#124: Student Spotlight: 5 Lessons Learned from Notes to Novel (Season 3)

Fiction Writing Made Easy

Savannah Gilbo

Education, Fiction, Writing Tips, Arts, Bestseller, Writing, How To, Author, Writing Community, Books, Novel, How To Write Fiction, Writing Fiction, Writer, How To Write A Book

4.9 • 1.5K Ratings

🗓️ 9 January 2024

⏱️ 30 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

“That's how much my writing's improved. But not just the writing, it's the ease. It's not a struggle when I sit down in front of the laptop to write. Everything just seems a lot easier.” - Morgan Schrock

In today's episode, I reached out to some of my Notes to Novels Season 3 students and asked them to share the number one thing they learned about writing a first draft. You're going to get to hear from real writers who are in the trenches, actively working on their novels and I think it'll be very fun for you to hear how they did it plus some of their biggest takeaways. Here’s a preview of what’s included:

[01:26] Lindsay Sfara shares her experience where she initially faced challenges with an insufficiently detailed outline, leading to a lack of direction in her superhero fantasy novel.

She highlights her struggles and the transformative impact of the Notes to Novel course.

[07:56] Liya Gray has been working on a YA series since 2015, facing challenges and halting progress. She credits Savannah’s course for unlocking a new understanding of her story's structure, and realizing the difference between scenes and chapters.

[12:43] Ami Blackford talks about her insights into the Notes to Novel course and its impact on her writing journey. Amy, initially felt there were missing pieces in her eighth novel's outline but she highlights four significant takeaways from the course regarding theme, content genre vs. commercial genre, structured scenes, and fast first draft and magical edits.

[18:46] Tanja Fabsits shares her experience with her first novel, and a significant realization during the course was related to scene structure, but her favorite takeaway was the overall feeling of relaxing into the outlining process.

[20:56] Morgan Schrock, with a background in scientific writing for journals, decided to write a fiction novel. Her most significant realization was that the middle of her story felt boring, and she identified the problem as a lack of agency for her main character. The course's outlining technique proved to be a game-changer for her.

Links mentioned in this episode:

Lindsay Sfara - Instagram
Liya Grey - Website, Instagram, Facebook
Ami Blackford - Website, Instagram, Facebook
Tanja Fabsits - Book
Morgan Shrock - X, Instagram
Free Workshop - The Confident Writer's Roadmap

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Transcript

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0:00.0	Hey there, before we dive into today's episode, I wanted to share something super exciting with you.
0:04.8	I have a brand new master class called The Confident Writers Roadmap Five Steps to
0:09.0	Writing a Novel without letting perfectionism or procrastination get in the way.
0:13.2	And I'd like to invite you to sign up.
0:15.2	In this free master class, I'm going to cover things like where perfectionism comes from and
0:19.4	how it's directly linked to procrastination.
0:22.1	I'm also going to talk about the problem with popular plotting methods and
0:25.2	how they can do more harm than good, especially if you're brand new to writing.
0:28.9	And maybe most importantly, I'm going to share some of the most common mistakes I see writers make so you can avoid them and make
0:34.7	this the year that you finish your novel. Now of course we're all going to make mistakes but fewer is
0:39.2	always better right so come join me for this free masterclass you can sign up at savanna gillboe.com forward slash finish.
0:46.4	It's totally free and there are a few different days and times that you can choose from.
0:50.2	One more time that's savanna gillboe.com forward slash finish. It's going to be super fun and I hope to see you there
0:58.2	The plan is a plan and you should be going back to it and constantly kind of revising it and reassessing it and fixing it.
1:05.2	And that was also mind-blowing to me because it meant that I could erase the deadlines like
1:10.0	they were a line in the sand that I couldn't move.
1:15.4	Welcome to the Fiction Writing Made Easy Podcast.
1:18.2	My name is Savannah Gilboo and I'm here to help you write a story that works.
1:22.4	I want to prove to you that writing a novel
1:24.0	doesn't have to be overwhelming. So each week I'll bring you a brand new episode
1:28.0	with simple, actionable, and step-by-step strategies that you can implement in your writing right away.
1:34.0	So whether you're brand new to writing or more of a seasoned author looking to improve your craft,
	...

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