Write Now Editing

How to Write a Novel Using the Snowflake Method by Randy Ingermanson (book review)

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Are you writing a novel, but having trouble getting your first draft written? You’ve heard of “outlining,” but that sounds too rigid for you. You’ve heard of “organic writing,” but that seems a bit squishy to you.

Take a look at the wildly popular Snowflake Method—a battle-tested series of ten steps that jump-start your creativity and help you quickly map out your story. All around the world, novelists are using the Snowflake Method right now to ignite their imaginations and get their first drafts down on paper.

In this book, you’ll follow the story of a fictitious novelist as she learns to tap into the amazing power of the Snowflake Method. Almost magically, she finds her story growing from a simple idea into a deep and powerful novel. And she finds her novel changing her—turning her into a stronger, more courageous person.

Zany, Over the Top, and Just Plain Fun

How to Write a Novel Using the Snowflake Method is a “business parable”—a how-to guide written in story form. It’s zany. It’s over the top. It’s just plain fun. Most important, it’s effective, because it shows you, rather than telling you.

You’ll learn by example how to grow your story idea into a sizzling first draft.

You’ll discover:
* How to define your “target audience” the right way, so you know exactly how your ideal readers think and feel. Forget what the experts tell you about “demographics.”
* How to create a dynamite selling tool that will instantly tell people whether they’ll love your story or hate it. And you want them to either love it or hate it.
* How to get inside the skin of every one of your characters—even your villain. Especially your villain.
* How to find a deep, emotively powerful theme for your story. Do you know the one best point in your novel to unveil your theme—when your reader is most eager to hear it?
* How to know when to backtrack, and why backtracking is essential to writing great fiction.
* How to fire-test each scene to guarantee it’ll be high-impact—before you write it.

This was a weird little book, but quite informative. It was weird because it’s actually a story about how to write a novel.

Ingermanson creates a world in which Goldilocks wants to learn to write and Baby Bear teaches her. While she’s learning, Ingermanson utilizes all the steps and strategies he discusses to create a tension-filled story. At the end of the book, he walks you through each step to show you which parts of Goldilocks’s story align with which step so you can see how the process looks.

I wasn’t a huge fan of the Goldilocks story technique, but I loved the content in the book and will definitely use it in my own writing. I also found this book to be easy to read and digest; I will definitely recommend it to new authors looking for tips on strengthening their stories. Get your copy here!

(As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.)

How I Write: Cindy Ervin Huff

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Author Cindy Ervin Huff and I go way back. I can’t tell you how far back because, honestly … I can’t remember! We’ve known each other online for years, and recently we’ve had the pleasure of meeting IRL at writing conferences.

Today, Cindy’s here to talk about her writing and editing processes, challenges, and more!

Thank you so much for being here! What do you write? How did you pick that genre?

I write historical and contemporary romance. I could say I write it because I love Hallmark and Mary Connelly, but the truth is I love history. Plus, I care about the struggles people have that can make a relationship challenging. I address things like PTSD and abuse in a fictional setting. I’ve had readers tell me my characters are relatable and that I handle the sensitive subjects authentically without excessive details.

What’s the most difficult part of writing your genre?

There are tons of romances out there, and they range from very erotic to no touching at all. The hardest part of writing a romance is to produce believable characters—flawed not only on the inside but also imperfect on the outside—that readers are drawn to. It is so cliché reading about the guy with the ripped body and the girl with the perfect shape. That isn’t realistic. Most of my heroines don’t believe they are beautiful, but their love interests see them differently.

Romance is one of the biggest selling genres and finding the audience who loves to read my style of clean romance is the biggest challenge. But once I find my gals, they are so loyal and anxious for more.

How long does it take you to: write the book? Edit it? Finalize it?

I’d love to say a few months, but I’m not that energetic, and I want to produce something that is publisher ready. It takes three to six months to get the story written (I get interrupted, okay?) and the first two rough drafts finished. Then another couple months to edit it. I have three critique groups I run it through and my hubby. Then after I’ve corrected every typo, grammar error, and writerly mistake I can see before I become blind to them, then I’m ready to create a proposal and pitch it.

If you have written multiple books, which is harder: the first book or the following books? Why?

