A step-by-step process for designing your novel by starting with a single sentence and expanding outward, like a fractal snowflake growing more complex with each pass.
The Snowflake Method is a novel-planning technique created by physicist-turned-novelist Randy Ingermanson. You start with a one-sentence summary of your story, expand it to a paragraph, then to a page, and keep building outward in structured steps. Each pass adds more detail to your plot, characters, and scenes. By the time you sit down to actually write prose, you have a deeply layered blueprint that grew organically from a single core idea.
If you have ever stared at a blank document wondering how to turn a cool idea into an entire novel, this method gives you a concrete, repeatable process. It breaks the overwhelming task of planning a book into small, manageable steps so you never feel lost. It is especially useful for writers who want structure but find rigid outlines stifling, because each expansion stage lets you discover new things about your story.
Write a one-sentence summary of a story idea you have been sitting on. Now expand that sentence into a full paragraph with a beginning, middle, and end. Compare the two versions and notice what new details emerged when you gave yourself more space. Try one more expansion into a full page and see how much richer the story becomes.