#205. How Story Structure Can Free Your Creativity and Help You Finish Your Novel

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

🗓️ 5 August 2025

⏱️ 15 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

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 sm...

Transcript

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0:00.0	If you've been stuck in someday mode, endlessly researching, planning, and second-guessing your story
0:05.0	idea instead of actually writing, I have something that's going to change everything for you.
0:09.5	I'm hosting a brand new, live, three-day boot camp called Stop Overthinking and Start Writing.
0:14.9	It's happening from August 13th through 15th, and it's designed specifically for writers who are
0:19.9	tired of being stuck in their own heads. In just three days, you'll break through the perfectionism and it's designed specifically for writers who are tired of being stuck in their own
0:21.4	heads. In just three days, you'll break through the perfectionism and overwhelm that's been
0:25.6	keeping you trapped, and you'll walk away with three game-changing wins, a rock-solid completion
0:30.8	date that actually fits your life and your schedule, a proven framework to stop overthinking and
0:35.7	start writing forward, and a powerful logline
0:38.1	that captures the heart of your story. We've had over 100 writers sign up already, and for just
0:43.1	$27, you can join us too. Head over to savannahgilbo.com forward slash bootcamp to save your
0:49.0	spot before doors close. One more time, that's savannahgilbo.com forward slash boot camp. Hope to see you there.
0:55.9	So here's what writers who resist structure don't realize they're sacrificing.
1:00.9	They're sacrificing the joy of forward momentum. And what I mean by this is that when you don't
1:05.9	know where you're going, every writing session becomes a struggle. You spend more time thinking
1:10.8	than writing, more time
1:12.2	doubting than creating, and none of that is very fun, right? They're also sacrificing the
1:17.4	satisfaction of completion, so those drawers full of unfinished manuscripts, well, they're monuments
1:22.9	to the myth that structure kills creativity, when in reality, lack of structure is what really killed
1:28.8	those stories.
1:32.3	Welcome to the fiction writing made easy podcast. My name is Savannah Gilbo, and I'm here to help
1:37.6	you write a story that works. I want to prove to you that writing a novel doesn't have to be
	...

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