Thanks go out to my friend and fellow writer Chassily Wakefield.  She finished the edit on another section of my novel.  I have been blessed to have the support of Chassily and other new writer friends as I go through this process. 

I would also like to send out thanks to John Reed for his review of my first fifty.  John, it was sometimes difficult to hear, and even though I didn't want to change the format, I saw the wisdom in your advice.

I have been letting ideas percolate up this week and I think I am ready to work.  I hope to make progress over the holiday weekend.  Merry Christmas. 

Holiday Greetings

Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, and Blessed Winter Soltice to my friends and family. 

A month has gone by so quickly.  Apparently when one reaches middle age, the days and months get shorter, not to mention the years.  I had every intention of writing again and I did get some work done but alas, not as much as I had hoped.  I am planning on using the Christmas and New Year's holidays to get some major work done, with the goal of having a rough (and I mean Rough) draft done by the end of Feb.  I had decided that the pre-med and medical school stuff is probably enough for one book. I can always do residency as a sequel.  :)

As far as the marketing of my novel, there is no joy there either.  I have postponed sending any more queries for now.  Agents won't have time to look at them and I frankly don't have the time either.  I sent several queries by snail mail a while back, and two of them are still floating around out there.  I got a nice letter back from an editor I had met at a PWNA conference.  She was kind, but said she didn't feel that she could be passionate enough about it to do it justice.  An agent who will remain nameless was less kind.  She told me she didn't think the book sounded interesting.  I don't know how you make that kind of judgment based on a one page query, but she is pretty opinionated based on her Twitter account.

I think the basic problem is that my query letters are lacking some pazazz.  I may need to find a query workshop or on line course to help me put it together after the first of the year.  Several of the agents I am interested in are not taking any new queries until the first of February so there is plenty of time.

I wish you peace and joy in the winter holidays,.  My New Year's resolution is to write here daily. 

I began writing again today.  I have a story to tell and I have to get it on to the page.  I can't continue to worry about no one wanting my novel.  I can only keep sending it out and hoping someone will want it.  However, the more of this marketing I do the more I become convinced that one needs an agent to find an agent.

I think I got myself unblocked by writing something else.  For years now I have sent out a tacky Christmas letter with all the activities of my family.  People often told me how humorous it was, but for the past few years since the girls grew up it was tired and mundane.  This year because of all the changes in my life I wrote a new letter, one of hope and dreams for the future.

I think writing that letter in combination with reading Kris Radish's book and lunch with my friend Chassily, put the whole thing into prospective for me.  Chassily's stuggles with getting words on the page helped me realize again that it is not the selling of the story which is important but the telling of it.  I have told the story in my novel, I now need to tell this story from my life.  And when I finish this story, I will move on to the next.  I am a writer and writers write stories.

Christmas letter

I haven't been here in a while.  I have been a human doing instead of a human being.  I just started a new book--Dancing Naked at the Edge of Dawn by Kris Radish.  I love her voice although she kind of rambles and loses me at times.  I read her stuff wondering how she knows what goes on inside my head.  She inspires me to stretch my wings.

I haven't worked on the memior.  I am afraid to start again.  I am afraid of Vista. I don't understand what my left pinkie finger does to get me in so much trouble.  I will try to keep it extended and not hit extranious keys.

I wrote my yearly tacky Christmas letter.  Last year when I wrote it I was on the edge of a major life change.  I didn't say anything in the letter.  I didn't want to be a downer at the holidays.  I suppose I was leaving myself an out just in case I didn't leave.  This year I felt I owed my family and friends an explanation of my inexplicable behavior.  I hope it satisfies them.

I was wondering what I would do with my time off at Thanksgiving.  I finally decided.  I am having dinner with my younger daughter and her family on Wednesday.  Thanksgiving Day I will watch the Macy's parade and go to the movies or write.  On Friday I am working a half day and then I am going to see a friend for the weekend.  I refuse to sit here feeling sorry for myself.  That wasn't why I left.

I have been off my plan for a while now.  Maybe it was the depression.  Maybe it was grief as the one year anniversay of my freedom approached.  Maybe it was exhaustion from all the legal wrangling.  Maybe it is just fall and I am going into hibernation mode.  Irregardless, the divorce will be final in a few weeks.  All that is left is gathering the remains of my things and returning the things which I inadvertantly took with me.  It is a poor end to thrity years together, but it is what I wanted.  Still it is sad.

