Linda Andersen, writer of teacher guides for Cobblestones magazine, asked me, “What do you know about the rules of three in writing? I’ve heard that you have 3 things happen to the protagonist, and the fourth is the winner. I’ve also heard that two things happen to the protagonist and the third is the winning combination.”

I thought that might be a good thing to blog about. So I hope the following post and resources will inspire you to add the power of three to improve the rhythm and power of your writing.

I searched the internet to find out sources that explained the power of three.
Three is easy to remember. It sets up a pattern for the brain to remember easily. It has a rhythm to it. It gives a feeling of satisfaction.

A film that makes the use of the power of three is Pay It Forward (trailer to movie)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mV4TCWjehT0 

In the fairy tales, the use of three was indeed powerful to help remember the stories.
Three Little Pigs – Third pig had the winning combination to get rid of the wolf.
Three Billy Goats Gruff – Third goat outsmarted the troll under the bridge.
Rumplestilstskin Three guesses

Here are other sets of three:
Beginning Middle End
Ready Set Go
Father, Son, and Holy Spirit

As a writer you might think:
three problems
sequences of three
conflicts in patterns of three
inner struggles in patterns of three
outer struggles in patterns of three
three weaknesses
three strengths
three powers
three foods
three characters to help
three characters to hinder

In comedy, they say two lines ordinary, and then the third line is the opposite of what you expect, leading you to laughter. Without the first two to set you up, the third one wouldn’t be as funny. Three definitely has the power in comedy.

Here’s my try at demonstrating this technique:
First man: My wife cooks a mean dish.
Second man: My wife cooks a meaner dish.
Third man: My wife is a mean dish.

I hope you enjoyed my humor here.

In case that didn’t explain it thoroughly enough, here is a link to Andrew Dlugan’s explanations of the power of three for humor as used in speeches. http://sixminutes.dlugan.com/humor-speech-rule-of-three/

The twists and turns in your story keep your readers interested. If you lead the reader with the first try – He’s sure it’s going to work. Tell 3 reasons why it’ll work. Have the antagonist or other characters to tell 3 reasons why it won’t work. This leaves the reader questioning who is right. Write the consequences different from these and worse than expected. It builds tension into your story. It puts questions in your readers’ minds. This is good. It’s what keeps your reader going to the next page. He wants to find out what happens.

Check out these resources:

1. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rule_of_three_(writing)
2. http://www.copyblogger.com/rule-of-three/

Then read these resources

1.In another article, Andrew Dlugan explains in simple terms how to use the power of three in writing a speech.
http://sixminutes.dlugan.com/speech-outline-rule-of-three/
2. http://www.jonathancrossfield.com/blog/2009/06/writing-the-power-of-three.html
3. http://twowritingteachers.wordpress.com/2009/08/27/the-power-of-three/

I’ll send you on your way to your writing space with the following food for thought for your new novel:

Rules of 3 about surviving in the wilderness 

Urban Survival Site says:

You can survive:
three hours without shelter
three days without water
three weeks without food
three minutes without air
three seconds without hope.

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Joan Y. Edwards
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Never Give Up
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Never Give Up
Joan Y. Edwards
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