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

#228. Student Spotlight: How She Finished Her First Draft in 88 Days (While Working Full-Time) With Poornika Kakkanaiah

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Jan 8, 2026

Poornika Kakkanaiah, a YA fantasy author who finished a 114,000-word first draft in 88 days while working full-time, shares her journey. She explains the single outlining method that cut research paralysis. She describes a cut-bait start date, a two-hour nightly routine plus sprints, and balancing chronic illness with intense writing windows.

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ADVICE

Set A Cut Bait Date To Force Drafting

Set a firm cut-bait date to stop endless outlining and force drafting to begin.
Poornika set January 1 as her start date and committed to writing even if the outline wasn't perfect.

ADVICE

Pick One Plotting Method And Stick To It

Use one plotting method instead of mixing many to avoid analysis paralysis and conflicting guidance.
Poornika stopped toggling between Save the Cat and three-act rules after joining Notes to Novel and picked one roadmap to complete her outline.

ADVICE

Schedule Around Real Daily Writing Windows

Plan writing around realistic daily windows and measure how many scenes you can write per session.
Poornika wrote two hours most weeknights, tracked scene output, then scheduled scene targets and weekend sprints accordingly.

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Learn how a self-proclaimed perfectionist wrote a 114,000-word first draft in just 88 days—while working full-time and without finding more hours in the day.

Poornika didn't have endless hours to write. She had two hours a night after work, some longer weekend sessions, and a chronic illness that sometimes forced her to step away completely. And yet, she finished her novel in 88 days—and went on to sign with her dream agent.

In today's episode, I'm sitting down with Poornika Kakkanaiah, a former Notes to Novel student, to talk about what made that kind of progress possible. Spoiler: it wasn't discipline or motivation. It was having a clear roadmap that eliminated decision fatigue and made every writing session count.

Poornika shares how she broke free from months of research paralysis, the outlining approach that gave her a scene-by-scene outline she trusted, and why setting a cut-bait date changed everything.

If you've ever felt like your day job makes finishing a novel impossible, this conversation will show you otherwise.

Here's what we cover:

[07:51] Why combining multiple plotting methods created confusion instead of clarity, and what she did instead

[10:45] How Poornika built a scene-by-scene outline she trusted—and the cut-bait date that forced her to start drafting

[11:27] The three strategies that made it possible to write 114,000 words in 88 days while working full-time

[37:50] What it was like to get "the call"—and why signing with her dream agent felt like everything finally clicking into place

[40:06] The truth about getting multiple offers of representation (and why one great fit is all you need)

If you're craving proof that it's possible to write a novel alongside a demanding job and real-life challenges, Poornika's story will show you exactly what that can look like.

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