The Dreaded

Oh, my! And a long winded sigh. I'm almost there. Almost finished with my first novel. The first couple of years felt like I was training for a marathon. Now I'm running a race. Got a deadline to meet. Got a synopsis to write. Oh, and the query letter, too. Total dread. I'm one of those people who can't stop my pen from going. Sometimes I can't stop the character chatter going on in my head. A writer's got do what a writers got to do, right?

If anyone is reading this, I do feel your pain and so do a lot of other writers. This is not the favorite part of writing a novel but it is the initiation part. Be thankful that we don't have to drink blood or cut ourselves for this initiation. All we have to do is write some more. Something we like to do. Remind yourselves of this.

What's the big deal? All we need is three lines of what your novel is about along with an introduction of yourself, an envelope, and a stamp. Don't forget to address it and put it into the mailbox. And then, wait of course and go about your life. You know, go to your day job, start another novel, clean out your closets...stay busy. Don't think too hard about it but by all means follow up. Don't be annoying though.

One day you go to the mailbox or your phone rings or you get an e-mail. Bingo, they like it. Now they want your synopsis. I hope you perfected that while you waited for the news. All you need is one to three pages of what your novel is about. That's all. Not hard, right?

Painful, I know. It really hurts to summarize your work. I know. You can do it. Just know that your not being asked to slice a dove in half or participate in some Santanic ritual. That's a good thing. All you need is a couple good brain farts. And,wallah! You've created a synopsis.

It's all good.