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If you write fiction, or you want to, sorting out your writing process for a book is a core task.
Are you a pantser? Are you a plotter? Or perhaps, you might be a Snowflaker …
Today I talk to Randy Ingermanson about his book, How to write a novel using the snowflake method, and how it can help those people who fall through the gaps. Plus, how to write 500 words a day as a habit, dealing with panic disorder and how our flaws contribute to our writing.
You can watch the video below or here on YouTube. You can also listen to the audio below or here on SoundCloud.
Randy Ingermanson is a physicist and award-winning geek suspense novelist, known as the Snowflake guy, America's mad professor of fiction writing. His site, AdvancedFictionWriting.com is packed with loads of information and inspiration on organizing, creating and marketing your work.
We discuss:
- How Randy established his brand when he wanted to talk about the process of writing, as well as the aspects of his novels. He brings the scientific approach and step by step process to writing a novel.
- How the Snowflake method works – from something simple and small, to growing it out bit by bit to something complicated and beautiful. The book is told as a parable, which ‘shows' the method through a woman at a writing conference who wants to learn how to write and is frustrated when she can't use the pantsing or plotting approach.
The importance of only using writing methods that work for you as an individual.
- Tips on writing the one line that sums up your book.
- The scene list and what a scene actually is. [This really changed my writing life when I understood the concept of scene.] Scene vs chapter. How to write a perfect scene. A chapter is a fundamental unit of reader decision.
“Most fiction writers have a major bottleneck in their process. That bottleneck is that they don’t produce enough first-draft copy.”
- On writing 500 words a day as a matter of habit.
- [25 mins] Randy talks about his panic disorder which affected his public speaking opportunities. We talk about our flaws and how we deal with them in a really honest way.
You can find Randy at AdvancedFictionWriting.com where he has a brilliant free ezine, as well as loads more information on writing fiction. You can find his book, How to write a novel using the snowflake method on Amazon here.
View Comments (16)
I first heard of Randy's Snowflake Method several years ago. I downloaded his software and gave it a try. It turned out that I didn't much care for the software. When he released this latest book, I read it and gave the Snowflake a try again. But this time I set it up in Microsoft One Note, creating a tabe for each step of the process. I. Love. It. It has greatly streamlined my outlining and plotting process. And One Note allows me to make additions anywhere, from any device. Perfect for the guy with a day job. The Snowflake is a great starting point for any author. You can add steps or subtract them as you determine what works best. The book is very short and Randy's method of getting the steps across is brilliant (and fun). I'll be talking with Randy at the end of this month at the ACFW conference. I can't wait!
I've heard OneNote is excellent :) so glad you found your way to a hybrid approach!
I've been using OneNote to start my rough draft. Only complaint? I wish I could see the word and page count (page count = number of pages needed when printed out)
I don't use Randy's software, but I have used his method (or about the first five steps) for a number of books now. I have used it for writing new books, and also for restructuring/rewriting older ones or just coming up with blurbs. It's exciting for me to be able to pull together a book plan quickly (I do it all in one day, not over several like he says...)
I have set up a template within Scrivener for the Snowflake method, and it's great to have it right there, ready to go, as soon as I start a new novel.
That template sounds like a good idea - I am forming my own kind of template at the moment - it definitely includes aspects of Randy's Snowflake as well as the Hero's Journey and other things.
Yes, I have both Snowflake and Save the Cat in mine.
