Saturday, March 20, 2010

No More Mumbling!

I'm deep in Step Five of the Snowflake Method, and I've had a revelation. Before I say what that revelation was, let me start by saying this: Even though the Snowflake Method is a very structured process for plotting my novel, there is a very real and necessary requirement for writing by-the-seat-of-my-pants.

Step Five asks me to "Take a day or two and write up a one-page description of each major character and a half-page description of the other important characters. These 'character synopses' should tell the story from the point of view of each character."

Here's my revelation: One reason my project stalled was I didn't know what was going on with my minor characters. I have two major players, Julie the protagonist and Ray the antagonist. The complete cast of major and minor characters includes nine personalities, five of which up to this point have been (patiently?) waiting in the wings to be called out on stage for the first time.

All this time, I've mulled over Julie and Ray's stories, what they want abstractly and concretely, their goals and the conflicts standing in their way. The ideas I have for the other characters were partially fleshed out, at best. I realized today how much this has contributed to my standstill.

Today, I was a full-fledged "pantser." I started with Providence Maiday, a character whose role in the plot I've vaguely known, though recognized for its importance. With no expectations I let my fingers fly. I wrote in her voice, explaining her part in the story as she sees it. I learned so much about her! An hour later, I had channeled four paragraphs about her life before her entrance in my novel, and found out what makes her tick. Then I moved on to the next character...

Story threads are emerging. Sub-plots are forming in my brain. Logic problems are working themselves out. It's exhilarating!

It was a lot like learning the real lyrics to La Bamba. I always sing that song when it comes on the radio. Its infectious melody and catchy tune suck me in every time. I sing the first two lines and then mumble the rest. And that's exactly what I've been doing with my novel!

I've been singing the two main characters and mumbling over the rest of the cast.

And that is why the Snowflake Method is working for me. It's given me the structure I need to focus my thinking, in a way I haven't been able to do on my own. My creative flow hasn't been dammed up -- just the opposite! Things are flowing again, filling up the dried creek beds and rushing toward the next bigger body of water. And, it's a lot of fun!

In honor of singing the whole song of my novel, I'll leave you with the actual words to La Bamba!


Para bailar La Bamba
Para bailar La Bamba
Se necessita una poca de gracia
Una poca de gracia
Para mi, para ti, ay arriba, ay arriba
Ay, arriba arriba
Por ti sere, por ti sere, por ti sere
Yo no soy marinero
Yo no soy marinero, soy capitan
Soy capitan, soy capitan
Bamba, bamba
Bamba, bamba
Bamba, bamba, bam
(repeat whole thing twice and toss in a guitar solo)




Have a Wonderful Weekend!!

21 comments:

Summer Frey said...

Wow, glad to hear it's working so well for you! Maybe there's hope for someone like me. :-)

Lindsey Duncan said...

La Laaaaaa Bamba!

This makes a lot of sense to me. You learn so much about your story with a structured setup ... even if you don't end using all of it.

I rarely, if ever, do an outline for my plot ... but I spend a ton of time worldbuilding and often some time with character profiles, and I think that gives me the framework from which to dive blindly into plot aspects. Having tried the pants method without this background work ... it's a lot more stressful.

Pat Tillett said...

whew!!!
When I saw the photo, I thought this post was about Lou Diamond Phillips! I'm glad it wasn't.
great post and very informative.
I think every body has to hum part of that song...

Unknown said...

Woo-hoo! Glad to see it's working for you! Love that you added the lyrics, so fun!

Anthony Duce said...

I've gone through the steps based on your earlier post and reading today's has me very excited about pulling out old story starts and applying, mostly just for the fun of being in one of those old worlds I created for myself so long ago. I'm excited. Thank you.

Shelley Sly said...

What an awesome post! I can totally relate to how important it is to get to know your characters, including the minor ones. I will try to remember the method of writing a few paragraphs of the story from each character's perspective. How neat!

And love the La Bamba metaphor. :D

sarahjayne smythe said...

Wow. You are an inspiration to me. :) I'm doing the notecards and grid this weekend. After that, maybe I'll give the snowflake method a try.

Tonya said...

I'm SO glad this method is working for you and you're able to move forward again! I can't wait for you to finish this book. I think it's going to be GREAT!

I have to admit that I get sucked into these lyrics, too...in fact, when I saw the picture with La Bamba on it, my mind immediately started singing the song. Pitiful!

Have a great night!

Aubrie said...

I mumble La Bamba, too! What a great analogy.

Unknown said...

Hello everyone! I know weekends are busy -- thanks for taking a few minutes out of your day to read and comment!! You guys made me evening :))

lisa and laura said...

Hoorah for the snowflake method! This helped us SO much when we were writing book #1 in our series.

Annika said...

That is so fantastic to hear!
I am so excited for you and I love the comparison to la bamba, totally know what you mean!!!

Anne Gallagher said...

Isn't that funny, I guess I've been doing the snowflake method all along without really knowing it. Makes me think I'm smarter than I am. Way to go Nicole!

I'm really thrilled for you on your progress, isn't it great when things finally start REALLY rolling. Keep up the good work!

And thanks for sharing the lyrics although now I'll be singing that instead of "Elmo's World."

Talli Roland said...

What a great analogy! So glad to hear things are moving along for you. I'm now going to have La Bamba stuck in my head for the rest of the day!

Anonymous said...

Yea! Another writer triumphs over the dreaded damming of creativity. I hope it keeps up for you, Nicole!

Susan Fields said...

Hi Nicole - I left you something at my blog. :) I have a book that I use every time I plot a new novel. It's very structured, probably too much so for a lot of people, but it really helps me. I can't imagine writing without that very detailed structure, including the all-important character profiles. I'm glad to hear your project's going so well!

Jennie Englund said...

Oh my gosh! Thanks for that! Since I was 10, I've been singing, "Blah blah blah blah blah blah blah bumba."

Annika said...

I am so impressed with you so I am giving you an award! Keep on rocking Nicole!

Susan Fields said...

The book I use is called First Draft in Thirty Days by Karen Wiesner. It really should be called Outline in Thirty Days, but the intent is that your outline is so complete it can be considered a first draft. It doesn't quite work that way for me, but it's still a really good start.

Unknown said...

Isn't it awesome when you have a revelation and pieces of your story just fall into place? I love that.

And this is exactly why I put so much time and detail into my outlines. It really helps me figure out exactly what I'm trying to say, so when I do, I can say it clearly.

Good luck! :)

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