structure
actually amplified theircreativity instead of stifling
(02:12):
it.
They found ways to maintain thediscovery and the creativity
and the spontaneity that theyloved, while giving themselves
the roadmap they needed to reachthe end.
So if you've been resistingoutlining or creating some kind
of roadmap for your storybecause you think it means rigid
paint-by-numbers storytelling,then these writers are about to
change your mind.
Completely.
Is my signature eight-weekprogram designed to help you
(02:45):
confidently write a story you'reproud of, without the
self-doubt, frustration oroverwhelm that stops most
writers in their tracks?
So if you've been wanting towork with me on your novel and
follow a step-by-step frameworkto turn your ideas into a
finished draft, then this isyour chance.
I'll be sharing more detailssoon, but if you want to be the
first to know when doors openand snag a few extra goodies in
the meantime, make sure you'reon the waitlist at
(03:07):
savannahgilbocom forward slashwaitlist.
Let's go ahead and dive rightinto the first clip.
Speaker 1 (03:15):
Hi, I'm Katherine Varley.
I write speculative fictionthat explores what it means to
be human in technologicallyadvanced worlds.
My stories are inspired bysocietal issues and scientific
progress Think Black Mirror foroptimists.
I'm a discovery writer throughand through.
I have wasted years attemptingto be a plotter or someone who
outlines before I write.
(03:36):
It just isn't how my brainworks.
I need to build the story as Iwrite it, and I'm sharing that
because I feel my experiencewith Notes to Novel will differ
from others who can see theirstory before writing it, and I
want to offer some insight tothose like me who might wonder
how a course like Notes to Novelcould help them.
I'm a quick drafter.
(03:58):
I can write a zero draft inthree weeks without a problem.
What I can't do is edit thatzero draft into what I call my
functional first draft that hasno story level issues or plot
holes.
I signed up for Nosta Novelspecifically for help at the
story level editing stage.
Spoiler, the course did help mewith editing, but it wasn't in
(04:18):
the way I thought it would be.
Before Nosta Novel, I gave upon seven manuscripts would be.
Before Nostanovel, I gave up onseven manuscripts, all in the
developmental editing stage.
I would sprint to the end of myzero draft and then stall out
while editing.
But after going through thecourse, I made one change to my
drafting process.
It isn't exciting, but it wasoh so effective for me.
(04:40):
I checked in with my scenes.
Savannah urged us to write a fewscenes and then go back and
check our outlines to see whatneeded to be tweaked.
Because I didn't have anoutline already, I had to create
one.
As I wrote, I printed off theflexible outline worksheet that
she provided and after everywriting session I would write
two to three sentences about thescenes I had just drafted one
(05:01):
sentence about the external plotand one to two sentences about
the internal arc of change.
If you were like me and don'twrite chronologically, don't
worry, scenes tend to movearound in editing.
Just put the scene where youfeel it might belong and keep
moving forward.
After filling in my outlineworksheet for the day, I would
ask myself a couple questions.
Were my scenes moving the plotforward while providing an
(05:23):
internal arc of change throughthe classic goal, motivation and
conflict, and was it a keyscene or leading to one?
I would also check my genrecheat sheets, also provided by
Savannah, to keep it clear in mymind what readers were
expecting of my story.
I didn't write down the answersto these questions, I just
thought about them.
If I felt that the scene wasn'tdoing what I wanted it to do, I
(05:46):
made a color-coded note at thestart of the scene of what I
would improve and then moved on.
But because I was consideringthese questions daily, they
began to subconsciously changehow I wrote.
My drafting speed slowed to whatfelt like a crawl and while I
was frustrated that it wastaking longer, I knew personally
that, and through feedback fromcritique partners, that the
(06:09):
story I was writing was muchstronger than it would have been
otherwise.
My scenes deepened and mycharacters became more vivid,
all while the story remainedcomplex.
Without becoming confused.
By slowing down to check inwith my scenes and the outline I
was creating, I ended up withthe cleanest zero draft I've
ever written Not only thecleanest, but the longest.
(06:33):
I'm an underwriter, so this wasa big win for me.
Instead of three weeks to draft50,000 words, it took me three
months to draft 72,000.
Instead of one year to editthose 50,000 words and then
abandoning it out of frustration, it took me only two months to
do a developmental edit on the72,000 words.
(06:55):
For anyone who likes math, thismeans I went from around 2,300
words per daily writing sessionto 800.
I eliminated nine months ofpainful developmental edits,
while also writing less each day.