I have two series I’m working on now. I found the next book in the Healing Heart series easier to write until I got to the end. Then I struggled with providing the damsel-in-distress a totally different ending than the previous book. I’ve started the second book in the Village of Women series, and it isn’t flowing smoothly yet. The first book in a series sets the tone and then you have to keep the same standard or up your game so the reader wants more. I hate reading a series where it feels like the second novel is the same as the first novel’s storyline but with different characters.

For sure! What’s your favorite Writers Conference? What do you like about it?

I love Write to Publish. I’ve attended it for years because it’s right in my backyard. It is well organized and gives off a warm, friendly vibe. And not having to spend money on housing is a plus. I love the Florida Writer’s Conference, which I attend when I can afford to. It has great teachers and that same warm feeling being around fellow writers.

If you’ve ever worked with a freelance editor, how did you find that editor? How would you describe the experience?

I love working with a freelance editor. When my debut novel Secrets & Charades was contracted, I enjoyed working with the editor they provided. I hired her to work with me on another manuscript. I learned more about editing and writing craft while working with her than I did reading craft books.

How do you self-edit your manuscript? 

I run ProWriting Aid as I create to catch typos and grammar as I go along. Then when it is finished or at the minimum, a chapter is finished, I turn on the Read Aloud tab in word and listen to a monotone male reader as I follow along. It’s amazing the errors you still find.  Even in a monotone, a terrible sentence can be caught, because a terrible sentence stands out when read aloud. Then I’m ready for my hubby and me to go over it together. I print out the manuscript, and he takes the seat at the keyboard. I read it out loud and find dialog, etc. that needs fixing.

What does your revision process look like?

While hubby and I go over the manuscript, I delete lots of unnecessary things, shorten sentences, and aggressively tighten scenes. Then I send the manuscript to one of my critique groups and revise according to their suggestion. Then I clean it up again.

Cindy Ervin Huff is an Award-winning author of Historical and Contemporary Romance. She loves infusing hope into her stories of broken people. She is addicted to reading and chocolate. Her idea of a vacation is visiting historical sites and an ideal date with her hubby of almost fifty years would be live theater.

www.cindyervinhuff.com
https://www.facebook.com/author.huff11
https://www.instagram.com/cindyervinhuff/
https://twitter.com/Cindyhuff11Huff
https://www.tiktok.com/@cindyehuff?lang=en

How I Write: Ginny Dent Brant

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Writing a book is hard enough. Writing a book while battling cancer? I can’t even imagine!

Ginny Dent Brant doesn’t have to imagine–she did it. And she published it. And she’s won awards for it.

Today, she’s sharing tips and wisdom from her experiences as a nonfiction and cancer survivor.

Thank you so much for joining me today. Please tell us what you write. How/why did you pick your genre?
I write memoirs and Christian living books. I enjoy writing about real people. I’ve also written over 50 articles that are interviews with Christians about their faith. Some of those articles have made it to The Baptist Press, Townhall, and The Christian Post. My most popular articles were my tributes to Chuck Colson (carried by 15 different newspapers/magazines), Billy Graham, Robertson McQuilkin, and Dr. Avery Willis after they passed.

What’s the most difficult part of writing? How do you work through those challenges?
I wrestled with God over writing a book about my cancer journey. While meeting with the hospital chaplain about the dilemma of dealing with cancer, he told me, “Consider this a gift from God for you to help other people. You’re a writer and a speaker—think of all the people you could help.”

My response, “No way. I don’t want this gift.” But the more I researched, the more I felt compelled to share with others what I’d learned. It was difficult to do the hard work while with dealing with the side effects of treatments and medications.

In my first book, Finding True Freedom, the difficult part was deciding which intimate details to share and getting the okay from family members. A memoir about your own family can be like walking through a field with landmines.

How long does it take you to: write the book? Edit it? Finalize it?
Unleash Your God-given Healing required two years of research, one year of writing, one year of editing and polishing, and 18 months of promoting it. I’m still doing podcasts and interviews.

Which was harder: the first book or the following books? Why?
This recent book Unleash Your God-Given Healing was harder because it is loaded with footnotes to medical research. My editor made me type out every name noted in the research articles instead of using “et al”. I was also asked to recheck all of the footnotes several times, note the last date I checked the websites, and verify all the difficult to spell names!  Oh my! Memoirs that require a lot of footnoting can be difficult to write, and they also require the most of the writer including fiction techniques.

