#131: 5 Steps To Start Planning Your Book Series
27 Feb 2024
Contributed by Lukas
“The key to making books within a series work is to grow, escalate, and complicate the conflict an...
#130: How to Craft Romantic Chemistry & Tension Between Characters
20 Feb 2024
Contributed by Lukas
“ Flat or boring characters who are underdeveloped are never going to light up a scene, no matter ...
#129: Overcoming The Fear Of Marketing With Alexa Bigwarfe
13 Feb 2024
Contributed by Lukas
“Work on being a better writer and work on your craft and the other stuff will follow. As long as ...
#128: What Are Obligatory Scenes And Conventions?
06 Feb 2024
Contributed by Lukas
“When a story doesn't include these key scenes and conventions of its genre, it's just n...
#127: First Chapter Analysis: The Five People You Meet In Heaven by Mitch Albom
30 Jan 2024
Contributed by Lukas
“It might seem strange to start a story with an ending, but all endings are also beginnings. We ju...
#126: Save The Cat! Troubleshooting Common Plot Problems With Jessica Brody
23 Jan 2024
Contributed by Lukas
“Every time you write something hard, it changes you as a writer, and it makes you a better writer...
#125: Novel Writing Pitfalls: Don't Make These 5 Mistakes
16 Jan 2024
Contributed by Lukas
“ The purpose of a first draft is not to come up with something that's perfect. Instead, the ...
#124: Student Spotlight: 5 Lessons Learned from Notes to Novel (Season 3)
09 Jan 2024
Contributed by Lukas
“That's how much my writing's improved. But not just the writing, it's the ease. It...
#123: How To Overcome The 5 Types Of Imposter Syndrome
02 Jan 2024
Contributed by Lukas
“Try learning new skills and then putting what you learn into practice right away, because, at the...
#122: Counting Down The Best Writing Tips From FWME In 2023
26 Dec 2023
Contributed by Lukas
“My point is that you have to do the work to make the mistakes and learn.” - Savannah GilboThe p...
#121: 5 Takeaways From Coaching Writers in 2023
19 Dec 2023
Contributed by Lukas
“The more work you do up front and the more you get your mindset right, the more likely your chanc...
#120: First Chapter Analysis: Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros
12 Dec 2023
Contributed by Lukas
“I think that's really important at the end of every time that you write a scene. Ask yoursel...
#119: Student Spotlight: How Fern Bernstein Wrote A Dual Timeline Novel Based On The Edies of Grey Gardens
05 Dec 2023
Contributed by Lukas
“It's the inciting incident, the turning point, the crisis moment, the climax, and the resolu...
#118: How To Find The Major Dramatic Question Of Your Story
28 Nov 2023
Contributed by Lukas
“Every story has one main question that it raises in the beginning and answers by the end.” - Sa...
#117: Exploring the World of Beta and Sensitivity Reading with Julie Taylor from The Spun Yarn
21 Nov 2023
Contributed by Lukas
“As I kid I was like, I would love to get paid to read.” - Julie TaylorIn today’s episode, I’...
#116: First Chapter Analysis: Anxious People by Fredrik Backman
14 Nov 2023
Contributed by Lukas
“In every story, you want to have that internal change because, without internal change, there is ...
#115: Student Spotlight: How Anne Mortensen Went From Inspiration to Publication (& Indie Published Her Novels)
07 Nov 2023
Contributed by Lukas
“I tried to ignore it, but when inspiration strikes, sometimes the inspiration keeps striking, and...
#114: 3 Common Dialogue Mistakes (And How To Fix Them)
31 Oct 2023
Contributed by Lukas
“Dialogue is a form of action. We can utilize what's happening around the dialogue to assist ...
#113: First Chapter Analysis: The Magicians by Lev Grossman
24 Oct 2023
Contributed by Lukas
“I feel that emotional connection, the emotional struggles here are going to be a big gameplay in ...
#112: 5 Questions Your Reader Shouldn't Have To Ask
17 Oct 2023
Contributed by Lukas
You need to get readers asking questions to hook them into your story, but you don’t want them ask...
#111: Student Spotlight: From Messy First Draft to Publishing His Debut Novel With Edward J. Cembal
03 Oct 2023
Contributed by Lukas
In today’s episode, I’m sitting down with Edward J. Cembal to talk through what it was like to w...
#110: Is A Writing Course Really Worth it For Beginners?
26 Sep 2023
Contributed by Lukas
In today’s episode, I’m sharing my thoughts on writing courses—including 5 things that make a ...
#109: 5 Common Scene Issues (And How to Fix Them)
20 Sep 2023
Contributed by Lukas
In today’s episode, I’m sharing 5 of the most common “scene level” issues to look for when e...
#108: Why Your Capacity For Zero is Crucial As A Writer
14 Sep 2023
Contributed by Lukas
In today’s episode, I’m sharing one of my favorite mindset tips—and it all has to do with your...