I slowed down to speed up and,for someone who loves efficiency
, that was my biggest andhappiest aha moment of the
(07:19):
entire course.
Speaker 3 (07:23):
Hi, I'm Brie Cox, coming to you from the wonderful
Midwestern city of Wichita,kansas, and I write young adult
sci-fi.
I grew up poor, so my parentssaid if I wanted to write as a
profession, I needed to at leastmajor in something that made
money and they didn't say howmuch money, which I think they
maybe should have been morespecific.
So that's how I landed injournalism, and there's not a
(07:46):
lot of money there, but I guessyou know it met the criteria of
some.
My first dream was alwaysfiction, and I joke that my
second grade teacher ruined mylife by telling me I should be a
creative writer when I grow up.
So I guess if I finish thisbook at 45, then maybe I'm
finally a grownup.
I guess that's probablydebatable, and luckily I'm
writing for teens though, whichis really my level of maturity.
(08:08):
So it works out.
After 10 years of struggling towrite this novel, savannah's
notes to novel class changedeverything and got me to the end
Not once, but multiple times,which really is the goal right.
Every time you make it all theway to the end.
You add in that dimension andcomplexity you really want to
see in your writing.
That beautiful prose willalways be there.
You have to trust that.
(08:29):
I didn't trust that and that'sreally for the last run through
and you just have to trust thatyou're a good writer and when
that time comes, those beautifulwords will show up.
I identified as a pantser when Istarted and I followed the
advice that you only need to seeas far as your car's headlights
in the dark to keep movingforward.
But it turns out I waspersonally driving in circles
(08:51):
for like a decade, so thatadvice was complete crap, at
least for me.
I was editing and re-editingthe first 25 pages for years,
much of which I ended up havingto throw out anyway.
Of the million aha moments thatSavannah's brilliant, useful
and practical notes to novelcourse gave me, I'll talk about
just two, and they sort of flowinto one another.
(09:12):
So one invest in the flexibleoutline and two write in scenes.
So, even though I identified asa pantser, the outlining
process not only helped me makesure each scene moved my
character and plot forward,meaning it wasn't boring to my
reader.
It is a fun and creativeprocess.
So I was surprised by that andI could play with it.
Pressure test ideas like whatif this happens?
(09:33):
Or oh, what if this twist comesin, then what?
How does that affect the restof my story?
And I could see how plotthreads interacted and get an
executive overview of my storyso I could get control of the
moving parts.
So I moved from being anemployee of my writing to the
president.
It freed me up to be even morecreative with words and imagery.
Actually, when I sat down towrite, because I knew where I
(09:54):
was headed and I identified myinternal and external genres,
layered those in, allowed me tosee the shape of my story and
how it rises and falls, and thenI could layer in my subplots
and those key scenes.
And before I knew it I had ablueprint to write a really plot
rich story that knows whereit's going and why.
And if that all sounds reallydaunting, don't worry.
(10:15):
No novel walks you through howto do it step by step, and it's
actually easy once you break itdown, and Savannah helps you to
do that.
The second big thing for me iswriting in scenes and making
sure each scene had the fivecomponents needed to drive the
narrative forward.
I actually posted the five partsof the scenes over my computer.
I am looking at it right nowand I reference it every like
1500 words I write.
Does it have an incitingincident, a turning point, a
(10:38):
crisis, a climax and aresolution?
And if those five componentsare unclear, nose to Novel
breaks it down for you, so it'ssuper easy.
Then I make sure each scenelinks to the plot or the
character arc and that it solvespart of the puzzle and
challenges my character'sworldview.
So those were my two bigtakeaways Make a flexible
outline and write in scenes, andthose helped me get from the
(11:00):
endless spiraling to moving allthe way to the end, and I highly
recommend notes to novels soyou can get a handle on those
concepts and many more.
It really takes examples andpractice for you to develop your
own unique writing method thatworks for you, and Savannah
gives you the roadmap to do that.
Good luck out there.
I know you can do it.
Speaker 4 (11:19):
Hi, my name is Casey Gillette.
I am from Fort Worth Texas, butI have lived in Asia for the
past 10 plus years, half of itin China and half of it in
Thailand.
I write fantasy and romancebooks.
That feels very powerful to saythat because I haven't actually
finished my book yet, butthat's where I'm going in life.
(11:42):
I think if I could like mashthe words together, I would call
the genre romanticy, but prettymuch fantasy and romance.
My biggest takeaway from thenotes to novel course was really
the like major key scenes andhow those are structured within
a plot and broken down in theacts.
