The Snowflake Method for Writing Novels
Created by Randy Ingermanson, this method for planning a story has been gaining traction among amateur writers and is a good tool to use when outlining and organizing the structure of a story. The basic idea is to approach writing much as a visual designer would: start with the rough big-picture and build out from that central idea with details until you have a novel. It’s like starting by drawing a triangle and branching with more points until your structure resembles a snowflake.
This is a great method for writers who have a good initial idea but are either intimidated or unsure of how to turn this rough idea into a finished novel.
You can find more info on Randy Ingermanson’s website.
Step 1: The Dreaded One-Sentence Summary