the snowflake project

Step 4 involves heading back to Step 2 and expanding each sentence in the paragraph into its own paragraph.

I’ve completed the first 2 paragraphs in step 4, which you can read via the Story Bible, or go directly to Step 4′s own page.

As always, I welcome feedback (especially criticism). The other three paragraphs will follow shortly.

I’m just about to attend the company Christmas party, so I’ll have to cut today’s writing short – but please enjoy what’s there!

**Change to “Story Bible” – added Step 2, the one-paragraph summary

Writing a one-paragraph plot summary is a lot more difficult than it sounds. I started with a VERY general overview of my plot. I actually knew more about the setting, the protagonist and the first plot catalyst than I knew about anything else.

What helped me through this process was the three act structure. Almost every movie you’ve ever seen was written in three acts. The idea is that conflict mounts by ending each act with a major disaster that the protagonist must suffer through. The last disaster, of course, is what sets up the climax where (usually) the protagonist (my protagonist’s name is Kos) triumphs.

You can simplify the three act structure by just thinking in terms of the disasters. What’s the first thing that goes wrong for Kos? Where does that leave him? After I answer those two questions, I have Kos in a new situation – which provides opportunity for something else to go wrong, and so on. It’s smart to have a good idea of your ending in mind when you start asking these questions, otherwise, the plot will most likely take a random direction and could go on forever.

Find my one-paragraph summary over on the Story Bible page. And please comment – I want to know what you think!