My previous writing endeavors Ihad always had these stories,
(12:05):
ideas, and I would write, write,write, and then I would get so
incredibly stuck and I guessit's writer's block it felt more
like the story had just diedand I had no idea where it could
go from here.
It's like I don't evenunderstand how to get from this
point to a next point and itseemed to really elude me, like
how that process worked.
How do authors get from point Ato point B and onward?
(12:28):
And so when I went through thecourse and we learned about the
key scenes and the differentgenres and how there's like an
inner genre and an outer genre,a commercial genre, and how they
interact with each other, andthen how you can layer the plots
with their own genres and keyscenes within it.
It just made so much more sense.
I have built out, I've spent alot of time on an outline, I
(12:48):
have my key scenes in place andso currently in my writing
journey, I am in the writingprocess and so, while I won't
say I'm a full-on planner, Ithink a lot of things I'm doing
is still would be described as apantser.
I am now quote unquote pantsingwith a direction, and so that
is really helpful because I havea full outline with scenes.
I guess if I say I'm a pantser,it's because I don't have a lot
(13:10):
of my side characters decidedon, fleshed out or anything, so
who's going to join the party aswe go?
But the key scenes have made aworld of difference in how I
conceptualize the story, howI've planned this outline, and
it's helped my writing processso far.
When I get stuck for a day onone scene, it's great.
I move to a next scene.
I don't have to like thinkabout oh, where does it go from
(13:32):
here?
I already know.
So I really enjoy having thatkind of outline and roadmap that
I got from Notes to Novel.
Speaker 2 (13:41):
All right.
So I hope hearing from Catherine, brie and Casey completely
shifted how you think aboutstructure and creativity.
Whether it was Catherine'srevelation about slowing down to
speed up Brie's transformationfrom employee to president of
her writing, or Casey'sdiscovery of pantsing with
direction, these stories provethat the right framework doesn't
have to live at your creativity.
(14:01):
In fact, it can unleash it.
Now here's the key takeawayfrom today's episode Outlining
isn't about controlling everysingle detail of your story.
It's about giving yourselfenough structure to stay
oriented while still leavingroom for all the magical
discoveries that happen duringthe writing process.
Now, if the stories in today'sepisode inspired you to finally
(14:22):
try a flexible approach tooutlining, I have some exciting
news.
Notes to Novel.
My signature eight-week liveprogram is opening for
enrollment on August 19th.
This is the same program thatgave Katherine, bree and Casey
and hundreds of other busywriters the roadmap they needed
to finish their novels withoutadding more stress to their
already packed lives.
But here's the thing I want youto be prepared when doors open,
(14:45):
because this live round alwaysfills up fast, and that's why
I've created a VIP waitlist thatgives you early access before
the public launch, plus somereally fun and incredible
bonuses while you wait, headover to savannahgilbocom forward
slash waitlist to get on theVIP waitlist and to get early
access when doors to Notes toNovel open.
And if you're listening to thisafter August 19th, don't worry,
(15:08):
you can still join the waitlistto be the first to know when
Notes to Novel opens forenrollment again.
All right, so that's it for thisepisode of the Fiction Writing
Made Easy podcast.
Writing Made Easy podcast.
Head over to savannahgilbocomforward slash podcast for the
complete show notes, includingthe resources I mentioned today,
as well as bonus materials tohelp you implement what you've
(15:29):
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.
You'll get a customized podcastplaylist that'll meet you right
where you're at and help youget to your next big milestone.
(15:49):
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.
By slowing down to check in with my scenes and the
outline I was creating, I endedup with the cleanest zero draft
I've ever written.
Instead of one year to editthose 50,000 words and then
abandoning it out of frustration, it took me only two months to
do a developmental edit on the72,000 words.
For anyone who likes math, thismeans I went from around 2,300
(00:24):
words per daily writing sessionto 800.
I eliminated nine months ofpainful developmental edits
while also writing less each day.
I slowed down to speed up and,for someone who loves efficiency
, that was my biggest andhappiest aha moment of the
entire course my biggest andhappiest aha moment of the
(00:49):
entire course.
Speaker 2 (00:50):
Welcome to the Fiction Writing Made Easy
podcast.
My name is Savannah Gilbo andI'm here to help you write a
story that works.
I want to prove to you thatwriting a novel doesn't have to
be overwhelming, so each weekI'll bring you a brand new
episode with simple, actionableand step-by-step strategies that
you can implement in yourwriting right away.
