Novel design and Snowflake Pro
There seem to be many authors who take diametrically opposed views to one another about the best way to go about writing novel. There are those who meticulously plan before they start writing. And then again there are those who advocate a more intuitive, unfolding exploration, letting a mysterious creative force somewhat external to themselves carry them along.
A couple of years back I attended an intensive novel-writing workshop in the US, and the author who ran it was a diehard believer in the former method - constructing a detailed design prior to putting any prose down. The workshop was for first-time novelists with a serious aim of selling their manuscript to an agent and publisher, and then selling lots of books.
Convincing, certainly, were the arguments the workshop facilitator made for careful and quite calculated design with an eye to what will sell. He said that first time novelists should cut out as much work as possible by avoiding the intuitive, unplanned, hazard-ridden route, and should be very aware that we are competing in a cynical market not particularly sympathetic to the first-timer. Interestingly though, some of the guest authors who came to speak to us claimed a wholly intuitive approach, much to the facilitator’s chagrin.
I came away from the workshop feeling a bit conflicted. My head could understand the facilitator’s approach, but my heart felt a little deflated. The workshop had been really helpful for me in evolving the storyline of the novel that existed mainly in my imagination rather than on paper, and I was grateful for the chance to think things through before knuckling down to write. But I also felt like a bit of the joy and fun of the unknown and the purity of creative impulse had been sapped out of my endeavour.
Since that time I’ve been intrigued to listen to and read interviews with authors about their sources of inspiration and their writing processes. The world of novel writing is all very new to me, but now I think I must fall somewhere in the middle of the spectrum when it comes to the writing process (as I imagine many others do too). I can see that planning doesn’t have to kill the creative vibe. I’m essentially doing both simultaneously. I began with an outline and characters on paper, started doing some writing, and then at points in the writing where I have feel I am fumbling around a bit directionless, or that I don’t really know the characters well enough, I am going back to revise and further flesh out my plan.
One tool that I stumbled across - and which seems to be really well-known, particularly in the States - is author and fiction teacher Randy Ingermanson’s simple novel design software, Snowflake Pro. I’ve only just started using it but so far I’m finding that it’s a really handy way to capture information, particularly character development. Through it, I’m beginning to really ‘feel’ and picture my characters in their storyworld, rather than them remaining a bit of a mechanical blur to me. The software also leads you through development of a synopsis, which is something I’ll come back to soon. I almost synopsis’ed myself out in the US workshop, and it feels a bit of a dry process, but clearly it’s a really important thing to do to summarise, plot and sell your work. I’m also using the Snowflake Pro in conjunction with some other written guides to writing novels, including The Gotham Writers’ Workshop Writing Fiction, and Australian author Jan Cornall’s Write your Book on a Weekend (WOW) ebook. These all contain slightly different iterations of guidance in novel planning and design.
Would love to hear from others who have used Snowflake Pro or other methods, tools and books to assist with novel design. What has worked best for you?
