In this episode, we’re going to talk about how the Snowflake Method of writing a novel can significantly improve your stories and writing process. And to do that, I’m going to play an interview I did with Randy Ingermanson, the inventor of the Snowflake Method.
Randy Intro:
Randy Ingermanson, along with Tricia Goyer, discovered me way back in 2006 and we’ve been fast friends ever since. He’s brilliant … you know that phrase, “Well it’s not like he’s a rocket scientist?” Randy could be. He has his Phd in physics, so he is a seriously intelligent gentleman.
He’s also a brilliant novelist, non-fiction writer, teacher and one of the finest men I know.
A number of years ago he designed a way of writing novels called the Snowflake Method and it’s been downloaded around the world more than six million times.
I interviewed Randy a few days ago, so you’re going to hear where the Snowflake Method came from, and how you can use it to improve your writing and your marketing.
Interview:
- The Snowflake Method has made you known all over the world, can you give us the brief story of how it came to be?
- Can you take us through the 10 Steps of the Snowflake Method?
- Step 1: One hour to write one sentence that tells what your novel is about. Summarize at a high level.
- Randy’s first novel: “A rogue physicist travels back in time to kill the apostle Paul.”
- Twelve words!
- Step 1: One hour to write one sentence that tells what your novel is about. Summarize at a high level.
Step 2: Write a one paragraph summary of your story. An expansion of your one sentence summary. Five sentences … the three act structure. Editors and agents will know
Step 3: Characters, high level, spell out who the hero is, his goal, conflict, values.
Step 4: One page summary/synopsis
Step 5: A page for each character.
Step 6: Take each paragraph from Step 4 and expand to six page synopsis
Step 7: Fill out a character Bible for each of them
Step 8: Break your six page synopsis into scenes (say 100 scenes)
Step 9: For each scene, drill down further.
Step 10: Write the novel
- Talk to us a bit about how the Snowflake Method became, and is, a powerful marketing tool for your own products and teaching …
- Talk to us about how the Snowflake Method can work for plotters, and how it can work for pantsers.
- What is the most common thing people say about the Snowflake Method after using it?
- What are the three or four primary advantages to using the Snowflake Method?
- Who doesn’t the Snowflake Method work for?
- You started with the doc, now you have software and a book and an audio book … tell us about why you developed those and how different learning styles fit better with one or the other.
- Where can people find out more about you, Randy? Both your novels and your teaching.
- Ingermanson.com
- AdvancedFictionWriting.com
And again, you can find out more about Randy at:
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