So whether you're brand new towriting or more of a seasoned
author looking to improve yourcraft, this podcast is for you.
(01:11):
So pick up a pen and let's getstarted.
In today's episode, we'retackling one of the most
stubborn myths in the writingworld, and that is that plotting
and structure kill yourcreativity.
If you're a discovery writerwho's been told that you need to
outline but you're convinced itwill ruin your process, or if
you've been pantsing your waythrough multiple manuscripts
(01:31):
without ever reaching the end,then this episode is for you.
You'll hear from threecommitted pantsers who thought
outlining was creative.
Death Catherine, a discoverywriter who could easily write
50,000 words in three weeks, butthen who would spend a year
trying to edit manuscripts she'deventually abandon.
Bree, who identified as apantser for a decade, editing
(01:51):
and re-editing the same 25 pagesfor years and years, while
following the advice that youonly need to see as far as your
headlights in the dark, andCasey who kept getting stuck
when her stories would just diein the middle with no idea how
to move forward.
Now here's what I love aboutthese stories.
Each writer discovered that theright kind of structure
actually amplified theircreativity instead of stifling
(02:12):
it.
They found ways to maintain thediscovery and the creativity
and the spontaneity that theyloved, while giving themselves
the roadmap they needed to reachthe end.
So if you've been resistingoutlining or creating some kind
of roadmap for your storybecause you think it means rigid
paint-by-numbers storytelling,then these writers are about to
change your mind.
Completely.
Is my signature eight-weekprogram designed to help you
(02:45):
confidently write a story you'reproud of, without the
self-doubt, frustration oroverwhelm that stops most
writers in their tracks?
So if you've been wanting towork with me on your novel and
follow a step-by-step frameworkto turn your ideas into a
finished draft, then this isyour chance.
I'll be sharing more detailssoon, but if you want to be the
first to know when doors openand snag a few extra goodies in
the meantime, make sure you'reon the waitlist at
(03:07):
savannahgilbocom forward slashwaitlist.
Let's go ahead and dive rightinto the first clip.
Speaker 1 (03:15):
Hi, I'm Katherine Varley.
I write speculative fictionthat explores what it means to
be human in technologicallyadvanced worlds.
My stories are inspired bysocietal issues and scientific
progress Think Black Mirror foroptimists.
I'm a discovery writer throughand through.
I have wasted years attemptingto be a plotter or someone who
outlines before I write.
(03:36):
It just isn't how my brainworks.
I need to build the story as Iwrite it, and I'm sharing that
because I feel my experiencewith Notes to Novel will differ
from others who can see theirstory before writing it, and I
want to offer some insight tothose like me who might wonder
how a course like Notes to Novelcould help them.
I'm a quick drafter.
(03:58):
I can write a zero draft inthree weeks without a problem.
What I can't do is edit thatzero draft into what I call my
functional first draft that hasno story level issues or plot
holes.
I signed up for Nosta Novelspecifically for help at the
story level editing stage.
Spoiler, the course did help mewith editing, but it wasn't in
(04:18):
the way I thought it would be.
Before Nosta Novel, I gave upon seven manuscripts would be.
Before Nostanovel, I gave up onseven manuscripts, all in the
developmental editing stage.
I would sprint to the end of myzero draft and then stall out
while editing.
But after going through thecourse, I made one change to my
drafting process.
It isn't exciting, but it wasoh so effective for me.
(04:40):
I checked in with my scenes.
Savannah urged us to write a fewscenes and then go back and
check our outlines to see whatneeded to be tweaked.
Because I didn't have anoutline already, I had to create
one.
As I wrote, I printed off theflexible outline worksheet that
she provided and after everywriting session I would write
two to three sentences about thescenes I had just drafted one
(05:01):
sentence about the external plotand one to two sentences about
the internal arc of change.
If you were like me and don'twrite chronologically, don't
worry, scenes tend to movearound in editing.
Just put the scene where youfeel it might belong and keep
moving forward.
After filling in my outlineworksheet for the day, I would
ask myself a couple questions.
Were my scenes moving the plotforward while providing an
(05:23):
internal arc of change throughthe classic goal, motivation and
conflict, and was it a keyscene or leading to one?
I would also check my genrecheat sheets, also provided by
Savannah, to keep it clear in mymind what readers were
expecting of my story.
I didn't write down the answersto these questions, I just
thought about them.
If I felt that the scene wasn'tdoing what I wanted it to do, I
(05:46):
made a color-coded note at thestart of the scene of what I
would improve and then moved on.
