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

Rate + Review + Follow on Apple Podcasts

"I love the Fiction Writing Made Easy podcast!" ← If that sounds like you, please consider rating and reviewing this show! Your rating and review will help other writers find this podcast, and they're also super fun for me to go in and read. Just click here, scroll all the way to the bottom, tap five stars to rate the show, and then select "Write a Review." Be sure to let me know what your favorite part of the episode was, too!

Also, if you haven't done so already, make sure you're following the podcast! I'll be adding a bunch of bonus episodes to the feed, and if you're not following the show, there's a good chance you'll miss them. Click here to follow now!

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 →

Interested in becoming a book coach? Author Accelerator a 5-day Book Coaching Business Plan Challenge to help you determine your next steps. Click here to sign up and use promo code PODCAST to get 50% off the enrollment price!

Support the show

Want to support the Fiction Writing Made Easy Podcast? Click here to show your support, starting at $3/month >

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0	Hey there, I have a quick note for any listeners who are fairly confident they'd make a great book
0:04.2	coach but aren't quite as confident about running their own business. If this is you,
0:08.2	I want you to go check out author accelerators book coaching business plan challenge.
0:12.2	When you sign up, you'll receive a step-by-step workbook to define who you are as a coach,
0:16.3	a pricing framework to follow so you know how much to charge, and a business strategy to create
0:20.7	a sustainable coaching business. And right now author accelerator is offering all fiction writing
0:25.5	made easy listeners 50% off this $99 challenge. So if you want to dip your toe in the water and find
0:31.1	out if book coaching is right for you, go to savannahillbow.com forward slash coach and enter the code
0:36.2	podcast at checkout to claim your 50% off. Try really hard to just focus on the two to three things
0:42.5	that will matter and then kind of extrapolate out that story logic from there. So if you change
0:47.4	the weather, what does that mean? If you take away a resource like I'm thinking of Dune, there's
0:52.5	not a lot of water on a raqqis, right? So what does that do to the rest of the world? Think
0:57.5	about two to three things and extrapolate from there and you'll be much better off than trying to
1:01.3	figure out everything. Welcome to the fiction writing made easy podcast. My name is savannahillbow
1:08.4	and I'm here to help you write a story that works. I want to prove to you that writing a novel
1:13.0	doesn't have to be overwhelming. So each week I'll bring you a brand new episode with simple,
1:18.0	actionable and step-by-step strategies that you can implement in your writing right away. So
1:23.1	whether you're brand new to writing or more of a seasoned author looking to improve your craft,
1:27.1	this podcast is for you. So pick up a pen and let's get started.
1:32.4	In today's episode, we're going to talk about how to start writing your science fiction or
1:36.6	fantasy novel. And I know this has been a highly anticipated topic, so I'm very excited to dig
1:41.8	into it today. If you want to write science fiction or fantasy or if you've ever gotten stuck
	...

Please login to see the full transcript.

Previous episode | Next episode

Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from Savannah Gilbo, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.

Generated transcripts are the property of Savannah Gilbo and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.