Depression

I can't believe that I have fallen into this hole again.  As I look back at my blogs for the past few weeks I can see it happening again.  I had all these plans about what I wanted to do and where I wanted to go, and now I find myself slogging through life once again.

I don't know how this has happened or even what started it.  I think it began with losing the memior.  The task of starting over was just so overwhelming.  I had just been though all that with the novel.  I am getting rejection letters on that as well and it is hard to deal with.  I love my story but apparently others don't.  I know I have to be all right with that, but it is still difficult.

I am also reaching the end of a divorce.  All that is left now of 30 years of marriage is a trip to the courthouse to file the papers.  Other friends are going out, being asked on dates, and I sit here alone with my laptop playing hearts.  My adult daughters have their own lives and I not want to be an intruder on them.  I have four days off at Thanksgiving and I will be alone for most of it.  I am afraid Christmas will be just as bad.  I knew this would happen but it hurts none the less.  The pottery class I was looking forward to was cancled.  I feel increasingly isolated.

Maybe it is the laptop.  Before I got it, I would have to go to my desk and look out the window.  I could see the sky, the trees, and the cars passing on the road.  Maybe my easy chair is just too confining.

I had all these plans, but they have come to nothing.  Maybe I need Prozac or just a swift kick in the butt.

Next week I am getting a haircut; the first one in four years. I want to feel attractive.  I have signed to go to a medical conference in two weeks; I will talk to people.   I will get out of this chair and go sit at my desk.  I have another query letter to send out--this one will go to the person who will love my book.  I am going to Amsterdam with my cousins next summer.  I will get off this pity pot and make a life for myself.  I must start to concentrate on the positives.

I have been stuck now for far too long.  I know I have to just sit down a write, but I feel uninspired.  I did get a writing assignment from my counselor this week.  She wanted me to visualize a situation that I though would have the ability to change a flawed position which I maintain about myself.  I spent today working on this.
 
I know I need to just sit down a write, but so many things seem to be calling me away.  I must get back into the habit of writing daily even if it is only to write something here.  I will move my blog up the list and tomorrow I will begin again.

Robert Frost

I started trying to write this morning.  As I was beginning I remembered one of my favorite poems.  I first heard The Road Not Taken when I was singing in a madrigal group in high school.  It has become a touchstone for my life.  While I have had difficulties in my life it truly has been one of taking the least traveled road.  I wanted to share it with all of you who seek a different path.

 The Road Not Taken

Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth;

Then took the other, as just as fair,
And having perhaps the better claim,
Because it was grassy and wanted wear;
Though as for that the passing there
Had worn them really about the same,

And both that morning equally lay
In leaves no step had trodden black.
Oh, I kept the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads on to way,
I doubted if I should ever come back.

I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.

This morning between balancing my checkbook and cleaning the cat box I came to a decision.  I am a great believer in Karma and serendipity.  I think losing the memoir was a bit of both.  I am not going to take the laptop to Geek Squad.  I am going to start re-writing it. I think the initial draft was just away to get my energy flowing.  I am going to do an outline this time. >.<  And I have set up a back up for documents on my computer.  Hopefully that will keep me from losing everything again.  And I will begin again.

Losses and Gains

You shouldn't give up.
Fight for yourself and
who you are. You've got
to go through the worst
times in life to get the best

I just read this on PostSecret.com.  This is one of the absolute truths of life.  The difficult times are the fire that temper us.  We become harder, more resilliant.  The difficult times are also an opportunity for change.  And if used well, those difficulties can produce gifts for you.

The past few weeks a friend of mine has had financial difficulties.  I am not in a position to help, but I know that something good will come from his situation.  It does no good for me to tell him that.  He will have to experience it for himself.

God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference. 

For myself, I have been to the ocean this weekend.  I love the sound of the waves.  There were pelicans skimming the beach.  It is very theraputic for me.  I needed to say my Serenity Prayer.  I needed to come to terms with a loss.