But because I was consideringthese questions daily, they
began to subconsciously changehow I wrote.
My drafting speed slowed to whatfelt like a crawl and while I
was frustrated that it wastaking longer, I knew personally
that, and through feedback fromcritique partners, that the
(06:09):
story I was writing was muchstronger than it would have been
otherwise.
My scenes deepened and mycharacters became more vivid,
all while the story remainedcomplex.
Without becoming confused.
By slowing down to check inwith my scenes and the outline I
was creating, I ended up withthe cleanest zero draft I've
ever written Not only thecleanest, but the longest.
(06:33):
I'm an underwriter, so this wasa big win for me.
Instead of three weeks to draft50,000 words, it took me three
months to draft 72,000.
Instead of one year to editthose 50,000 words and then
abandoning it out of frustration, it took me only two months to
do a developmental edit on the72,000 words.
(06:55):
For anyone who likes math, thismeans I went from around 2,300
words per daily writing sessionto 800.
I eliminated nine months ofpainful developmental edits,
while also writing less each day.
I slowed down to speed up and,for someone who loves efficiency
, that was my biggest andhappiest aha moment of the
(07:19):
entire course.
Speaker 3 (07:23):
Hi, I'm Brie Cox, coming to you from the wonderful
Midwestern city of Wichita,kansas, and I write young adult
sci-fi.
I grew up poor, so my parentssaid if I wanted to write as a
profession, I needed to at leastmajor in something that made
money and they didn't say howmuch money, which I think they
maybe should have been morespecific.
So that's how I landed injournalism, and there's not a
(07:46):
lot of money there, but I guessyou know it met the criteria of
some.
My first dream was alwaysfiction, and I joke that my
second grade teacher ruined mylife by telling me I should be a
creative writer when I grow up.
So I guess if I finish thisbook at 45, then maybe I'm
finally a grownup.
I guess that's probablydebatable, and luckily I'm
writing for teens though, whichis really my level of maturity.
(08:08):
So it works out.
After 10 years of struggling towrite this novel, savannah's
notes to novel class changedeverything and got me to the end
Not once, but multiple times,which really is the goal right.
Every time you make it all theway to the end.
You add in that dimension andcomplexity you really want to
see in your writing.
That beautiful prose willalways be there.
You have to trust that.
(08:29):
I didn't trust that and that'sreally for the last run through
and you just have to trust thatyou're a good writer and when
that time comes, those beautifulwords will show up.
I identified as a pantser when Istarted and I followed the
advice that you only need to seeas far as your car's headlights
in the dark to keep movingforward.
But it turns out I waspersonally driving in circles
(08:51):
for like a decade, so thatadvice was complete crap, at
least for me.
I was editing and re-editingthe first 25 pages for years,
much of which I ended up havingto throw out anyway.
Of the million aha moments thatSavannah's brilliant, useful
and practical notes to novelcourse gave me, I'll talk about
just two, and they sort of flowinto one another.
(09:12):
So one invest in the flexibleoutline and two write in scenes.
So, even though I identified asa pantser, the outlining
process not only helped me makesure each scene moved my
character and plot forward,meaning it wasn't boring to my
reader.
It is a fun and creativeprocess.
So I was surprised by that andI could play with it.
Pressure test ideas like whatif this happens?
(09:33):
Or oh, what if this twist comesin, then what?
How does that affect the restof my story?
And I could see how plotthreads interacted and get an
executive overview of my storyso I could get control of the
moving parts.
So I moved from being anemployee of my writing to the
president.
It freed me up to be even morecreative with words and imagery.
Actually, when I sat down towrite, because I knew where I
(09:54):
was headed and I identified myinternal and external genres,
layered those in, allowed me tosee the shape of my story and
how it rises and falls, and thenI could layer in my subplots
and those key scenes.
And before I knew it I had ablueprint to write a really plot
rich story that knows whereit's going and why.
And if that all sounds reallydaunting, don't worry.
(10:15):
No novel walks you through howto do it step by step, and it's
actually easy once you break itdown, and Savannah helps you to
do that.
The second big thing for me iswriting in scenes and making
sure each scene had the fivecomponents needed to drive the
narrative forward.
I actually posted the five partsof the scenes over my computer.
I am looking at it right nowand I reference it every like
1500 words I write.
Does it have an incitingincident, a turning point, a
(10:38):
crisis, a climax and aresolution?
And if those five componentsare unclear, nose to Novel
breaks it down for you, so it'ssuper easy.
Then I make sure each scenelinks to the plot or the
character arc and that it solvespart of the puzzle and
challenges my character'sworldview.
