The Writer's Dictionary N-Z

Hi folks! Mr. Motivator is here once again to stir the savage beast within you, to pump up your writer’s soul, and to gently push you in the direction of greatness.

Last week I gave you the first installment of the Writer’s Dictionary A-M; today we will finish the task covering letters N-Z.

This is just for writers. Firemen need not read this; truck drivers need not read this; hell, my Aunt Martha need not read this. Consider this an early Christmas present for all those kindred spirits out there who have the passion of words, who since the early days of childhood have been scribbling their thoughts in some writing tablet. This is for the lovers of language, the sultans of sentences and the princes of participles. This is for you who suffer from writer’s block, who hunger for illumination and who thirst for knowledge.

Writers…this one is for you!

N IS FOR NAKED

And naked, of course, means without covering, vulnerable and unprotected….just like writers are each and every time they offer one of their writings for public scrutiny. Writing is the ultimate striptease act, baring our souls and showing it all in hopes…in hopes…that our small offerings will be accepted by the vast throngs of readers. Bravo to you for having the guts to put it all out there.

O IS FOR OOZE

Ooze is a verb meaning to move or advance slowly but steadily, and what better definition can there be for the path of a writer. Working daily in relative obscurity, the writer has a plan and that plan requires steadfast commitment to the craft of writing. We build our platforms one article at a time, always moving forward towards our goal.

P IS FOR PACIFY

Another verb meaning to ease the anger or distress of. Writers have the ability to bring peace to their readers. Our words, when perfectly formed, can bridge the gap of race, creed and distance; we can form a common bond among nationalities; we can be goodwill ambassadors through our words, and make this world just a bit smaller, and a bit more peaceful, in the process.

Q IS FOR QUALITY

Let it never be said of your writing that it is not of a degree or grade of excellence. You have declared yourself to be a writer; act like it! Greats came before you; greats will come after you. You are part of a great legacy and as such you should never settle for less than excellence in your work.

R IS FOR REMEDY

A noun meaning something that relieves pain, cures disease, or corrects a disorder. Consider this if you will: writing corrects the disorder of ignorance. Writing relieves the pain of those suffering in this world. Writing cures the diseases of apathy, complacency and inhumanity. Writing is crucial to the advancement of brotherhood and writing continues a long history of freedom of speech. You have been entrusted with a sacred quest; don’t waste the opportunity.

S IS FOR SEEK

Writers are seekers. We are on a journey of discovery every time we sit down to share our thoughts. We investigate, we uncover, we poke and we prod, all in the name of literature and the advancement of intelligence. To strive, to seek, to find and not to yield…..the words of Tennyson beautifully apply to the quest of writers.

T IS FOR TEEM

Teem is a verb meaning to be full of or to give birth to, and what better description of a writer than that? We are overflowing with ideas, words, sentences, thoughts and messages, and through our efforts we give birth to more beauty and damn but the world needs more beauty. Through our words we answer questions, provide information and paint dreams and damn but the world needs more of those things. Yes, writers are teeming and the recipients of each new birth are the readers.

U IS FOR URGENCY

I would submit to you that there is an urgency in the world today for more writers to produce more work; it is of pressing importance that we do so. Throughout the years the opposite of warfare and strife and discord has been the Arts. On one end of the spectrum is death and destruction; on the other….the calming influence of the artists of the world.

V IS FOR VISIONARY

This was an easy one to choose. Visionary….having the nature of fantasies and dreams….a dreamer!

Is there a better definition of a writer? Think about what you give to people. We are the ones who take dreams and bring them to life. We are the ones who chase dreams and believe it possible to actually catch them. We are living, breathing, walking, talking windmill-tilting visionaries and God ain’t it great?

W IS FOR WELCOME

To receive with pleasure and hospitality into one’s company or home….yep, that’s what we do when we write and publish….we send our words out into the world in hopes that they will be well-received. Out there in cyberspace another human being is hoping for information or inspiration or answers to endless questions…and we provide those things and more. We are like a favorite relative that has been gone for awhile, stopping to pay a visit bearing gifts, food and drink. We are the comfort-providers and the answer-gurus. We are the warm and fuzzies on a cold night, and we are the hot-toddy that relaxes and soothes.

X IS FOR XANADU

Xanadu, of course, is a mythical place in a poem by Samuel Coleridge; it is described as an idyllic, beautiful place…sort of like the beautiful places that we create with our words. Whether it be memories of simpler days gone by, or human interest stories that raise our hopes, or just some pabulum for the needy, we as writers create beauty with our words.

Y IS FOR YOURS

Belonging to you….your writing, my friends, is your legacy to the world, every bit as much as your children or a thousand acts performed over your lifetime. Long after you are gone your words will live on, and some day, in the near future or distant future, some young human being will be seeking comfort or knowledge and will come across your writings and they will smile. Knowledge transported across the years and across the chasm of nationalities. We bridge those gaps each and every time we write.

Z IS FOR ZONE

I was going to do zygote but discovered at the last second a fondness for zone.

As in being in the writing zone; the passion within us forces us to sit down at the computer. We have kept the ideas bottled up for far too long, and if we don’t write about them we fear we will burst. Sure there are chores; sure there are other responsibilities; but dammit, we must write. The idea comes to us; the words begin to flow; a smile spreads over our face and for one, brief moment, we experience the elation of Bronte and Blake and Hemingway and Steinbeck….we are writers and we are in the zone, baby!

If not then maybe you aren’t a writer after all, but I suspect you are now inspired and ready to create once again. To all of you, I raise an imaginary toast your way. To the shores of Shanghai and the plains of Kansas….to the high rises of Manhattan and the islands of the UK….to the savannahs of Georgia and the savannahs of Africa…..this toast is for all of you who write. Bless you always!

2013 William D. Holland (aka billybuc)

“Helping writers to spread their wings and fly.”