Fiction Writing Made Easy with Savannah Gilbo | How to Write a Novel & Writing Advice

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#263. How Emily Henry Hooks Readers in Chapter One of Book Lovers

2026-09-1522:55

Your first chapter needs to hook the reader—but that doesn’t mean you need a huge plot twist, dramatic action, or a flashy meet-cute on page one. The first chapter of Emily Henry’s Book Lovers is mostly two sisters walking through New York and talking. There’s plenty of banter, interiority, description, and backstory—but the big plot development doesn’t arrive until fairly late in the chapter. So how does Emily Henry make an opening chapter like this feel so engaging and full of momentum—and ...

Bonus: How 3 Writers Found a Clear Path Through All the Writing Advice

2026-09-0119:11

If you’ve read the craft books, listened to hundreds of podcast episodes, and studied all kinds of writing advice—but still sit down at your desk wondering, okay, what am I actually supposed to work on today?—this episode is for you. Because at some point, learning more about writing stops being the missing piece. You need a process that helps you figure out what your specific story needs, what to work on next, and how all the pieces fit together. In this bonus episode, you’ll hear from three...

#262. 10 Tips to Make Your Enemies to Lovers Romance Feel Believable

2026-08-2529:241

If you're writing an enemies to lovers romance, getting your characters from “I can't stand you” to “I love you” takes more than chemistry. Here’s how to write enemies to lovers in a way that makes that turn feel convincing. The enemies to lovers trope is popular for a reason. The tension, banter, forced proximity, and slow shift from conflict to attraction can make for an incredibly satisfying romance. But it's harder to pull off than it looks, because readers have to believe two thing...

#261. 5 Mistakes Writers Make Using the Save the Cat! Beat Sheet

2026-08-1822:41

If you’re using the Save the Cat! beat sheet to outline your novel but your story still feels flat, disconnected, or hard to draft, one of these five common mistakes may be the reason why. The Save the Cat! beat sheet is a popular story structure framework because it gives fiction writers fifteen clear landmarks to plot toward. But filling in all fifteen beats doesn’t automatically give you a story that works. In this episode, I’m breaking down five mistakes writers make when using the Save t...

#260. Student Spotlight: From Stuck at 25k Words to a Finished Draft With Lindsay Sfara

2026-08-1140:27

After stalling out on a draft she'd already outlined chapter by chapter, Lindsay Sfara discovered the story development work that has to come before an outline—and turned that stuck manuscript into a published debut novel. Today I'm chatting with Lindsay Sfara, superhero fantasy author of Aero Knights: Origins and a Notes to Novel graduate, about how developing her story before outlining it finally helped her finish the book she'd been trying to write for years. In this episode, you'll hear u...

#box-pro-ellipsis-178982156106185{-webkit-line-clamp:2;}Fiction Writing Made Easy with Savannah Gilbo | How to Write a Novel & Writing Advice

Fiction Writing Made Easy with Savannah Gilbo | How to Write a Novel & Writing Advice