What’s your favorite writers conference? What do you like about it?
I’ve attended the Blue Ridge Mountain Christian Writer’s conference four times. They have a wonderful faculty, and many experts have poured their lives into me. It’s also a great place to make connections with other writers, publishers and agents. It’s only 90 minutes from my home.

If you’re self-published, why did you decide to go that route? If you’re traditionally published, why did you decide to go that route?
My first book was traditionally published. For this second book, I knew that Christian publishers do not usually publish books on health and wellness. I knew a “cancer book” would be difficult to get published. I remember going to writer’s conferences and seeing acquisition editors with signs saying, “I’ve heard enough cancer stories.”

I then submitted to eight publishers I had connections with. I heard from three immediately who did not publish health books. In a few weeks, I heard back from three other interested publishers who wanted to see more. One suggested I get a doctor to write commentary in each chapter. I took their advice. Three of these publishers took my book up the ladder. It got close with two publishers, but all of them wanted the doctor commentator to be the co-author.  I could not provide that. My book is from the patient’s perspective. It’s not about what the doctors do. It’s about the role the patient can play in their own prognosis. All the publishers said, “This book needs to be published.” That was reassuring.

At that time, I made the decision to self-publish. I went with Westbow Press because they’re the self-publishing arm of Thomas Nelson (Harper Collins). If my book sold well, they would begin distributing it. As of two weeks ago, Harper Collins is both distributing and promoting my book. After winning three awards (Golden Scrolls First, Selah Award Second, and Director’s Choice Award Second for Non-fiction overall), Westbow Press recognized my book with the Lighthouse Recognition Award.

Congratulations! What advice do you have for new authors?
Chuck Colson was the cover endorser for my first book. He advised me to start in the middle of a crisis. I did that in both books. He also advised me to use a theme from beginning to end to tie my story together.

In Finding True Freedom, the theme was dance. My father taught me to dance, he met my mother at a dance, and from a young age, we danced to the same tune, When I gave my life to Christ, we began spinning in different directions. My father tried to block my path, but God moved in his heart, and he became everything he forbid me to be including a missionary. In the end, we were dancing to the same beat with our heavenly Father.

The theme tied throughout my Unleash Your God–Given Healing book was an analogy to the Wizard of Oz. The analogy begins when my doctor shows me the MRI that looks like a tornado has invaded my body. Like Dorothy, I desperately want to get back home to a normal life. When discussing the eight steps, each one has a shared truth from God’s Word and a tie to the Wizard of Oz. For example, in the chapter on hydration, how ironic that Dorothy killed the Wicked Witch of the West with a bucket of water!

I would advise any authors to take Chuck Colson’s advice.

How do you self-edit your manuscript?
I was under cancer treatment during most of the process. I was actually making mistakes I’d normally not make due to brain fog. I asked five friends to go behind me and look for errors and recommendations. Two were English majors, two were nurses, and one was a cancer patient. They caught many mistakes. Mistakes are part of the process. I even found ten mistakes after my first book was published. Although mistakes are normal, you must do everything you can to catch them.

I couldn’t agree more. Thank you so much for joining me today!

Ginny Dent Brant is a speaker and writer who grew up in the halls of power in Washington, DC. She has battled cancer, ministered around the world, and served as a counselor, educator, wellness advocate, and adjunct professor. Brant’s award-winning book, Finding True Freedom: From the White House to the World, was endorsed by Chuck Colson and featured in many media interviews. Unleash Your God-Given Healing was released in May 2020 after her journey with cancer. It was written with commentary by an oncologist, and was recently given a Golden Scrolls Award and named a Selah Award Finalist.

Cancer prevention and wellness blog at www.ginnybrant.com 
Facebook  https://www.facebook.com/ginny.d.brant/
Instagram  https://www.instagram.com/ginnydentbrant/

How I Write: Janet McHenry

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All roads don’t lead to publication, but there are many paths to get there, and Janet McHenry has traveled many of them! Today she’s going to tell us about her writing journey and share some tips and ideas with us.

Thank you so much for being here! Let’s start with what you write: how did you pick your genre?

