The Snowflake Method of novel plotting has been popular with writers for its simplicity of use and its ability to develop complex plots. When writing a book, knowing when, where, and how things happen is essential. The Snowflake method allows a writer to determine those details, yet leaves the way open for creativity to lead the way through the story writing process.
Rather than outline a novel in a strict format, it allows for organic story development and character growth. It can also be used to get a novel that has gone astray back on track, or to identify plot problems.
Begin With the High Concept Statement for the Novel
The high concept statement for a novel is nothing more than a one-sentence summary of what the book is about. The best high concept statements have emotion and suspense packed into them. They are designed to hook the reader into wanting more. A high concept statement for the fairy tale Cinderella might be,
- “Beautiful young woman who is abused by her stepfamily falls in love with a prince and must overcome her stepmother's evil trickery to win her happiness with him.”
This novel idea is the seed from which the story grows, and from which the characters develop. Some writers will create several high concept statements before deciding which story to write.
Expanding the Novel Idea and Character Development
Once the high concept statement has been made, the fiction writer can begin to expand it. Writing out a paragraph that tells the main ideas of the conflict, setting, and characters of the novel will awaken the creative muse. Then more details that relate to the main plot points can be developed.
After the novel paragraph is done, development of the characters and setting may begin. When creating characters, each should have their own goals. These goals are important, because at this stage, the writer can make two or more characters have opposing goals. This will create a natural base for conflict in the novel.
This one paragraph summary and character descriptions are the beginning of a novel synopsis to use when submitting the manuscript to publishers.
Expand the Story Summary into a Novel Synopsis
The next steps in the process are to increase the summary from one paragraph to five paragraphs. The characters can be fully fleshed out, and may have anywhere from a few paragraphs to a few pages of details about their motivations, goals, and back story. Then the story summary can be expanded even further.
This part of the process may take the longest of any, other than the actual writing of the book. Some writers go from this step directly into the book writing, while others expand even more. Candace Hern stated at a workshop for the Sacramento Valley Rose, a chapter of the RWA, that she writes a detailed summary of each scene in her book. Each day as she sits down to write, she knows what will be happening in that scene. Detailed summaries can help a writer craft better scenes.
Benefits of Using the Snowflake Method to Create a Plot
Part of the process of becoming a writer is trying out different methods and seeing which ones work best for each individual writer. The Snowflake Method is a solid plan for creating a comprehensive plot with subplots and deep characterization. At the Advanced Fiction Writing website, where Randy Ingermanson thoroughly describes his story plotting system, there are many more articles on writing fiction and a fiction writing e-zine.
The Snowflake Method works well with novel writing software, such as the open source program StorYbook or the free Ywriter. It can also be used just as effectively in any word processing program or even with pencil and paper. It is versatile enough to adapt to many writing styles.
This plan for plotting a novel allows for structure amid creativity. It saves an author from spending months writing, only to later cut the scenes and chapters because they don't work in the story. It also helps a writer to know where the story is going, so that he never writes himself into a plot dead end. For writers who want to write more productively with less rewriting, the Snowflake Method is one to consider.
Suzanne Pitner - Suzanne Pitner is a teacher and published writer. A member of RWA and YARWA, she writes fiction as Suzanne Lilly.
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