Are you new to writing and don’t know where to start? Do you have a great idea for writing your own novel, but you don’t know how to make it grow? Well, if this is your case, for today, we have something great prepared for you. We are going to show you how you can develop your novel idea with the Snowflake Method.
If you are new to our page, then some introductions are in order: We are Blue Raven Club, we offer useful tips for new writers to help them write the novel they have inside. So, stick around, and we’ll make sure you don’t regret it.
For a few weeks we have been talking about the Three Act Structure: how to work with it, what are the main points, and how you can write each of the acts. You can visit these articles right here:
The Three Act structure is great for understanding the basics of novel writing, how stories are built up, and how to hold them together. But maybe, you are not at the point where you can write the full thing just yet. Maybe you have a very basic idea for a novel and need to develop it a little bit so you can flesh out your characters and the major events in it. That’s when the Snowflake method comes in. But before we can show you how to work with it and how you can use it for your own work, let’s get some concepts clear.
What is the Snowflake Method?
Created by Randy Ingermanson, the Snowflake method is not a way of structuring your novel, but a way of developing your idea and plan your novel.
With the snowflake method, we start with very simple concepts and structures and little by little make it grow and flourish by adding up more content in each step.
Starting with the basics
There are some elements that are common to all (or most stories). And, before you start using the Snowflake method you should have at least an idea of what they are, or what they will be in your story.
These elements are:
- Category
- Genre
- Protagonist
- Type of Plot
Category and Genre
It’s important that you know the genre and category of the book you are going to write. These two elements will shape nearly everything else and it’s just a matter of personal choice. When we talk about category, we are making reference to the people for whom your book is intended. Is the book for children? Teenagers? Adults? Whatever you choose, it’s important for the kind of story you are about to tell.
Also, it is essential that you know what genre you want your story to be. Is it going to be horror? Romance? Adventure? The story will change drastically depending on the genre that you choose. And it’s important that you know where to take your efforts before you start writing.
Protagonist
It would really help a lot if you also knew who your protagonist is. A fifteen-year-old girl? A military woman? A doctor? A prince? A sea creature? A dog? A cyborg? Of course, you can have whoever or whatever in the front sit. Your Main Character (MC) will change according to the category you choose. (The category usually reflects the age of the protagonist)
Type of Plot
The fourth aspect that would be great to have in advance is the type of plot that you want (which is largely dependent on both genre and category.) Here we have some examples of plots you can use and that have been used thousands of times before.
- Quest: The hero needs to go out to try to save or retrieve something or someone while facing several obstacles along the way. (Raya and the last dragon)
- Overcoming the monster: The hero will need to defeat a monster or force that threatens to destroy the world as we know it. (Harry Potter)
- Rags to riches: The MC acquires new resources, money, or love interest. He loses all, and then regains it, after having learned important lessons. (Aladdin)
There are other kinds of plots, but these are probably the most common ones.
So, once you have these elements figured out, or at least one small idea of how they could be, you can start using the Snowflake method. Let see how it goes.
How does it work?
Stage one:
In the first stage of the Snowflake Method, you are going to write one sentence that summarizes the whole story.
For example:
Sixteen-year-old girl has to fight for survival in a deadly contest. (Hunger Games)
Poor girl is chosen to compete to be the new princess. (The Selection)
In this first stage, you are going to use the elements that we discussed before. Also, you have to try to keep your sentence under 15 words. Don’t use names, but descriptions of the main character and include the final objective of the story.
We chose The Hunger Games and The selection as our examples, so you can appreciate that structurally, and conceptually, stories can be very similar and that they can kick off from the same place.
For practice, choose a couple of your favorite stories and try summarizing them in one sentence before you do the one for your own story.
Stage two
In this stage, we are going to expand that sentence into one paragraph.
In here, you are going to be adding some details, but not too many. These details can be some structural points of the story. Check this article, so you have a better idea of what those points are.
That paragraph can include aspects like:
1. The starting status quo of the hero in the world they live in:
America is happy with her modest life and her boyfriend, Aspen, whom she wants to marry soon. She has no interest in the king and his family…
2. The event that changes everything and gets the story started (inciting incident):
America is selected to compete for the prince and the crown.
3. A midpoint that changes the course of the story:
The contest to be the new princess develops while she realizes that she is actually falling in love with the prince.
4. A low moment for your hero (Dark night of the soul)
With her newfound feelings, America is now very confused about what she should do. She is struggling with feelings for the prince and Aspen.
5. Resolution of the Story
She decides to continue competing, and to give time to herself to figure what she wants.
Stage three:
Stage three is all about the characters. Now that you have an idea of how your story goes, it’s time to shape the people in the story a little bit.
Identify your main characters, name them and give them a goal in the story. Also, identify what are the main conflicts for them in the story. Other aspects you can include are the major obstacles they will be facing both externally and internally.
Stage four:
In this stage we are going to take that one-paragraph summary, and we are going to expand it once more. This time, into one page. Take each sentence you wrote before and build them up. Try to turn each one into one paragraph. Add details, events, obstacles, more characters, etc.
After this stage, you’ll have a more complete idea of your plot. Of course, it may take some time and probably some elements you included in the previous stages will change, but that’s totally ok. What matters is that you keep developing your idea.
Remember to keep an eye on the Three Act structure to help you mold the story.
Stage five:
Now, we go back to the characters. Since you have a more complete idea about our plot, we are going to give the characters some more love. For each major character, write one page describing their role in the story; and for minor characters, write half a page.
Here, we have to describe the events and conflicts they will be facing, their purpose in the story and how they intend to achieve it. For this, take your one-page summary as support, since you have already summarized all major events in your plot.
Stage six:
Finally! The last step. For this one, we are going to continue expanding what we already have. This last expansion process will go as follows: Try to turn that one-page summary into a four-page summary. Enlarge the description of events, without actually narrating the story. Remember we are summarizing. Why is this important? Because a summary is able to hold big concepts in a succinct way. These concepts will be up for further expansion later, once you actually start to write the novel.
Also, for this last stage, and once you have finished that four-page summary, you are going to create a scene list. How? Well, dividing that summary into events and scenes for the novel.
Think of it as the succession of all the events you want in the story.
And there it is! A full plan of your novel using the Snowflake method.
Summing up…
The Snowflake Method can be a great help if you already have a concept or story idea in your mind that you need to develop. One stage after the other, you’ll see that concept grow and prosper as you expand the previous stage and incorporate more details each time.
Remember: you are writing, not carving in stone, so it’s normal for the story to change along the way if you get better, or different ideas while you develop it.
Consider the plot points we have discussed before in our articles about the Three Act Structure because you’ll need them to shape your story.
Let’s take a look at a summary of all the steps:
- One-sentence summary
- One-paragraph summary
- List and descriptions of major characters
- One-page summary
- Full description of Major characters (one page each) and secondary characters (half a page each).
- Four-page summary and scene list
So, what are you waiting for? That story won’t develop on its own. Sit down and write! Take that baby story idea and make it grow!