#251. Student Spotlight: 5 Lessons Learned from Notes to Novel (Season 8)

About this episode

In this episode, Savannah Gilbo shares five lessons learned from students of the Notes to Novel program who overcame various writing challenges.

What does it look like to go from feeling stuck, overwhelmed, or unsure about your novel…to finally making real progress? In this episode, I'm sharing five clips from past Notes to Novel students who all came into the program stuck in different ways—overwhelmed by story structure, trapped in research rabbit holes, or sitting on drafts that existed on paper, but still weren't clicking. And underneath it all was the same frustrating feeling: each writer knew they had a story worth telling...

People in this episode

Host: Savannah Gilbo

Topics covered

• writing progress
• overcoming writer's block
• story structure
• creative writing
• student experiences

Keywords

• novel writing
• creative writing tips
• student spotlight
• writing challenges
• fiction writing

Mentioned in this episode

Books & works: Notes to Novel

More episodes of Fiction Writing Made Easy with Savannah Gilbo | How to Write a Novel & Writing Advice

• Bonus: How 3 Writers Found a Clear Path Through All the Writing Advice · September 1, 2026 · 18 min
• #262. 10 Tips to Make Your Enemies to Lovers Romance Feel Believable · August 25, 2026 · 29 min
• #261. 5 Mistakes Writers Make Using the Save the Cat! Beat Sheet · August 18, 2026 · 23 min
• #260. Student Spotlight: From Stuck at 25k Words to a Finished Draft With Lindsay Sfara · August 11, 2026 · 40 min
• #259. How to Finish a Novel With Kids at Home & Limited Writing Time · August 4, 2026 · 25 min
• #258. 5 Myths Keeping You From Finishing Your First Draft · July 28, 2026 · 22 min