#250. Why Your First Draft Doesn't Match the Book in Your Head (with Gala Russ)
episode
Fiction Writing Made Easy with Savannah Gilbo | How to Write a Novel & Writing Advice
48 min
1 speaker
8 chapters
transcribed 1 month ago
Transcript
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Transcript generated automatically by AI and may contain errors.
Why does my first draft feel so different from the story in my head?
Writing a novel can feel frustrating when you keep getting stuck in the same patterns, whether that's struggling to find time, rewriting the same chapters, or getting overwhelmed by too much advice. To help you out, I created a free guide called Five Writing Roadblocks Keeping You Stuck and How to Break Through. This guide will help you identify what's really slowing you down and find a clearer path forward. You can grab that for free at savannagilbo.com forward. slash roadblocks. One more time that's savanna gilbo.com forward slash roadblocks. We will also put that link for you in the show notes. Now let's get into the episode.
If you are trying to write because you like writing, then it's a very different thing from, oh, I want to write a book because I want to be a best selling author and go to my book club and show, oh, I wrote this book. It is a very different extrinsic motivation versus the intrinsic motivation. And if you know what is important to you and if you're writing because you love writing, then it is easier to, for me, make the hard choices because then you start deciding this is gonna be my priority then. And if writing is my priority, then I need to find time for writing.
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. I want you to close your eyes for a second and picture this. You sit down to write, you finish a chapter, you read it back, and there's this moment, maybe small, maybe gut punching, where you realize the words on the page don't match the story in your head, and that the book you're capable of imagining and the book you're currently capable of writing are not the same book.
If you've ever felt that way, you are not the only one. There's actually a name for it, and there's a Reason it shows up most strongly in writers who are also serious, lifelong readers, which, if you're listening to this podcast, I'm assuming you are. Now, that gap is actually what we're going to talk about today. So, in today's episode, I'm joined by the wonderful Gala Russ. Gala is a book coach and a publishing strategist who's written 15 novels and self-published, nine of them under her pen name Willa Drew. She works with writers both on the Craft side, so diagnosing what's working and what's not working in their manuscripts, as well as on the strategy side, helping writers figure out which publishing path is right for them.
In this conversation, we're going to get into what first drafts actually look like behind the scenes, and spoiler alert, they are not very pretty. We're also going to talk about why comparing yourself to other writers is a trap that's keeping you stuck, when to keep working on your book versus when it's time to let an idea. idea go and what to do when you've been studying writing for years and still haven't finished a draft. No matter where you're at on your writing journey, I think you're going to love this episode, so let's go ahead and dive right in. Hi Gala, welcome to the Fiction Writing Made Easy Podcast. I'm so happy to have you here today.
Hi. Hi, Savannah. I'm so happy to be here today as well. It's so exciting to talk to you about a lot of things.
A lot of things. Yeah. We're gonna dive off the deep end today. But before we get into that, can you, in your own words, introduce yourself to my audience and let us know who you are, what you do, and things like that.
I am a book coach and a publishing strategist. As a book coach, I tend to be a diagnostician. So a lot of times I look at people's work and or their partial manuscripts and I can see what are the craft things that they don't necessarily understand.
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Chapters
8 chapters
1
Why does my first draft feel so different from the story in my head?
0:00–3:47
2
What is the “taste gap” and why does it affect avid readers?
3:47–8:47
3
How should a real first draft look and why is messiness okay?
8:47–14:30
4
When should I keep revising a manuscript versus moving on to a new idea?
14:30–20:37
5
How does the sunk‑cost fallacy trap writers into endless rewrites?
20:37–26:49
6
Why won’t more craft books fix a stuck draft and what hidden blocks keep me frozen?
26:49–32:58
7
What practical strategies can I use to find writing time in a busy life?
32:58–39:19
8
How can I close the taste‑skill gap and turn my messy draft into a finished book?
39:19–48:39
Speakers
1 identifiedMore from Fiction Writing Made Easy with Savannah Gilbo | How to Write a Novel & Writing Advice
#261. 5 Mistakes Writers Make Using the Save the Cat! Beat Sheet
#260. Student Spotlight: From Stuck at 25k Words to a Finished Draft With Lindsay Sfara
#259. How to Finish a Novel With Kids at Home & Limited Writing Time
#258. 5 Myths Keeping You From Finishing Your First Draft
#257. Stuck in Chapter One or the Messy Middle? What Your Stuck Point Reveals
#256. Why “Just Start Writing” Can Be Terrible Advice for New Writers