I have been working now for two months on a memior.  The work was going very well, I thought.  Then I touched some button or something and the whole thing disappeared off my flashdrive.  I didn't know that could happen.  My daughter says it is backed up on my laptop some where.  I have thought about it all weekend.  Should I take the laptop to Geek Squad and spend the money to try to find it, or should I accept it as some type of omen and begin again?  I haven't decided yet.

I finished The Lost Symbol.  I was greatly relieved to find out there was a twist. 

The book raises a lot of interesting questions about the nature of God and man.  Most of points were not new ideas to me.  I was brought up as Christian, so when I think about spirituality I use Christian vocabulary, but I have also been through AA and studied other religions.  I believe there is a Power Greater than Ourselves, without which we are unable to make positive change in ourselves, and I see no conflict between being a scientist and my belief in that Higher Power.  In fact, the more I study science the more I am convinced in an all powerful creative force which gives things a push in the right direction every now and again. I believe that science is leading us on a path toward "touching the face of God".  He would not have given us all this intellect and all these talents if He did not want to meet us someday as equals.

I was also thinking about the divisions which exist between those world religions.  The Washington Monument features strongly in the book.  It made me think about the Tower of Babel in the Old Testament.  God struck the builders down for trying to reach heaven, and punished them by making them speak in different tongues.  The world's religions are all talking about the same things; peace, love and enlightenment. It is the "Babel" that keeps us from really communicating.  Think of what could be accomplished if we understood each other and every person was able to use their intellect to their highest capacity.

John 1:1 says,  "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God."  The novel centers around the quest for that Word.  What if the Word is Man?

There are several things on my mind this morning.  First, I have gotten 382 pages into The Lost Symbol.  It appears at this point that one of my favorite characters may have died.  I can't believe how this revalation has effected me.  I am shaking and my heart is pounding.  There is pressure in my throat and tears are about to spill.  I can't believe Dan Brown would do this.  There has to be a twist.

Which leads me to hope that I can create that kind of emotion when I write.  I want people to laugh and cry.  I want them to feel the emotions of the characters and then add their own to the mix.  Will work on that today.

Another few words about the healthcare debate.  I am very upset with the division the country is facing right now.  How will our legislators ever be able to accomplish anything when they are so far apart ideologically?  Have we gone as far as democracy can take us?  Maybe we should put some of the dollars being spent on this debate into improving education.  "Those who fail to learn from history are doomed to repeat it".

I realized this morning that I am wasting a lot of time.  It is so easy to get caught up in social networking sites.  I am not doing the things I should.  I must work on a change of attitude.

I worked a bit on my short story submission this week and sent out a couple of query letters.  I realize that getting a book published is a long term investment but it will soon be four years since I had the idea and started putting words on paper.  Royce Buckingham said "Send things out and start writing something else."  I am trying to do that.  The discouraging part is that even though you have sent it out, the book still needs to be tended. 

Getting your novel isn't like writing a business letter or paying a bill.  Once those have slipped through the mail slot they are gone.  You can put them out of your mind.  With finding an agent, you have to be mindful of when you sent your query.  If there is a rejection, you must send out another query.  The novel is always in the back of your mind.  It is difficult to move on to the next project with the last one still lingering there.

I know I will write this weekend between the laundry and vacuuming.  Life must go on.  I learned in medical school that I could do almost anything I set my mind to, but I would like to have my novel bound and sitting on the shelf, rather than on a flashdrive at the safety deposit.

Today however, I will put this aside.  I will work on positive thinking.  I will read some more of The Lost Symbol and start watching True Blood season one because everyone is raving.  And I will let the stories percolate to the top of my mind so I can begin afresh in the morning.  

I am feeling really good about my work today.  I have written four chapters today.  I am even having fun trying to come up with titles for the chapters.  I did realize today that writing a memior is very simular to writing a novel.  While it is tempting to write everything that happened in a linear manner, there has to be some plotting as well to make it interesting.  As such it is not totally accurate as a time line, but hits the high points.

I started The Lost Symbol as well this weekend.  Dan Brown wrote a flashback six pages long.  It was so shocking when we came back to the current time I also felt the transition physically.  I probably wouldn't have noticed it before I started writing in earnest.  Now I made a note to myself.  "Don't do that."

I also went to see James Taylor.  His music leaves me nostalgic.  I also watched Dirty Dancing with friends on Friday.  I wonder why I don't own any of this fabulous music.  I wonder if I can get a discount from Amazon if I run their ad here.