So those were my two bigtakeaways Make a flexible
outline and write in scenes, andthose helped me get from the
(11:00):
endless spiraling to moving allthe way to the end, and I highly
recommend notes to novels soyou can get a handle on those
concepts and many more.
It really takes examples andpractice for you to develop your
own unique writing method thatworks for you, and Savannah
gives you the roadmap to do that.
Good luck out there.
I know you can do it.
Speaker 4 (11:19):
Hi, my name is Casey Gillette.
I am from Fort Worth Texas, butI have lived in Asia for the
past 10 plus years, half of itin China and half of it in
Thailand.
I write fantasy and romancebooks.
That feels very powerful to saythat because I haven't actually
finished my book yet, butthat's where I'm going in life.
(11:42):
I think if I could like mashthe words together, I would call
the genre romanticy, but prettymuch fantasy and romance.
My biggest takeaway from thenotes to novel course was really
the like major key scenes andhow those are structured within
a plot and broken down in theacts.
My previous writing endeavors Ihad always had these stories,
(12:05):
ideas, and I would write, write,write, and then I would get so
incredibly stuck and I guessit's writer's block it felt more
like the story had just diedand I had no idea where it could
go from here.
It's like I don't evenunderstand how to get from this
point to a next point and itseemed to really elude me, like
how that process worked.
How do authors get from point Ato point B and onward?
(12:28):
And so when I went through thecourse and we learned about the
key scenes and the differentgenres and how there's like an
inner genre and an outer genre,a commercial genre, and how they
interact with each other, andthen how you can layer the plots
with their own genres and keyscenes within it.
It just made so much more sense.
I have built out, I've spent alot of time on an outline, I
(12:48):
have my key scenes in place andso currently in my writing
journey, I am in the writingprocess and so, while I won't
say I'm a full-on planner, Ithink a lot of things I'm doing
is still would be described as apantser.
I am now quote unquote pantsingwith a direction, and so that
is really helpful because I havea full outline with scenes.
I guess if I say I'm a pantser,it's because I don't have a lot
(13:10):
of my side characters decidedon, fleshed out or anything, so
who's going to join the party aswe go?
But the key scenes have made aworld of difference in how I
conceptualize the story, howI've planned this outline, and
it's helped my writing processso far.
When I get stuck for a day onone scene, it's great.
I move to a next scene.
I don't have to like thinkabout oh, where does it go from
(13:32):
here?
I already know.
So I really enjoy having thatkind of outline and roadmap that
I got from Notes to Novel.
Speaker 2 (13:41):
All right.
So I hope hearing from Catherine, brie and Casey completely
shifted how you think aboutstructure and creativity.
Whether it was Catherine'srevelation about slowing down to
speed up Brie's transformationfrom employee to president of
her writing, or Casey'sdiscovery of pantsing with
direction, these stories provethat the right framework doesn't
have to live at your creativity.
(14:01):
In fact, it can unleash it.
Now here's the key takeawayfrom today's episode Outlining
isn't about controlling everysingle detail of your story.
It's about giving yourselfenough structure to stay
oriented while still leavingroom for all the magical
discoveries that happen duringthe writing process.
Now, if the stories in today'sepisode inspired you to finally
(14:22):
try a flexible approach tooutlining, I have some exciting
news.
Notes to Novel.
My signature eight-week liveprogram is opening for
enrollment on August 19th.
This is the same program thatgave Katherine, bree and Casey
and hundreds of other busywriters the roadmap they needed
to finish their novels withoutadding more stress to their
already packed lives.
But here's the thing I want youto be prepared when doors open,
(14:45):
because this live round alwaysfills up fast, and that's why
I've created a VIP waitlist thatgives you early access before
the public launch, plus somereally fun and incredible
bonuses while you wait, headover to savannahgilbocom forward
slash waitlist to get on theVIP waitlist and to get early
access when doors to Notes toNovel open.
And if you're listening to thisafter August 19th, don't worry,
(15:08):
you can still join the waitlistto be the first to know when
Notes to Novel opens forenrollment again.
All right, so that's it for thisepisode of the Fiction Writing
Made Easy podcast.
Writing Made Easy podcast.
Head over to savannahgilbocomforward slash podcast for the
complete show notes, includingthe resources I mentioned today,
as well as bonus materials tohelp you implement what you've
(15:29):
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.
You'll get a customized podcastplaylist that'll meet you right
where you're at and help youget to your next big milestone.
(15:49):
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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