the a-z of writing

[adelaidesean]

Ever since Clarion, I've had an A-Z of Writing wafting around the back of my mind.

There are some out there already, but I reckon we can do better.

Below the cut is my rough draft.  What do you think?  I'm open to suggestions!

THE A-Z OF WRITING

A is for Audacity and Ambition (doesn't hurt to have a little of both)
B is for Books (so obvious it's blinding)
C is for Crisis, Choice and Consequence (thanks, tallaudrey!)
D is for Dreams (where I get my best ideas)
E is for Effective and Entertaining (stories that are both get away with anything); also for Editing
F is for FINISH
G is for GRAMMAR; also for Goals
H is for HARD WORK (and Haiku!)
I is for Ideas
J is for Just Do It
K is for Kudos (not what we do it for, but hell, it doesn't hurt either)
L is for Listen and Learn
M is for Market
N is for Novelty (not always the same thing as Originality)
O is for Originality (not always the same thing as Novelty)
P is for Professional; also for Punctuation ETA and Proofread
Q is for Quality (settling for "good enough" is never good enough)
R is for READ ETA and also for  Revise, then Resubmit, Resubmit, Resubmit, etc) (thanks, punktortoise!)
S is for START ETA and Story and knowing when to Stop (thanks, battblush!)
T is for Talent, Technique and Tenacity (thanks, Kate!); also for the 10.5 Commandments
U is for Ubiquitous (people who say they want to write but never do), Unexceptional (most people's first efforts, including mine) and Utterly Usual (receiving rejections, lots of them); also Utopian (a world in which none of these three things are true)
V is for Verisimilitude
W is for WRITE
X is for Xenophon (not the senator; the writer who once said "The sweetest sound of all is praise") (thanks again, tallaudrey!)
Y is that proverbial crooked letter (if you have to ask why you're writing, maybe you shouldn't be writing at all)
Z is for Zeal ("fervour or tireless devotion...and determination in its furtherance; diligent enthusiasm; powerful interest "--you get the picture) and for the Zeroth Commandment (commitment)

Is there anything major I've missed?

ETA See the comments for some excellent suggestions that haven't quite made the list!

Comments

[ladnews.livejournal.com]

More Facebook suggestions:

"Aardvark, but rewarding." (Alicia Smith) *groan*

"W- 'Writers write, Owen.' :-)" (Lisa Hannett)

Great to see the Clarion South brainwashing kicking in, Lisa!

[leecetheartist.livejournal.com]

Well, someone had to! :-)

[(Anonymous)]

r for risktaking (pushing the envelope)