I also got a rejection letter for The Claddagh Ring.  It was from an agent which had rejected it before.  I am going to make a file of rejection letters, just so when I am published I can send them a copy.  Get one rejection, send out another letter.

Haven't found too much time for posting the last few days.  It seems the days and weeks are much shorter than they were when I was younger. 

I worked on my memior  this weeks.  It is amazing how memories fade.  I have some old calandars which my children made that help put me in the time.  I am anxious to move on to my third year.  I have so many more stories which revolve around patients and the tension is greater for that particular year than the second year.

I had dinner with a writer friend last night and then went to our local writer's association meeting.  It was good to get out and talk about writing and hear about the process of others.  I was reminded that I need to write every day.  Life and work seem to get in the way so easily.

The other bit of writing I did this week concerned a letter to Pres. Obama.  I took parts of my post below and some comments I had made else where and melded them into a letter which I hope was coherant.  I was very distrurbed to read in the paper that a local Holocaust survivor was arrested for assaulting LaRouch follows with their posters of Obama with a Hitler mustache.  The mis-information and extreme rhetoric in this debate is going to lead to more of these kind of unfortunate incidents, which is unfortunate.  Every person in this country needs access to healthcare.  I don't have the answers, but I know if people don't calm down, nothing will be accomplished and healthcare costs will continue to rise.

Redondo, Des Moines, Washington

Today, I stated my morning with coffee as I always do on Sat.  I am reading this wonderful book about a traveling funeral. It makes me quite emotional with all the stories and memories and female friendships.

I had a message appointment. They always have the most sumputuous aroma therapy brewing. You can smell the place the moment you open the door. My therapist had whale songs playing. She put heat on my feet and arnica on my sore back. I wish she could have worked on me all day.

When I left the building my mind was open.  The weather so beautiful that I decided on a walk. There is an area called Redondo not too far away from my home. It is on the south Puget Sound, which is an arm of the Pacific Ocean. Redondo has a sweeping view of the Sound. You can see Tacoma and Commencement Bay to the south. Fox Island is to the west and you can just see the Olympic Mountains beyond. To the north, I don't know how far you can see, but the Sound heads to the Staight of Juan de Fuca and then Vancouver Island in Canada.

I took a walk along the boardwalk. There were all kinds of people, young and old, out walking and running today. The tide was in. The water was slapping up under the walkway.  Occassionally water popped up between the boards.  I saw something moving in the water. Initally I thought it was a big salmon, but it was a sleak, grey harbor seal headed north. I saw one dark head farther out in the water which may have been a sea lion. Salmon were jumping everywhere slapping the water and forming spreading wakes in the calm water. The sky was the bluest blue.  There were no clouds. I met a lady as I was walking. We talked about the bald eagles and great blue herons which nest nearby. I told her my story of seeing a fox near there one evening.

My plan was to write down there, but I decided on food instead. There is one resturant on Redondo called Saltys. I walked alone into this upscale place with my dirty tee-shirt, baggy pants and Birkies. No one gave me a second look. They gave me a table with that same Sound view.  I had a glass of Chardonney. It wasn't the best--not quite buttery enough for me. I had a tender petite sirlion, medium rare with a Hollendasie sauce. There were two pan fried oysters, asper-grass (that is what I call it) and tiny, buttery, Yukon gold potatoes.

It was a perfect day in the Pacific Northwest.  I am refreshed and renewed, and re-dedicated to seeing more of this paradise I call home.

The healthcare debate

I listened with interest to the President's speech last night.  I am in agreement that every person in this country has the right to healthcare coverage.  The costs of caring for the uninsured through the ER is increasing costs for everyone.

I just don't know how it should be administered.  Medicare and Medicade are huge government buearacracies which are difficult to navigate and sometimes extremely difficult to get compensation out of.  Like any government entity, the only thing they know how to do is make rules and create paperwork.  And in our state Medicare pays one of the lowest rates of reimbursement.  Medicade only pays 45 cents on the dollar so for people with multiple medical problems and complex psychological and social problems, I can't afford to care for them.

