Fiction Writing Made Easy

#156. Student Spotlight: 5 Lessons Learned from Notes to Novel (Season 4)


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Do you ever wish you could see a behind-the-scenes look at how other people write? 

In this episode, you’ll get to hear directly from five of my Notes to Novel students as they share how they brainstormed, outlined, and wrote their books inside the Notes to Novel course. I asked each of them to share the biggest thing that helped them get to “The End” of their drafts, and that’s exactly what they’re sharing with you today.

In the episode, you’ll hear things like:

  • [01:50] How fast drafting and using placeholders for pending details helped Poornika finish a 114,000-word draft in only 88 days 
  • [04:50] How Alison learned to embrace scene structure (and what this did in terms of her ability to write a first draft)
  • [07:40] How a small mindset shift around outlining gave Mark a framework to develop his ideas (without stifling his creativity or ability to have fun)
  • [12:10] How Sharon’s critique group noticed an improvement in her writing after she learned how to write a well-structured scene
  • [16:30] How Rhonda defeated her inner critic that used to tell her she was too old to write—and how she finished an 80,000-word first draft

Trust me when I say that you will find these writers’ stories so inspirational! I had so much fun putting together this episode and can’t wait to share their insights with you!

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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:

  • Poornika Kakkanaiah’s website and Instagram
  • Alison Ten Cate’s Instagram
  • Sharon England’s Instagram
  • Mark Mrozinski’s website and Instagram

Click here to register for my FREE training: 3 Things You Need to Write Your Novel in 2025.

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Fiction Writing Made EasyBy Savannah Gilbo

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