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; they just couldn't figure out how to get it out of their head and onto the page in a way they felt good about.

You'll hear what shifted for these writers once they stopped piecing things together on their own and started working from a clear, proven framework they could trust.

If you've been second-guessing yourself, rewriting the same chapters, or quietly wondering whether you're capable of finishing your novel, there's a good chance you'll recognize yourself somewhere in this episode.

Here's what we cover:

[03:09] How Sheila (a longtime pantser) went from avoiding structure completely to discovering that outlining actually made drafting feel more creative, not less.

[07:17] How Liz (a perfectionist) realized endless research was keeping her stuck, and the simple "put a pin in it" mindset shift that kept her draft moving forward.

[12:28] Why Hanna's draft started flowing faster once she gave herself permission to write messy scenes instead of trying to get every scene right the first time.

[19:15] What Nikki learned from rebuilding her antagonist three times before her protagonist, conflict, and story finally started working together.

[24:24] What changed when Brady reconnected with the deeper reason he wanted to write a novel—and how it silenced his inner imposter for good.

Ready to finish your novel without second-guessing every word, sentence, or scene? Join Sheila, Liz, Hanna, Nikki, Brady, and hundreds of other writers inside Notes to Novel who've discovered that drafting doesn't have to feel hard. You just need the right roadmap.

Get on the waitlist for the next round of Notes to Novel and get my complete, step-by-step framework to turn your ideas into a finished, easy-to-edit first draft you love. The link is below.

🔗 Links mentioned in this episode:

• Get on The Notes to Novel Waitlist
• Take Author Success Quiz (FREE)
• Ep. 176 - 5 Lessons Learned from Notes to Novel (Season 5)
• Ep. 208 - 5 Lessons Learned from Notes to Novel (Season 6)
• Ep. 230 - 5 Lessons Learned from Notes to Novel (Season 7)

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If you loved this episode, please take a moment to follow the show and leave a review on Apple Podcasts! Your review will help other writers find this podcast and get the insights they need to finish their books. Thanks for tuning in to The Fiction Writing Made Easy Podcast! See you next week!

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👉 Looking for a transcript? If you’re listening on Apple Podcasts or Spotify, scroll down below the episode player until you see the transcript.

A book coach who's written 15 novels pulls back the curtain on what's really happening when your messy first draft disappoints you.

Ever finished a chapter, read it back, and realized the words on the page don't match the story in your head? There's a name for that. It's called the “taste gap,” and it often shows up among serious, lifelong readers.

In this episode, I sit down with book coach and publishing strategist Gala Russ (who's written 15 novels) to talk about the taste gap, what a first draft is supposed to look like, and why messy writing is the whole point.

This one's for you if you've studied writing for years but still struggle to finish your first draft. Because the taste gap closes when you practice writing more than researching it.

Here’s what we talk about:

[04:41] Why no number of finished pages ever makes you feel like a real writer, and the loaded questions non-writers often ask that get inside your head.

[13:55] What a real first draft actually looks like behind the scenes and why a scrappy, hodgepodge, messy manuscript is usually a good sign.[19:04] The taste gap explained: why being an avid reader who knows what ‘good’ is can make your own draft feel like the worst thing you've ever read.

[23:52] How to know when a book needs more revision, when it’s okay to walk away, and the sunk cost fallacy trap that keeps writers rewriting forever.

[38:37] Why more craft books won't fix a stuck draft, the hidden blocks keeping writers frozen, and Gala's creative workaround for finding writing time in a busy life.

Here's what I want you to take away from this episode. The fact that you can read a great book, feel moved by it, then look at your own draft and feel like it's not measuring up, that is not a sign you're not meant to be a writer. It's a sign your taste has developed faster than your skills. And skills are built by writing, not by reading one more craft book.

🔗 Links mentioned in this episode:

• Gala Russ Website
• Gala Russ Instagram
• Take Author Success Quiz (FREE)
• Sign Up For Notes To Novel

⭐ Follow & Review

If you loved this episode, please take a moment to follow the show and leave a review on Apple Podcasts! Your review will help other writers find this podcast and get the insights they need to finish their books. Thanks for tuning in to The Fiction Writing Made Easy Podcast! See you next week!

Discover why your first draft never matches the book in your head, what a messy draft is actually supposed to look like, and how to close the taste-skill gap by writing more instead of studying more, so you can overcome imposter syndrome and finally finish your draft.

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👉 Looking for a transcript? If you’re listening on Apple Podcasts or Spotify, scroll down below the episode player until you see the transcript.

Most fiction writers are making at least one of these point of view mistakes. Find out which one could be hiding in your draft.

You know that feeling when a scene isn't quite working, but you can't put your finger on why? Your pacing, dialogue, and structure all seem fine. And yet something is still off. Nine times out of ten, the culprit is POV.

In this episode, I'm walking you through the five most common point of view mistakes, what each one looks like on the page, why it pulls readers out of your story, and what to do if a POV mistake is hiding in your draft.

The good news? It has nothing to do with your talent as a writer. I see these mistakes in the strongest of manuscripts. And every single one is fixable.

This is what I talk about:

[02:27] Why head-hopping feels so disorienting to readers, and the simple scene-level rule that instantly creates cleaner, stronger POV.

[07:11] The subtle "omniscience leak" that happens when your POV character knows things they realistically couldn't know in the moment.

[11:42] Why a POV character who only reports action—with no thought, reaction, or internal stakes—leaves readers feeling disconnected.

[17:13] How info-dumping and backstory disguised as thoughts can make scenes feel unnatural instead of emotionally immersive.

[22:00] The subtle voice drift that makes your POV character slowly stop sounding like themselves, and why this is the hardest mistake to catch.

These mistakes are fixable. Every single one. And once you know what to look for, you can write fiction so immersive that readers forget the real world exists until they reach the final page of your book. If that's the kind of story you want to write, this episode is for you.

🔗 Links mentioned in this episode:

• Take Author Success Quiz (FREE)
• Get on the Notes to Novel Waitlist
• Ep. 90 - How to Choose the Best Point of View for Your Story
• Ep. 94 - How to Reveal Your Character's Inner Life on the Page
• Ep. 210 - 5 Tips To Write Multiple POV Novels Without Confusing Your Readers

⭐ Follow & Review

If you loved this episode, please take a moment to follow the show and leave a review on Apple Podcasts! Your review will help other writers find this podcast and get the insights they need to finish their books. Thanks for tuning in to The Fiction Writing Made Easy Podcast! See you next week!

Support the show

👉 Looking for a transcript? If you’re listening on Apple Podcasts or Spotify, scroll down below the episode player until you see the transcript.