But the insurance companies have providers in a bind as well.  They decide how much they will pay as well and you are locked into their rates.  Very few insurance companies reimburse at 100%.  Most of them are at 65%.  So as a provider, I could raise my prices but I wouldn't be compensated more.  A price increase will only hurt those people who have no coverage.  Insurace companies are in the business of making money for themselves.

I am in solo practice.  My overhead runs 65%.  Rent, payroll, supplies and malpractice insurance keeps rising, but the amount I earn per patient visit is static.  Today I filled out five patient forms which I can not be reimbused from.  I have patients who work for Boeing and Microsoft who make more than I do, but because I am "a rich doctor" I am viewed as the source of the increases in medical costs.  I have not raised my fees in four years.  So where do I cut costs.  I cut them in the amount that I pay myself.

I will be steadfast.  I don't believe that bigger medicine makes better medicine.  I don't believe that more paperwork and buearacracy do anything to enhance my relationships with my patients.  I don't believe that big government can improve access to care.  But what I do know, is that if I had a million dollars, I would keep doctoring until it is all gone.

I worked on my med school memoir today. Got up through the summer before second year. Already have 25,000 words. May have to do one med school one residency.

Toying with a short story in my mind. See if I can pull it together for submission.

My good friend and editor Chassily Wakefield wrote me today. She sent me a note about her edits on part 3 of The Claddagh Ring. She said, "you were very good about keeping the story moving forward and not bogging it down with unnecessary back story and flashbacks. The ones that are in there need to be there and deepen characterization. . . .Your style of writing is very lean and clean, straightforward and yet still manages to get the passion and character development in there. It makes for a very fast-paced read, which is awesome." It was wonderful to have someone appreciate my work. Thanks Chassily! I will put that on the cover when it is published!

I thought of this the other day. Thought it would be a great beginning line for a story.

Cassandra once again felt her mother's critical glare. The child her mother wanted lie under the dry grey-green grass of the southern Idaho cemetary. All she had was Cassandra and Cassandra was never enough.

Book Review

I just finished The Crowning Glory of Calla Lily Ponder by Rebecca Wells. I was expecting more of a Ya-ya sisterhood kind of story. Calla is almost a Forrest Gump kind of character. She grows up in a small Louisiana town surrounded by love and lives a charmed life until two great tragedies rock her world. She moves to New Orlenes to study to cosmotology and become surrounded by a group of bizzare, but loving characters. Another tragedy sends her back home and one of the story lines is resolved. Calla has such a open childlike view of the world and the author in the face of all this heartbreak gives you the impression though Calla’s eyes that everything is still wonderous and beautiful.
Having said all that, I thought the story was a little thin. Calla is not a very complicated character. She makes two big decisions in her life, the rest of the story she seems to float along with the tide. The tragedies are sad, but not devestating. I just thought it lacked the conflict necessary for a good story. I keep waiting for something momentous to happen to pull this woman into reality. And I really couldn’t connect with any of the characters either even though her gay friends from NO were entertaining at times. It was just too "gushy" for me.
I am starting Annie Freeman’s Fabulous Traveling Funeral today. A patient recommended it and said it was a riot. I need a good laugh.
I am going took work on my medical story today and I am trying to work on the timeline for the memior. For some reason I don't remember a whole lot about second year. I have some calandars from those years, hopefully they will spark some memories. Third year will be much more exciting.

Med school memior

Got some work done on the memior yesterday. Mostly I was looking at what I had all ready writen and trying to make it better. Soon I will have to get out all those old calandars my kids made during those years so I can remember the chronology better. Looking forward to the long weekend. I think I can use the time very productively now.

Had an interesting piece of karma today. Don't know if it is good or bad. One of the query letters I sent out lost its address label so it came back to me. It is the one to an agent I really respect and would like to have work with me. Maybe it came back because it could be made better. I will look at it before I mail it again.

My twitter friends think the med school stories would make the best memior. Will try to make some sense of all my random notes tomorrow. Maybe I have the makings of two different types of memior.

Have been having some problems with my back and a dear friend is very ill. Haven't felt much like sitting at the computer the past few days. I am going to get Office loaded on my laptop and maybe head out somewhere scenic to write tomorrow. Have flashdrive will travel. Will post more tomorrow.

Got quite a bit accomplished today. I am going to let my medical story percolate for a bit and then go back and look at it again. Then off to my "editor".

