#242. 5 Revision Mistakes That Keep Writers Stuck in Editing Hell

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

Savannah Gilbo

Education, Writing Advice, Plotting A Novel, Editing A Novel, Character Arcs, Fiction Writing Mistakes To Avoid, Story Development, Fiction Writing Tips, How To Outline A Novel, Character Development, Story Structure, Books, World Building, Arts, Writing Stronger Scenes, How To, Fiction

4.9 • 1.6K Ratings

🗓️ 7 April 2026

⏱️ 21 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

You finished your first draft. And for a minute, it felt amazing. But then you open your manuscript to revise, and suddenly everything feels unclear. Where do you start? What do you fix first? And how do you know if anything you're changing is actually making your story better? And at a certain point, it starts to feel like the problem might be your draft. But most of the time, it's not. It's the way you're approaching revision. That's why in this episode, I'm walking you through the five mos...

Transcript

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0:00.0	Before we dive in, if you've finished a draft and have no idea where to start, or if you've
0:04.4	been revising for months and still can't tell if you're making your story better or just
0:09.0	different, then this is for you. That confusion and overwhelm your feeling, it's not a sign
0:14.3	your story is broken or that you're a bad writer. It just means you don't have a proven process
0:19.3	for revision yet. The revision accelerator
0:21.5	is my brand new five-day live workshop where I'll teach you my exact process for diagnosing
0:27.3	your manuscript and building a clear revision plan so you know exactly what's working, what's not
0:32.8	working, and why, as well as what to fix first. We start with our very first training on April 16th,
0:38.6	and I'd love to see you there. Save your spot at savannahgilbo.com forward slash revision.
0:43.8	One more time, that's savannah gilbo.com forward slash revision. Without that clarity,
0:49.3	every decision you make in revision is just a guess. And guessing over and over and over is exhausting, whether
0:56.4	you've been at it for months or you're just getting started. So the key point here is that once you
1:01.3	know what you're revising toward, then everything changes. You're no longer just asking,
1:06.4	is this good? Am I making my story better? It's more like you're asking, is this draft now doing what
1:12.3	I need the story to do or what I envisioned in my head or what readers would expect? And those are
1:18.0	questions that you can actually answer. And in doing so, the target that you're revising towards
1:22.3	gets more specific and more actionable.
1:33.0	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
1:37.4	overwhelming. So each week I'll bring you a brand new episode with simple, actionable, and
1:42.6	step-by-step strategies that you can implement in your
1:45.3	writing right away. So whether you're brand new to writing or more of a seasoned author looking
1:49.6	to improve your craft, this podcast is for you. So pick up a pen and let's get started.
	...

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