Fiction Writing Made Easy | Top Creative Writing Podcast for Fiction Writers & Writing Tips

#230. Student Spotlight: 5 Lessons Learned from Notes to Novel (Season 7) - Part 1

5 snips

Jan 20, 2026

Guest

Josephine Noble

Guest

Carolyn Freudenthal

In this engaging discussion, writer Carolyn Freudenthal shares her journey from pantsing to plotting, transforming her shaky draft into a structured thriller with 40 scenes. Josephine Noble, a romantic fantasy writer, reveals how she moved beyond endless brainstorming to build a precise, theme-driven outline. Both guests underscore the importance of embracing a clear framework. They highlight practical strategies for overcoming common writing hurdles, from tackling information overload to refining drafts, inspiring listeners with their remarkable progress.

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ANECDOTE

From Pantsing To Purposeful Plotting

Carolyn pantsed her first novel, then joined Notes to Novel and planned 40 scenes for a new thriller.
She chose forward progress over fixing past work and gained confidence from Savannah's feedback.

ADVICE

Pick One Method And Structure Scenes

Drown out competing methods and pick one writing process to follow consistently.
Build scenes with a clear goal, conflict, and decision to create domino effects between scenes.

ANECDOTE

Overlearning Turned Into Fast Drafting

Josephine spent a year overlearning craft books and cobbling methods before Notes to Novel.
The course gave her themed-first structure and a detailed scene-by-scene outline, so she's now fast drafting.

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Five writers. Five different starting points. One clear framework that turned stalled first drafts into steady progress.

In today’s episode, I’m sharing real stories from five Notes to Novel students who were stuck in very different ways but wanted the same thing: clarity and forward momentum on their novels.

You'll hear from writers who were buried in craft books, sitting on drafts that didn’t work, rewriting in circles, or unsure if they were “too far along” or “not far enough” to get help. What changed was simple: they stopped guessing and started working with a clear framework they could trust.

If you’ve been feeling stuck, overwhelmed, or unsure what your next step should be, there’s a good chance you’ll hear your own experience reflected in this episode.

Here’s what we cover:

[04:01] How Carolyn went from a shaky first draft structure to confidently plotting a new novel with clear scenes, stakes, and forward momentum.

[07:42] How Hazel broke free from information overload and rebuilt her outline from the ground up with a clear theme and scene-level direction.

[11:20] How Josephine stopped over-learning, trusted one proven process, and moved from endless brainstorming to fast drafting with confidence.

[17:03] How Warren, a self-published author, fixed the middle of his story using key scenes, antagonists, and pinch points.

[19:49] How Rachel turned 130,000 words into a clear, pitchable 85,000-word story that she’s proud of and can explain with confidence.

Ready to finish your novel without second-guessing every word, sentence, or scene? Join Carolyn, Hazel, Josephine, Warren, Rachel, and hundreds of other writers who've discovered that drafting doesn't have to feel hard. You just need the right roadmap.

Get on the waitlist for the next open enrollment of my Notes to Novel course and get my complete, step-by-step framework for writing a story that works. Doors open January 22nd until January 28th. Don't miss your chance to turn your ideas into a finished, easy-to-edit first draft you love.

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