I transfered all the memior stuff to a single flash drive. Now I will try to sew it together and see where I am headed.

Bed is calling me.

Didn't get anything accomplished yesterday. I found a disc (one of those floopy ones) that has a large chunk of memoir on it. I have pages of paper, several other discs, and some hastily scribbled notes. It is not much to work from. I think I need to get it all organized and in one place (I love flash dives) before much more can be accomplished.

I did find my Bertha T story that I want to send to a professional journal. I may work on that first. The contest dealine is Oct 31.

Then there is another short story contest for Writer's Digest with a Dec 1st deadline.

Anyway, I think I will spend the day putting all the memior stuff together in one place. Remembering the sage advice of someone who is published--Start something, finish something. It is hard to finish a memior. My life isn't over.

Saturday

I have worked the crossword puzzle and had my first cup of coffee. I am sitting down to clear my internet mailboxes and compose myself for writing. I have a couple of projects I want to work on. None of it is firm in my mind yet. A couple of short stories, a memior I have picked at for years (it keeps changing its focus), and my next novel.
It is a romantic suspense set in London. It is about half finished. I wrote it during one of those 50K words in 30 day challanges. I like the characters. I don't know enough about law enforcement in the UK to know if it is accurate. The ending is fabulous! It is the middle that is giving me grief.
I want to go back to London. I love the city.
Just rambling--clearning out the cobwebs.

Queries

Today I am sending out four queries. Two go to an editor and agent I met at the PWNA Conference this year. One goes out to an agent I met last year who suggested I make some changes and send it on when I was done. The fourth goes to an agent I previously queried, who turned me down flat, but I have such a cosmic kind of connection to his agency, that I hope he will look at it again now that I have reworked it.

Off to sign some papers, go to my counseling appointment, and buy some groceries. My new cell phone came and I have no time to get it up and running. Will battle technology later. The mundane chores of life take precendence over greatness.

Teddy Kennedy's death

It is a sad morning indeed. I was only 8 when JFK was assasinated, but it remains one of those hinge points in life. I had lost my hero, and while Ted Kennedy sat in the Senate, I was assured that Camlot would never truely die. Last night I pulled out my battered old guitar and played Abraham, Martin and John. I thought of John Jr and how he died before he really had an opportunity to achieve his potential. So much power and so many talents in the Kennedy family, and so much personal loss. Passing along the song for those who have never heard it. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3dHvYB5JdSs

Essay is sent out. Going to work on another one tomorrow and send out a couple of queries.

My friend has edited my synopsis and my essay. Now all I have to do is send them out. Pushing the send button is the scariest thing in the world. It is like walking out of your apartment nude.

Priorities

Didn't get anything accomplished today. BUT my daughter did come over for the day and I got a lot of errands done. It was good to see her. Tomorrow I really have to write.

Contests

I found an essay contest in Real Simple magazine. The topic is "When did you become an adult". I am inspired. Wrote most of it today. Have to submit by Sept 7, so have a goal oriented weekend.

Advertizing

I just got an email from a woman who saw my add at Yahoo and is interested in my book. I need to make a list of these people so if I am forced to self-publish I have a handy list of buyers.

Reviews

I just got an email from my friend who is a romance writer. She just finished reading the first third of my novel. She LOVES it. I am so happy I am crying. Now I just have to find an agent who LOVES it. Anyone know anyone?

How to Write a Synopsis of a Novel | eHow.com

How to Write a Synopsis of a Novel | eHow.com

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And one more for good measure. Off to write!

How to Write a Good Book Synopsis | eHow.com

How to Write a Good Book Synopsis | eHow.com

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Here is a related article. I think I did that by going back and naming the chapters. >.< Still don't know how to condense it but will keep typing for now.

How to Format a Synopsis | eHow.com

How to Format a Synopsis | eHow.com

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Found this on the internet today. There are a couple of other short articles. Still don't know how to condense a 110K word novel into 2 pages single spaced, but I am at least typing.

Synopsis

Today I am feeling quite frustrated. I worked on my book for the past three years. I have worked on my pitch and query letter for the past year. Everything I have read up until now has told me that a query letter and sample chapters is all that is needed and NOW everyone wants a 1-2 page synopsis. I don't even like synopses. And now I have a huge case of writer's block. I think I need a cookie.