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| Donna J. Warner, Author of Mysteries/Crime Fiction & a Fiction Editor at Writers' Conference in Victoria, B.C. |
Donna J. Warner’s Adaptation
of the “Snowflake Method” of Story Design
1. What is your
thesis statement or elevator pitch? Suggest avoiding character names.
2. Expand on the
above statement. Write a paragraph (5-6
sentences) about the story set up, climaxes, and conclusion. This summary can
be extremely helpful to develop your story synopsis for publication consideration.
3. Develop profiles
for your characters. What’s their name, storyline, professional history,
beliefs, goals, personal relationships, skills, physical or emotional pluses or
handicaps? Make main characters memorable/interesting.
4. Create a spreadsheet
to plan and review your draft manuscript: a) timing and sequence of events
by chapter; b) POV for each scene; c) check for any plot holes; d) compare word
length of chapters; e) scene/chapter settings; f) goal for each scene to
advance the plot; and f) avoid over-describing character details, e.g., telling
readers 3 times that your protagonist has green eyes.
This style of spreadsheet may boost writing energy; help to ensure the story is revealed in proper sequence, and assist you with self editing. Some find adding a column for, "Chapter Goal" helpful. The fourth column is useful when creating a synopsis for your story because it highlights key components of each chapter.
CHAP-TER
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SETTING/
DATE/TIME
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CHARACTER
DESCRIPTIONS and/or POVs
|
4-5 SENTENCES TO CAPTURE ACTION, PLOT
ADVANCEMENT &/OR CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT
|
# OF PAGES
|
FOLLOW UP NEEDED (Research/ Remove
Filler Words/Repetition)
|
What’s a “Filler
Word”?
These are
words or phrases that creep into our writing during the drafting stage. They
don’t add meaning to a sentence. Avoid
them in your final drafts to create more powerful sentences. Some examples of these pesky words are: just;
very; that; then; but; of; seem; only; slightly; maybe; perhaps; actually; a
little; in the event that.
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