This is downright spooky. I've got a series I don't want to write, but the people in that series won't leave me alone. I tell them to scoot because it's complex world building that's putting knots in my brain, but they don't care. I've had Snowflake Pro for over a year now but haven't used it. I thought for sure firing it up and throwing those characters in the program would shut them up. No, it's opened them up and has helped immensely in building the world they live in. I started working with it two days ago, the day you posted this, and it's been amazing. It's as if the story is being told to me and I unfold it through each snowflake with clarity and much pounding of the keyboard. Love it. Pure mesmerization. I also have PD that blossomed into full-blown agoraphobia. It's how I became a screenwriter. I had an agent and publishing contract for a novel way back in the 90s, but knew there was no way I could handle even signing the contract because of my agoraphobia. I had to walk away but couldn't stop writing. So I chose a form I thought I'd NEVER have a snowflake's chance in A Hot Place of making it. Oops. Public speaking is the #1 fear across the general population, but oddly enough those with true disorders of the limbic portion of the brain usually make brilliant public speakers, if they don't pass out before hitting the stage. They're also cool as snowflakes in a real disaster. That's me. But if I find myself ANYWHERE near black lingerie (one of my many phobias), I pass out. It only took 10 years of diligent practice of CBT before the switch flipped and I could leave my comfort zone, but some degree of it is with me at all times. Them's the breaks. For most, it's not an emotional or mental illness, it's a unique physical condition that doesn't fit well with the modern world. And so it goes, eh? Thank you for bringing us this interview, Joanna. All of these interviews have been wonderful.
Hi Cyd, That sounds awesome and I find synchronicity happens quite regularly in this creative space!
I found CBT useful, not for getting rid of the fear, but for understanding my anxiety and learning to deal with the occasional spikes.
Glad you're enjoying the interviews!
I'm an aspiring contemporary adult romance author who plans to jump in this new genre by writing a series. In my other life, I write YA fiction and I consider myself to be a pantser. I have yet to flesh out the adult romance series idea in full, but it seems to me this method is for people who already have a novel idea (because part of the steps involve writing scenes) in place, right?
You definitely need to have an idea Evolet, but the scene list is way down the list of steps so you can start the process with just a one-liner.
I love the Snowflake Method. It works well for me, although I don't use the software. Instead, I set up the steps in Scrivener and use TSM that way. It reduces the time needed for writing and editing and so makes me more productive.
I didn't try the software but it seems I am writing through the Snowflakes method without knowing it. I always start with a basic plan, basic plot idea even with more detailed scenes and a half-figured out ending but it takes me always during the process somewhere else.
However, on psychological issues I am skeptical about psychiatrists and counselors. I am not saying they are useless, there are people who benefit from them and receive help from them, it's just that everyone has to face one own's problems. It is said that one is one's own best doctor. And the method I discovered and I am really grateful for, is yoga. Yes, it requires time and dedication but going to counselors also takes time and costs money. Thinking of what Randy said, since puberty I have occasional stuttering and the reason is psychological. I feel and I know that only yoga can deal with those types of problems as it is a holistic discipline and enables you to get connected with your higher self.
My opinion is, alternative medicine is much more powerful and people must turn sights to it not spending plenty of money on big corporation's meds. Let's face it - they don't want us to be healthy. Who will then buy their products?
I read this book, not seen the software, but don't need it. The book makes it clear how to use the snowflake method and I am using it now for my novels, which is a good way to do it.
Hi Joanna and Randy,
I have been stuck between a next-to-final draft and a FINAL DRAFT. Too scared to put it together? No, I think I'm struggling with what to leave out and what to leave in, also smashing intro and surprise ending.
Can you suggest any tools? mlatela@outlook.com @LatelaMary
I'd suggest working with an editor: http://www.thecreativepenn.com/editors/
I used Randy's articles and work on the snowflake method to write my first novel in less than a month. It was much better fleshed out than a majority of my other attempts and really helped with my creative process.
My problem seems to be attention over all else. I really enjoy drafting, but haven't found the same love for editing. I can bring myself to sit and type out 3000 words in a first draft without a problem, but find I can only edit a chapter or two at a time. My edits also plague me with a lot of doubt and anxiety, so makes the process there a bit tougher for me.
I think some of my issues arise from pushing myself to overachieve. After finishing my first novel, which was over 100,000 words, I immediately jumped in and wrote a second one in 2 weeks, that was only 54,000 words. But I find myself wanting to jump into writing more drafts instead of editing the first two more. Drafting just spurs me on while editing is always a long grind.
Do you have any suggestions?
I'm reading a lot of your content, and I have to say it's really helping me. Thanks.