By Glenn Dromgoole

Brevity is a virtue, to be sure. But evidently not in literature. These days, a book needs to be at least 100,000 words to be taken seriously. 

Well, I’ve written about 35 books, and if you took all my books and put them together, they might not top 100,000 words. But, then, I’ve not always been taken seriously either.

Still, I think it’s possible to be even more brief. Over the years, several writers have offered their thoughts on how to sum up a whole book in just six words.

Here are a few of my ideas:

A book on Texas history: The Alamo. Lost battle. Won war.
A Texas travelogue: Drove all day. Still in Texas.
A sports book: Friday night. Winning touchdown. New girlfriend.
A book on business: Oil boom. Made fortune. Blew it.
A biography: Born. Drank. Found Jesus. Quit. Died.
A mystery: Boyfriend cheated. Poisoned him. Became nun.
A Western: Bad guys. Stolen horses. Hanging tree.
A children’s book: Once upon a time. The end.
An academic tome: Introduction. Text with footnotes. Conclusion. Index.

Nearly every romance novel can be summed up in six words: Can’t stand each other. Become lovers.

And, of course, theology: Jesus loves me. This I know.

Glenn Dromgoole is the author of about 35 (mostly short) books. His newest, coming out this fall, is The Christmas Spirit: A Celebration in Word and Song. He and his wife Carol own Texas Star Trading Company in downtown Abilene.