Some might call me an agent’s nightmare. While I primarily focus on nonfiction (Christian living, devotional books, gift books, Bible studies), I also have written board books for children, first chapter books, YA mysteries, and a cozy mystery—a total of 24 traditionally published books. I simply write as God leads me. My focus in the last 20 years or so has been on prayer.

Wow! That’s quite diverse. How long does it take you to write a book?

Writing a book doesn’t take me that long—usually three months or less—because I already have a detailed outline and a good sense of where the book is going. Because I mostly write nonfiction, I only create one or two chapters for the proposal. When I get a contract, then I finish it quickly—usually early.

If you’ve written multiple books, which was harder: the first book or the following books?

I’ve written two series for children—a first chapter book series of six books and a girls’ mystery series of three books. Those were challenging because I had the sense that the readers expected something bigger and more dramatic with each successive book. For example, instead of one villain in the final girls’ mystery (Mystery at the Old Stamp Mill), I created three. No reader has ever told me she guessed the solution. That makes me smile!

What’s your favorite book on writing? What do you like about it?

Anne Lamott’s Bird by Bird is my favorite book on writing. I have a little oval picture frame with her advice in it: “one thing.” A book should be about one, focused thing, Lamott teaches, but her expression also reminds me that my work can also just be about one thing at a time. I tell myself to just finish the one thing I’ve listed in my bullet journal. Then when it’s checked off, I tackle the next one thing. It’s a profound but simple concept that keeps me from feeling overwhelmed.

That’s great advice. Thanks for the reminder.

What’s your favorite writers conference? What do you like about it?

My favorite writers conference has been the one at the Mt. Hermon Conference Center in Mt. Hermon, California. I’ve probably attended it 20 or more times; I’ve lost count. It was there I learned to write, found lifelong writing friends, and met my agent and many editors in the industry. The teaching has been superb over the years, plus the conference center is in the middle of the redwoods near Santa Cruz—a bit of heaven on earth. While the 50th and last conference was in 2019, Inspire Writers has taken the baton to continue a writers conference that will look very much the same, and I’m excited that I will be teaching there again in 2022.

What’s your writing day like?

I start with devotional studies in the morning, which lead me to create a meme from my reading in the Bible that I then share across various social media platforms. After answering email and doing other marketing work and shorter writing assignments, I then shift to my bigger writing tasks after lunch. Sometimes I write into the evenings if I’m inspired or if I’m simply determined to get something done.

How do you combat writer’s block?

I read through the Bible each year. Daily I find ideas to inspire my writing. In fact, I blog daily about something I’ve read. When people ask me what inspires my writing, I say, “The Bible.”

How did you find/pick your agent? What tips do you have for others looking for an agent?

My agent and I were friends before she became an agent, so I’m actually one of Janet Grant’s first five clients. For those looking for an agent, I highly suggest going to writers conferences to meet with them in person and genuinely be interested in them as human beings. Worry less about impressing someone; just be genuine and share your life’s mission/vision and passion. If you don’t know what that is, figure it out before you pitch to an agent or start writing.

How did you find your freelance editor? How would you describe the experience?

For four of my books I worked with a freelance editor hired by WaterBrook Press. Liz Heaney truly taught me to write nonfiction Christian living books. I had decent ideas, but she made me work hard and dig more deeply into content creation. She would continually tell me to “Explain this more,” and to come up with fresh ideas, as opposed to merely reworking others’ thoughts from other books.

Great tips! How do you self-edit your manuscript?

I am an editor myself, so I edit as I write. I can’t help it. I’m not one of those writers who can just pour thousands of words onto pages. The internal editor won’t let me spew unorganized thoughts down onto the screen. Part of that self-editing process actually occurs before I write, because I work from a detailed outline. I also re-read the prior day’s writing before I continue writing, editing and adding new thoughts. Then I’ll go through the whole book before I send it off to my editor. It’s usually pretty clean by then…and should be, as I’m a former high school English teacher and newspaper journalist.

What does your revision process look like?

For me, the revision process starts with the feedback from my editor. I simply work through the book, page by page, making the requested changes. After 35 years of writing, revisions aren’t as painful for me as they were when I started writing. In fact, the last three books had very few edits needed. I couldn’t say this 20 years ago though; in 2004, I had a book that the editor completely rejected. I had to start from scratch and write another book entirely. However, the editor was right, and the book is one of my faves now: PrayerStreaming: Staying in Touch with God All Day Long.

