#223. Permission to Start: How to Move Past ‘Not Ready Yet’ and Finish Your Novel

Fiction Writing Made Easy | Top Creative Writing Podcast for Fiction Writers & Writing Tips

Savannah Gilbo

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

4.9 • 1.5K Ratings

🗓️ 9 December 2025

⏱️ 15 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Discover why “I’m not ready yet” is a fear-driven mindset and learn how to take small, confident steps that move your novel forward. So many writers get trapped in the feeling that they need more time, more research, or more clarity before they can truly start their first draft. And on the surface, that sounds reasonable. But most of the time, “I’m not ready yet” is a sign that you're scared to make the wrong choice, afraid to write something imperfect, or petrified you won't live up to your ...

Transcript

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0:00.0	Have you ever wondered why some writing advice leaves you more confused than when you started?
0:04.8	Or maybe you've been stuck trying to figure out exactly what steps to take next in your writing
0:09.6	journey? Either way, I've got something fun and super insightful for you. I created a free quiz that
0:15.3	will help you discover your exact next steps to move forward with your novel in just 30 seconds.
0:20.8	All you have to do is answer
0:21.9	a few quick questions and then bam. You'll get a personalized roadmap tailored specifically to
0:27.0	where you are in your writing journey right now. Plus, I'll send you a customized 10-episode
0:32.2	podcast playlist, as well as additional resources specifically chosen for where you're at to help you start making
0:38.4	lots of progress and get to that next big milestone, whether that's finishing your first draft,
0:43.4	revising your novel, or publishing your book. So if you're curious, head over to savannahgilbo.com
0:49.1	forward slash quiz to take the quiz now. One more time, that's savannah gilbo.com forward slash quiz to take the
0:55.9	quiz and get a personalized roadmap tailored to where you're at in your writing, editing, or
1:00.3	publishing journey. When you make this mindset shift, then everything really does change. You stop
1:06.0	waiting for confidence to arrive and you start building that confidence through action. You
1:10.6	stop accumulating
1:11.5	information and start accumulating pages. And you finally experience what it feels like to make
1:17.0	real, tangible progress on the story that you've been carrying around in your head.
1:24.3	Welcome to the Fiction Writing Made Easy podcast. My name is Savannah Gilbo, and I'm here to help you write a story that works. I want to prove to you that writing a novel doesn't have to be overwhelming. So each week, I'll bring you a brand new episode with simple, actionable, and step-by-step strategies that you can implement in your writing right away. So whether you're brand new to writing
1:44.6	or more of a seasoned author looking to improve your craft, this podcast is for you. So pick up a
1:49.8	pen and let's get started. In today's episode, we're talking about something I hear from aspiring
1:56.0	writers all the time. And that is, I'm just not ready to write my novel yet. Maybe you've said these
2:01.9	words yourself, maybe you're feeling this way right now, like you just need to do a little more
	...

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