#95: How to Start Writing Your Science Fiction or Fantasy 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

🗓️ 13 June 2023

⏱️ 22 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

In today’s episode, I’m sharing my top five tips to help you get started with your science fiction or fantasy novel. Here’s a preview of what’s included:

[00:00] Step 1: Decide what kind of fantasy or science fiction story you’re writing. Find both the commercial genre and content genre of your story.
[00:00] Step 2: Determine what your protagonist wants and needs. Look to your content genre for guidance, and then make your answer specific to your story idea
[00:00] Step 3: Figure out what kind of conflict your protagonist will face as they pursue their goal. Consider both the external and internal conflict.
[00:00] Step 4: Flesh out your story world. Where and when does your story take place? Focus on a few areas to go deep in—and don’t worry about figuring everything out!
[00:00] Step 5: Summarize the beginning, middle, and end of your story. Write a 1-2 sentence logline and a 2-3 paragraph synopsis that focuses on the primary storyline
[00:00] Final thoughts and episode recap

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Links mentioned in this episode:

Ep. 2 - How to Choose the Right Genre For Your Story
Ep. 7 - 5 Questions to Help You Write Better Characters
Ep. 14 - How to Handle Character Backstory in Your Novel
Want to get on the waitlist for my Notes to Novel course? Click here to sign up—doors are opening up again very soon and there will be an early bird discount, but only if you’re on the waitlist!

FREE RESOURCE: Need help getting started with your story? This workbook will help you flesh out the foundational elements of your story so you can start writing with confidence and ease. Get your free copy here →

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Transcript

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0:00.0	Real quick, my five-day live challenge called Unlock Your Story is about to begin.
0:04.7	We're about to shut down enrollment and get started on September 28th,
0:08.5	so I wanted to give you one last chance to head over to SavannahGilbo.com forward slash
0:13.3	challenge to save your seat before your chance is gone. If writing a novel has been a dream of yours
0:18.0	for a while or something on your to-do list that you'd really like to check off,
0:22.2	then join me inside the Unlock Your Story Challenge, where I'll help you develop the four
0:26.4	foundational elements of a working story idea. A plot that hooks interest at protagonists
0:30.8	with a compelling goal, conflict with high stakes, and a theme with heart in just five days.
0:35.6	It's only $47 to join, but the doors are closing very, very soon. You can either
0:40.2	head to savannagilbo.com forward slash challenge to sign up, or you can find me on Instagram
0:45.1	at savanna.gilbo and send me a DM with the word challenge. If you DM me the word challenge,
0:50.1	I will send you a link with all the details you need to join. Hope to see you there.
0:54.3	Try really hard to just focus on the two to three things that will matter,
0:58.0	and then kind of extrapolate out that story logic from there. So if you change the weather,
1:02.9	what does that mean? If you take away a resource like I'm thinking of Dune,
1:07.1	there's not a lot of water on a rockess, right? So what does that do to the rest of the world?
1:12.0	Think about two to three things and extrapolate from there, and you'll be much better off
1:15.6	than trying to figure out everything. Welcome to the Fiction Writing Made Easy Podcast.
1:21.9	My name is savannagilbo, and I'm here to help you write a story that works.
1:26.0	I want to prove to you that writing a novel doesn't have to be overwhelming.
1:29.6	So each week, I'll bring you a brand new episode with simple, actionable, and step-by-step
1:34.4	strategies that you can implement in your writing right away. So whether you're brand new to writing
	...

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