My problem with the Snowflake Method (LINK)
August 12th 2007 13:58
The Snowflake Method is a method of outlining which I find to be particularly creatively smothering. It is basically a summary. It starts as 'write a peragraph about your book, each sentence describing a main event' and goes on until each event is a page, two pages, and onwards.
By the end of it, you have a novella of summary alone. My reasons for disliking this method are many, but here are just a few:
-It encourages more writing about writing than actual writing;
-It eventually means you're just inking the already-pencilled in words, in essence;
-It makes your book into a series of events, without looking closely at characters (there is a section for characterization; again, it smothers, meaning you most likely won't find out anything new about your characters by the time you're done);
-And it can be a real time sucker.
Time is precious. Creativity is what makes writing fun. Smothering creativity makes your book more and more dull. Outlines can be great tools, but like the Snowflake, they can certainly go overboard.
As for my preferred outlining method? I grab a piece of blank paper, punch holes in it, make a border, and it's point form notes without ANY further expansion. Why? First off, I'm too damn lazy to actually bother until I start writing. Second, it wastes time I could spend writing the book. Second off, it leaves most of the creativity in place, and thus the fun of writing.
The Snowflake Method works for plenty of writers; see if it's right for you. But remember-if you've got a novella of outlining, you're probably just avoiding writing. Start the novel sometime, it makes you much more likely to finish, which makes you about 50% more likely to publish. (After that, you need to revise the hell out of it; but that's another entry, don'tcha think?)
(And do check out the link. It's good for reference if nothing else.)
By the end of it, you have a novella of summary alone. My reasons for disliking this method are many, but here are just a few:
-It encourages more writing about writing than actual writing;
-It eventually means you're just inking the already-pencilled in words, in essence;
-It makes your book into a series of events, without looking closely at characters (there is a section for characterization; again, it smothers, meaning you most likely won't find out anything new about your characters by the time you're done);
Time is precious. Creativity is what makes writing fun. Smothering creativity makes your book more and more dull. Outlines can be great tools, but like the Snowflake, they can certainly go overboard.
As for my preferred outlining method? I grab a piece of blank paper, punch holes in it, make a border, and it's point form notes without ANY further expansion. Why? First off, I'm too damn lazy to actually bother until I start writing. Second, it wastes time I could spend writing the book. Second off, it leaves most of the creativity in place, and thus the fun of writing.
The Snowflake Method works for plenty of writers; see if it's right for you. But remember-if you've got a novella of outlining, you're probably just avoiding writing. Start the novel sometime, it makes you much more likely to finish, which makes you about 50% more likely to publish. (After that, you need to revise the hell out of it; but that's another entry, don'tcha think?)
(And do check out the link. It's good for reference if nothing else.)
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