#107: Email List Building Essentials For Authors
05 Sep 2023
Contributed by Lukas
In today’s episode, I’m sharing 3 steps to help you get started with list building. Here’s a p...
#106: 5 Steps to Building Your Author Platform
29 Aug 2023
Contributed by Lukas
In today’s episode, I’m sharing 5 steps to building an author platform. Here’s a preview of wh...
#105: First Chapter Analysis: Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus
22 Aug 2023
Contributed by Lukas
In today’s episode, Abigail K. Perry and I take a deep dive into the first chapter of Lessons in C...
#104: 10 Tips For Writing Better Dialogue
15 Aug 2023
Contributed by Lukas
In today’s episode, I’m sharing my top 10 tips for writing stronger, more impactful dialogue in ...
#103: Morality Genre Conventions
08 Aug 2023
Contributed by Lukas
In today’s episode, I’m covering the conventions of the morality genre using the movie A Man Cal...
#102: 3 Common Interiority Mistakes (and How to Fix Them)
01 Aug 2023
Contributed by Lukas
In today’s episode, I’m sharing the 3 most common interiority mistakes I see writers make, as we...
#101: First Chapter Analysis: Remarkably Bright Creatures by Shelby Van Pelt
25 Jul 2023
Contributed by Lukas
In today’s episode, Abigail K. Perry and I take a deep dive into the first chapter of Remarkably B...
#100: A Week in the Life: 7 Days Behind the Scenes with Savannah (July 2023)
18 Jul 2023
Contributed by Lukas
In today’s episode, I’m taking you behind the scenes with me throughout my entire week, and I’...
#99: 5 Mindset Tips to Help You Unlock Your Writing Potential
11 Jul 2023
Contributed by Lukas
In today’s episode, I’m sharing a round-up of mindset tips from some of my peers! Here’s a pre...
#98: How to Add Subplots to Your Novel
04 Jul 2023
Contributed by Lukas
In today’s episode, I’m sharing how to add subplots to your novel. Here’s a preview of what’...
#97: First Chapter Analysis: A Discovery of Witches by Deborah Harkness
27 Jun 2023
Contributed by Lukas
In today’s episode, we’re taking a deep dive into the first chapter of A Discovery of Witches by...
#96: 5 Worldbuilding Tips for Sci-Fi & Fantasy Writers
20 Jun 2023
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode, I’m sharing my top 5 worldbuilding tips for science fiction and fantasy writers, ...
#95: How to Start Writing Your Science Fiction or Fantasy Novel
13 Jun 2023
Contributed by Lukas
In today’s episode, I’m sharing my top five tips to help you get started with your science ficti...
#94: How to Reveal Your Character’s Inner Life on the Page
08 Jun 2023
Contributed by Lukas
In today’s episode, we’re going to talk about writing interiority—aka how to reveal your chara...
#93: First Chapter Analysis: Legendborn by Tracy Deonn
30 May 2023
Contributed by Lukas
In today’s episode, we’re taking a deep dive into the first chapter of Legendborn by Tracey Deon...
#92: The 5 Functions of Dialogue in Your Story
23 May 2023
Contributed by Lukas
In today’s episode, we’re going to look at the five functions of dialogue in your story. Here’...
#91: Student Spotlight: How She Went From First Draft to Landing Her Dream Agent with Jamie Varon
09 May 2023
Contributed by Lukas
In today’s episode, I’m sitting down with Jamie Varon to talk through her incredibly inspiring s...
#90: How to Choose the Best Point of View for Your Story
04 Apr 2023
Contributed by Lukas
In today’s episode, I’m going to walk you through how to choose the best point of view and tense...
#89: Student Spotlight: How She Used Short Stories to Hone Her Craft (and Publish Her Debut Novel) with Pauline Yates
21 Mar 2023
Contributed by Lukas
In today's episode, I’m sitting down with Pauline Yates to talk through how she used short st...
#88: Perfectionism vs. Procrastination: What's REALLY Going On?
14 Mar 2023
Contributed by Lukas
In today’s episode, I’m talking about how perfectionism is really just another form of procrasti...
#87: First Chapter Analysis: The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by V.E. Schwab
28 Feb 2023
Contributed by Lukas
In today’s episode, we’re taking a deep dive into the first chapter of The Invisible Life of Add...
#86: A Week in the Life: 7 Days Behind the Scenes with Savannah (February 2023)
21 Feb 2023
Contributed by Lukas
In today’s episode, I’m taking you behind-the-scenes with me throughout my entire week, and I’...
#85: Student Spotlight: How She Overcame Her Fear of the Blank Page (and Indie Published Her Novel) with Jennifer Lauer
14 Feb 2023
Contributed by Lukas
In today's episode, I’m sitting down with Jennifer Lauer to talk through how she overcame her...
