I love A to Z, but some self honesty has led me to admit that while I BLOGGED A to Z the last few years, it really has been a few since I adequately participated enough to ask anyone to visit me, which was missing the spirit of the thing, so I opted out this month. This means this is probably my only post for April, since I know most people will be way too swamped with A to Z for any other distractions. But in the spirit of support, I have attempted to write y'all an ode...





Ample alliteration amplifies atmosphere

but barbarous boasting brings banality.

Clacking cacophony causes chaos and

Desired doses of description delight deities.

Exclude exaggeration except when excited.

Frank facts flounder in fiction, while

genres generally give grins.

Hyperbole hastens heart hammering and

Iambic idiom is intriguing.

Just jotting jargon jinxes the job but

Kindergarten keynotes keep kangaroos and koalas kosher (but don't eat them)

Lilting lyrics lure languorous llamas, but

Many metaphors make mockery of manuscripts.

Nobody needs non-specific nouns.

Onomatopoeia outrages ostriches and orangutans while

people perfecting pace and lot pursue paradise.

Quaint queries question quality but

Rabid reading reinforces radiance and

Singing sentence structure satisfies.

Tragedy and thrilling tales turn pages.

Unless unlikable urchins undermine everything.

Vigorous verbs are vibrant and vary

Whenever writing wins wonder we

X-ude x-actly x-cellent x-amples.

You yearn for yonder yarn

Zen.



And for the question of the month... have I taken advantage of A to Z? I have. And my first few years when I worked really hard to get around, it was absolutely effective in meeting new people who I continued to interact with. But as I mentioned, the real benefit (and the karma of it) comes not from the daily blogging, but from the commitment to get to lots of people. Which I somehow seem to not have time for anymore. (My day job has gotten less flexible and my nights have filled with other obligations—I am not even writing as much as I'd like).



But I hope all of YOU are having a wonderful time with it. Now go meet some other A to Zers or Insecure writers!