If you've been working on your novel for a while, you've probably hit a point where you just kind of stall out,

where you open the document, stare at the screen, and have no idea what's supposed to happen next.

If you can relate, then I want you to know that where you're stuck isn't random.

It's actually a clue.

And by the end of this episode, you'll know exactly what your stuck point is trying to tell you,

as well as exactly what to do about it so you can start moving forward again.

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 or more of a seasoned author looking to improve your craft,

this podcast is for you.

So pick up a pen and let's get started.

Almost every writer who stalls out while outlining or drafting their novel assumes the same thing, that getting stuck means

you're not cut out to write a book or that you don't have the discipline to finish one,

or that you're just missing some magical writer gene that everybody else happened to get.

And yes, these are reasonable things to assume,

but they are also wrong. Because getting stuck usually isn't about you at all. It's about your

story and more specifically a piece of your story you haven't defined clearly enough yet. And that's

genuinely good news because something like this is fixable. Now I do want to be fair and say that sometimes writers

stop writing or outlining for reasons that have nothing to do with their craft. Life gets full,

your energy gets low, a hard season just doesn't leave room for writing. All of that is, of course,

real and that's okay. But when you keep stalling in the same part of the outlining or drafting

...