Three Coins in a Fountain Pen

What is with all the THREE's in our lives? I thought of a lot of titles when I started this article. The Three Faces of Eve, Three on a Match, 3:10 to Yuma, Three Days of the Condor, and the list goes on.

So who cares? What does the number Three have to do with writing? Well, to borrow a phrase from Sesame Street, this message is being brought to you by the number THREE.

It's not enough to write a novel. It's not even enough to rewrite it over and over to get it perfect. You still have to write it two more times (for three in total).

You have to write a Query letter, which is kind of like writing a limerick to sell an opera. Then, you also have to write a synopsis, which is kind of like the readers digest condensed version of your masterpiece.

So here I am, ready to send my manuscript off to another agent, only she wants a synopsis. I thought I had one, and I sort of do, but I took a look at it and gagged. The software I use has a feature to help write a synopsis, but to take advantage of it, you have to fill out descriptions in all the chapters. I thought I had, but I was wrong. So now, I am filling my mornings and evenings with writing short condensed descriptions of every scene in my book.

Oh yeah, the synopsis is written in present tense. I can't just cut and paste the important stuff. Six down, fourteen to go.