Thank you so much for being here and sharing your tips with us!

Janet McHenry is a national speaker and the author of 24 books—six on prayer, including the bestselling PrayerWalk (now 20 years in print) and her newest, The Complete Guide to the Prayers of Jesus. A former high school English teacher, she and her husband Craig live in the Sierra Valley, where he is a rancher and where they raised their four children. She has been featured in national magazines such as Health, Woman’s Day, and First for her prayerwalking practices. The Sierra County CA coordinator for the National Day of Prayer, Janet also leads the prayer ministries at The Bridge Church in Reno.

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Facebook groups: Bible Girls 2021, The Safe Place Prayer Group, The Walking Club

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To Be or Not to Be: Writing Subplots by James R. Callan

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Recently, I was giving a talk on plotting. When I came to the topic of subplots, a lively discussion ensued. Some felt any book called a novel had to have a subplot. That was countered by some who felt that you should avoid subplots altogether. A few felt that subplots were there to beef up the word count. And others felt that was exactly why you should avoid subplots: they distract from the main plot.

I called a halt and offered these guidelines for sub-plots

  • It is a sub-plot. Therefore, it is sub (subordinate to, under, below, beneath) the main plot. It is second fiddle. So on all levels, it must remain secondary.  It must not crowd the main plot for space or attention. 

But, it is a plot.  Therefore, it needs the elements of a plot.  It must have a beginning, a middle, and an end.  It needs an arc.  It cannot coast along at the same level from start to finish.  And it is an important part of any plot, sub or main, that someone (or more than one) must change.  Keep in mind that person could be the reader. If you can change the attitude or mindset of the reader, that is a change, and much more difficult to achieve than changing a character of the book.

  • It must satisfy at least one of these two criteria.
  1. It must add to the reader’s understanding of the setting, the surroundings, the texture of the story. In my book Cleansed by Fire, the subplot involving a mysterious character close to the drug scene gives the reader a feel for the texture of the town, that is, the drug problem in the small town. Without my preaching about the problem, the Earl subplot makes it clear.
  2. It must give the reader a clearer understanding of one or more characters in the story, preferably the protagonist.  A well crafted subplot can allow the author to define the protagonist without “telling.”  It is an excellent vehicle for “showing” the reader the true nature of the protagonist without “telling.” Using the same example above, Earl allowed me to bring out a number of characteristics of the protagonist without “telling.”

So, in the example I have given, a subplot served two important jobs.

But what about the question: subplot or not. Subplots can improve a book. Subplots can help the author with two important areas: help define the texture of the story, and help the reader better understand certain characters – and in a way that works well for the author.

If you can use a subplot to accomplish one or both of the two conditions above, then by all means add a subplot.  If the subplot is used to simple bulk up the book, add words, get in something that you the author wants to say that is not necessary to the story, then leave it out.

Rod Granet, award-winning novelist and womanizer, is the main speaker at a writers conference. But after the opening session and in front of a crowd, Maggie DeLuca, Father Frank’s sister, accuses Granet of stealing her story and says he will pay for it.

That night, Granet is killed.

The sheriff quickly zeros in on Maggie and she is hauled off in handcuffs. The sheriff is convinced he has the murderer and threatens Father Frank not to get involved in this case.

But the sheriff is not the only one threatening Father Frank.

Can Father Frank stay out of jail and alive, and find the real killer?

After a successful career in mathematics and computer science, receiving grants from the National Science Foundation and NASA, and being listed in Who’s Who in Computer Science and Two Thousand Notable Americans, James R. Callan turned to his first love—writing.  He wrote a monthly column for a national magazine for two years. He has had four non-fiction books published.  He now concentrates on his favorite genre, mystery/suspense, with his sixth book releasing in 2014.

www.jamesrcallan.com/ 
Amazon Author Page: http://amzn.to/1eeykvG

ABOUT ME

Editor. Teacher. Novelist.
A passionate lover of fiction, Karin doesn't just write novels, she helps others write their best stories! A certified substantive editor with the Christian Editor Connection, her goal is to help authors to put her out of business by equipping them with the tools they need to become better writers.

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