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

[gloripebbles.livejournal.com]

Soy hot chocolates work??? *stunned look* Colour me gobsmacked. Since I've had to avoid milks that has been a lost treat...any tricks to doing them right?

Oh yeah & the list - like that too *LOL* (but....hot chocolate!!!!)

[seanwilliams.livejournal.com]

Soy hot chocolate is brilliant. I dislike cow's milk and haven't drunk it for years, so if someone slips me one of those it tastes very wrong to me. Give it a try! (Haighs makes the best. Yum.)

Oh, and chocolate trumps everything. I thought that was understood around here. :-)

[gloripebbles.livejournal.com]

Well clearly chocolate trumps all.....my allegiance to chocolate is clear (though nowhere near the heights of the one I live with) since my comments lay with chocolate.

(Total random Friday trivia is I chose chocolate as my Primary Grade-something project & I remember I decided I HAD to take in a sample for everyone in the room as part of the presentation. Went down real well too LMAO)

[seanwilliams.livejournal.com]

You know I'm always happy to be a guinea pig, right? :-)