#84: The 6 Scenes Every Status Story Needs
07 Feb 2023
Contributed by Lukas
In today’s episode, I’m covering the key scenes that every status story needs. I’ve also inclu...
Bonus: Ask Savannah (Listener Q&A)
02 Feb 2023
Contributed by Lukas
In today's extra special bonus episode, I'm going to answer some questions from my listene...
#83: What Kind Of Editor Do You Need For Your Book?
31 Jan 2023
Contributed by Lukas
In today's episode, we’re going to talk through the different types of editors you might need...
#82: Show, Don't Tell: What This Advice Really Means
24 Jan 2023
Contributed by Lukas
In today’s episode, I’m sharing what the advice to “show, don’t tell” really means (and sp...
#81: First Chapter Analysis: Ugly Love by Colleen Hoover
18 Jan 2023
Contributed by Lukas
In today’s episode, we’re taking a deep dive into the first chapter of Ugly Love by Colleen Hoov...
#80: Student Spotlight: 5 Lessons Learned From Writing a First Draft
10 Jan 2023
Contributed by Lukas
In today’s episode, I asked five of my Notes to Novel students to share their biggest lessons lear...
#79: 3 Things to Focus on if You’re a Brand New Writer
03 Jan 2023
Contributed by Lukas
In today’s episode, I’m going to share the three things to focus on if you’re a brand new writ...
#78: Counting Down The Best Writing Tips From FWME In 2022
27 Dec 2022
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode, I'm doing a little countdown of some of the best and most listened-to clips fr...
#77: 5 Takeaways from Coaching Writers in 2022
20 Dec 2022
Contributed by Lukas
In today’s episode, I’m sharing some of the key takeaways I learned from coaching writers in 202...
#76: Student Spotlight: The Power of Outlining (and How He Finished a First Draft in 3 Months) With James Beswick
13 Dec 2022
Contributed by Lukas
In today's episode, I’m sitting down with James Beswick to talk through his incredibly inspir...
#75: Crime Genre Conventions
06 Dec 2022
Contributed by Lukas
In today's episode, I’m covering the conventions of the crime genre. This includes the charac...
#74: When Should You Write in Scene vs. Summary?
29 Nov 2022
Contributed by Lukas
In today's episode, I’m covering the difference between writing in scene versus writing in su...
#73: The 4 Phases of Editing: How to Revise Your Novel
22 Nov 2022
Contributed by Lukas
In today's episode, we’re going to talk about how to edit your messy first draft without slip...
#72: The 6 Scenes Every Morality Story Needs
15 Nov 2022
Contributed by Lukas
In today's episode, I’m covering the key scenes that every morality story needs. I’ve also ...
#71: Student Spotlight: How She Wrote a Novel in 6 Months (and Landed an Agent 10 Months Later) with Stefanie Medrek
08 Nov 2022
Contributed by Lukas
In today's episode, I’m sitting down with Stefanie Medrek to talk through her incredibly insp...
#70: Status Genre Conventions
01 Nov 2022
Contributed by Lukas
In today's episode, I'm going to walk you through the conventions of the status genre. I&a...
#69: First Chapter Analysis: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows
26 Oct 2022
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode, we're taking a deep dive into the first chapter of Harry Potter and the Deathl...
#68: First Chapter Analysis: Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
18 Oct 2022
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode, we're taking a deep dive into the first chapter of Harry Potter and the Half B...
#67: The Pros And Cons Of Independent Publishing
11 Oct 2022
Contributed by Lukas
In today’s episode, I’m going to walk you through the pros and cons of indie publishing. Here’...
#66: The Pros And Cons Of Traditional Publishing
04 Oct 2022
Contributed by Lukas
In today’s episode, I’m going to walk you through the pros and cons of traditional publishing. H...
#65: First Chapter Analysis: Harry Potter & the Order of the Phoenix with Abigail Perry
20 Sep 2022
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode, we're taking a deep dive into the first chapter of Harry Potter and the Order ...
#64: First Chapter Analysis: Harry Potter & the Goblet of Fire with Abigail Perry
06 Sep 2022
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode, we're taking a deep dive into the first chapter of Harry Potter and the Goblet...
#63: Don't Start a Scene Without These 3 Things
23 Aug 2022
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode, I'm sharing the three contextual elements you'll want to include at the b...
#62: The 6 Key Scenes Every Crime Novel Needs
11 Aug 2022
Contributed by Lukas
In today's episode, we're going to talk about the key scenes that every crime story needs ...
#61: First Chapter Analysis: Harry Potter & the Prisoner of Azkaban with Abigail Perry
19 Jul 2022
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode, we're taking a deep dive into the first chapter of Harry Potter and the Prison...
