Using the Story Ice Box

Using the Story Ice Box

For the longest time, I had an extreme difficulty with actually finishing stories. I would write a little bit, second guess myself, go back and read what I had written, and then I would try and fix it. It was especially frustrating because I wasn’t going anywhere in the story, and I felt that I was wasting my time. I began to doubt my ability to tell a story. This “second guessing” is an obstacle that many writers encounter. I had tried many different strategies to overcome this grueling challenge, but it wasn’t until I heeded the advice of the great and wonderful Stephen King that I began to figure out how to best complete stories and build my confidence and my skills as a writer.

The Ice box method is purely Stephen King’s. I am merely relaying what sage-like advice he gave to me when I read his book “On Writing.” I have never met the man, but I feel he would be an amazing mentor and individual to discuss story-telling with. Thank you,

Mr. King for writing that book in hopes to help guide other writers.

The Ice box strategy has four steps to it:

Step 1: Write the Story without stopping.

Step 2: Put it away and don’t touch or look at it for a certain amount of time.

Step 3: Take it back out once that time limit is over and then edit it with fresh eyes.

Step 4: Have a beta reader read and critique your work.

Let’s go over each step!

Step 1

In this step, your only goal is to get the story out. It is much easier to modify a story once its out and written. However, beginning writers tend to want to edit while they are writing it. This may work for some people, but it did not work for me.

To make this step most effective, I would recommend when you sit down to do a writing session, you commit yourself to just write, and don’t go back to edit at all. Just put on some music, let the words flow through you, and when the session is done, you close the Word program. The next time you decide to write more of the story, you pick up where you left off and just write. Don’t go back and edit the last session, and don’t try and edit this session when you’re done either.

I realize this is probably harder than it sounds, mostly because I toiled with it when I tried to learn this method.
Keep writing until the entire project is done. After it’s done, celebrate! You have just accomplished something amazing, and it is a testament to how awesome you are.

When the project is finally completed, you can move on to step 2.

Step 2

In Step 2, you place your completed work in a figurative ice box. For a set amount of time, you don’t look at it, and you don’t even think about it.

This is where the real strength of the strategy comes to be realized.

Quite so often, we as writers become enamored by our works, and we feel that our works are perfect and amazing. We are too close to the projects, and so we miss the errors, plot holes, and grammar mistakes. Well, having a long period of time away from our work, we have the ability to edit it with fresh eyes.

During step 2, you don’t do anything with ‘this’ project, but that doesn’t mean you can’t start a new project. One of the tactics I used was when one project was in the ice box, I started a new project. And when I finished that project, I placed it in the ice box, and then took out the old project to proceed to step 3. If you want to continue writing and homing your craft, then this might be a strategy that you might also be interested in.

It’s perfectly fine for you to do something else while you wait for your project to sit in the ice box. You could allow for your mind and creativity to relax for a while before jumping into writing. Its definitely up to you.
When the time comes, feel free to take the project out of the ice box and move on to step three. I would personally recommend at least 4-6 weeks. This will allow you to really dig in to the project without any creator biases.

Step 3

During Step 3, you go through and read your own project. Make corrections to any grammar errors and punctuation mistakes, but also note where the plot holes are, where dialogue seems weak, and note where there might be questions.

Be prepared, because you might discover a major plot hole(s) that needs to be addressed. Don’t freak out and consider giving up. This is a part of the process. Take a deep breath, identify that there is a problem, and then figure out how to fix it. Handling and overcoming these challenges will strengthen you as a writer.

Once you have completed step 3, and you have edited and corrected the work to the best of your ability, proceed to the final step.

Step 4

I would recommend having someone else read your story. Make sure you ask a person who is willing, able, and prepared to give you honest, harsh feedback about your story. It would be in your best interest to choose someone who likes the genre you’re writing for. Be prepared to hear some harsh things, and in receiving them, don’t freak out. Don’t give up! This is a part of the process of becoming a better story teller and improving the story as a whole.

When you are made aware of what problems the beta reader(s) have identified, take a deep breath, analyze the problem, and then identify solutions. Like handling the issues you self-identified, these problems become opportunities for you to improve your writing craft.

The Ice box is just one of the many tools I use for making great stories. In my next post, I will be discussing the “7-point Story Plot” and how I modified the design to best suit me.