One Paragraph to Scene List
From the logline, you can then progressively develop out the idea until you have a scene list ready to transform into a first draft.
Logline to One Paragraph Summary
Okay, so you’ve got your logline. Now we take that and tease it out into a 3-5 sentence paragraph. The sentences should break down into:
Opening and first disaster/complication
Second disaster/complication
Third disaster/complication and ending
If you have exceptionally elaborate openings and endings, feel free to separate those out into their own sentences.
This step is another test of the idea. If you can create three, simple to state complications then you have the major turn in each of the three acts. This helps you confront early on the questions of :
What happens in the middle?
Where does the story best start?
What does the ending have to tie together?
I recommend building a few different one paragraph summaries to test out different versions of the potential plot. Explore what it would look like to start the story at an earlier or later point if you’re unsure about it. Think about what would happen to the choices made in the first and second act. What is the conclusion that wraps the major needs and wants of the protagonist in with the dramatic action?
Middles always seem hard for me, but they can be explored by daydreaming about what would need to happen to get the protagonist from the first disaster to the last one, and how can you complicate that journey.
One Paragraph to Multi Paragraph/Outline
I sometimes skip this or morph it into a full blown outline, depending on how much of the plot I have figured out.
Continue your expansion of the paragraph to spin out the major beats of each act. Follow the logical progression of one event to the next based on the needs and wants of your protagonist and the antagonist.
Some sample questions:
What do they have to do to accomplish their goals?
What complications come up when they try those paths?
How can you build tension scene to scene?
What can you do to up the stakes act to act?
What is the worst thing that can happen?
Once I’ve expanded my paragraph into three paragraphs (one for each act), I’ll often find that each sentence is a scene. Then you just break down these paragraphs into an outline and fill out the scenes with as much information as possible so that you know what you are writing every time you sit down to write.
That’s the point of the whole Snowflake Method. To do the structural work first so that when you sit to write you’re not also trying to build the story. It doesn't always work to create perfect stories, but you learn quickly where there are basic deficiencies in your story and if a story actually excites you.
I hope this series has been helpful to you. If so, leave a comment below. Also, feel free to subscribe to my newsletter to get monthly updates about my goings-on. Love you!