#60: First Chapter Analysis: Harry Potter & the Chamber of Secrets with Abigail Perry
14 Jul 2022
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode, we're taking a deep dive into the first chapter of Harry Potter and the Chambe...
#59: First Chapter Analysis: Harry Potter & the Sorcerer's Stone with Abigail Perry
25 May 2022
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode, we're taking a deep dive into the first chapter of Harry Potter and the Sorcer...
#58: 10 Querying Mistakes (and How to Avoid Them)
18 May 2022
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode, I'm sharing the 10 most common querying mistakes I see writers make and how to...
Bonus: Be A Bestseller 3.0 Summit Interview with Emma Dhesi
15 Mar 2022
Contributed by Lukas
In today’s extra special bonus episode, I'm sharing an interview I did earlier this year with...
#57: Action Genre Conventions
15 Feb 2022
Contributed by Lukas
In today's episode, I'm going to walk you through the conventions of the action genre. I&a...
#56: 5 Reasons Why Readers Stop Reading
03 Feb 2022
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode, I'm exploring 5 reasons why readers might stop reading a novel. Here's a ...
#55: 3 Tips for Writing a First Draft in 90 Days
18 Jan 2022
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode, I'm sharing three tips for writing a first draft in 90 days. Here's a pre...
#54: How to Test Your Story Idea Before Writing
11 Jan 2022
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode, I'm sharing two of my favorite ways to test out a story idea before you start ...
#53: Counting Down the Best Writing Tips from FWME in 2021
21 Dec 2021
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode, I'm doing my own little countdown of some of the best and most listened to cli...
#52: 5 Takeaways From Coaching Writers in 2021
14 Dec 2021
Contributed by Lukas
In today’s episode, I'm sharing some of the lessons I learned from coaching writers this year...
#51: 3 Tips for Writing Unforgettable Secondary Characters
07 Dec 2021
Contributed by Lukas
In today's episode, I'll walk you through three tips for crafting unforgettable supporting...
#50: Save the Cat! The Ending Beats
08 Sep 2021
Contributed by Lukas
In today's episode, I'm going to walk you through the beats that make up the end of a stor...
#49: Save the Cat! The Middle Beats (Part 2)
24 Aug 2021
Contributed by Lukas
In today's episode, I'm going to walk you through the beats that make up the second half o...
#48: Save the Cat! The Middle Beats (Part 1)
13 Jul 2021
Contributed by Lukas
In today's episode, I'm going to walk you through the beats that make up the first half of...
#47: Save the Cat! The Beginning Beats
22 Jun 2021
Contributed by Lukas
In today's episode, I'm going to walk you through the beginning beats of Blake Snyder&apos...
#46: The 6 Scenes Every Worldview Novel Needs
01 Jun 2021
Contributed by Lukas
In today's episode, we're going to talk about the key scenes that every worldview story ne...
#45: How to Deal With Imposter Syndrome
25 May 2021
Contributed by Lukas
In today's episode, I'm sharing three strategies that will help you overcome imposter synd...
#44: Performance Genre Conventions
18 May 2021
Contributed by Lukas
In today's episode, I'm going to walk you through the conventions of the performance genre...
#43: 10 Tips for Writing Better Scenes
20 Apr 2021
Contributed by Lukas
In today's episode, I'm sharing my top ten tips for writing better scenes. Here's a p...
#42: 10 Reasons Why Novels Get Rejected
30 Mar 2021
Contributed by Lukas
In today's episode, I'm going to walk you through 10 common reasons why manuscripts are re...
#41: The 6 Scenes Every Action Novel Needs
09 Mar 2021
Contributed by Lukas
In today's episode, we're going to talk about the key scenes that every action story needs...
#40: How to Write a Well-Structured Scene
23 Feb 2021
Contributed by Lukas
In today's episode, I'm going to walk you through how to write a well-structured scene. I&...
#39: The #1 Reason Why So Many Novels Go Unfinished
16 Feb 2021
Contributed by Lukas
In today's episode, we’re going to talk about why so many novels go unfinished, and what to d...
#38: Romance Genre Conventions
09 Feb 2021
Contributed by Lukas
In today's episode, I'm going to walk you through the conventions of the romance genre. I&...
#37: 5 Questions to Ask Before Writing a First Draft
26 Jan 2021
Contributed by Lukas
In today's episode, I'm going to walk you through five questions to ask before you start w...
#36: What is a Book Coach?
19 Jan 2021
Contributed by Lukas
In today's episode, I'm going to cover all the different ways a book coach can help you fi...
#35: 3 Reasons Why You're Not Writing
12 Jan 2021
Contributed by Lukas
In today's episode, I'm going to cover three roadblocks that might be keeping you from wri...
#34: How to Plan Your Writing Projects for the New Year
05 Jan 2021
Contributed by Lukas
In today's episode, I'm going to walk you through how to plan out your writing projects fo...