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A collection of snippets of the books I write and, occasionally, my life and the things that inspire my writing...

Tuesday, April 29, 2014

A to Z: Y is for Yeasayer

Yeasayer...

Well how 'bout that? There's one I didn't know, and I think I'll be adding it to my list of favorite words.

What it means (if you don't know):
ˈyāˌsāər/
noun
noun: yeasayer; plural noun: yeasayers
  1. 1.
    a person with a positive, confident outlook.
  2.  From Dictionary.com

I've always thought that being called a naysayer was bordering on insult. I know, the actual definition doesn't seem so, but if you look up its synonyms, e.g. cynic and pessimist, they're not flattering. And here we have its antonym.

When I read the word last night, after musing for a bit on what angle to approach it as an A to Z post, I came to this: why are we such naysayers about our own writing? About our writing abilities? Goodness knows, there's plenty of people who will put it down--and for reasons that are anything but fair and accurate.

Instead of being a naysayer about ourselves and our writing, and our dreams and aspirations, let's switch it up. We don't have to say it to other people. Just say it to yourself. Become a yeasayer. You are a writer, and what you write is worth reading.

Now, write the word in big letters and then hang it above where you write.

Y E A S A Y E R 

That's it.

At some point in the A to Z, I knew I'd become a cheerleader, and since I have a "killer" Z post to end the challenge with, today is the day to share a good word with fellow writers and readers... Believe in yourself. Become your own yeasayer. :-)

Visit other April Blogging from A to Z Challenge by clicking here







28 comments:

  1. I totally missed all your other cool "word" posts! I will have to go back and read:) I love learning new and different words!

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    1. It is such fun, I agree. Thanks for visiting, Jennifer. :-)

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  2. Great post. No more naysaying for me. I am now a yeasayer. :-)
    I'm your newest A to Z follower, and it's nice to 'meet' you.
    Deb@ http://debioneille.blogspot.com

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  3. Hi Teresa, nice to meet you. I like the word Yeasayer. I am going to be a yeasayer now.

    Regarding your comment on my blog, I would see keep writing and soon you will see your own book hit the shelves.

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    1. Thanks for your kind words, Rachna! And what a beautiful name you have :-) Thanks for visiting.

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  4. Yes! I'm totally with you. We have to believe in ourselves and rather than seeing poor feedback as discouragement, we have to see it as a challenge. =)

    True Heroes from A to Z

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    1. Yep. Learn from everything. Thanks, Crystal! :-)

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  5. I never heard that word but it makes sense. I'm going to try and stay on the 'yea' side more often.

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    1. Me too, Susan. We all need to give it a try :-) Thanks for visiting. :-)

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  6. I like this. I wonder why we hear the negative version of this word more often than the positive?

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    1. Stephanie, that's a really good question Why are we like that? Thanks for visiting. -)

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  7. Very glad to know there is a word for the 'collective positive thoughts, words and deeds' I find much more to what I think and do than the opposite 'Naysayer'. You are soooo right...let's SAY more YAY's than NAY's. Now about that 'Killer Z...see YAy tomorrow.
    Sue at CollectInTexas Gal

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    1. Yea! Another new yeasayer. :-) Thanks for visiting, Sue. :-)

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  8. It's a neat word. I have to admit I'm mostly on the other side of the spectrum. Naughty me.

    Thanks for visiting The Busy Mom's Daily.

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    1. Haha! We all have times when we're on the naughty side, right? Thanks for visiting. Cheryl. :-)

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  9. I needed to hear this today. I've been thinking that I'll never get done with my MS and why not just trash it. But I'm going to start giving some positive feedback to myself and see what happens.

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    1. Yes, give yourself some love, Karen. We write because we love to write, right? Please don't get so discouraged that you trash it. Maybe step away for a while and work on another story? :-) Thanks for visiting.

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  10. Yes! We need to subscribe to the Yeasayer Club!
    Lovely word which we need to spread around...

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    1. The Yeasayer Club. I like it! :-) Thanks for visiting, Michelle! :-)

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  11. good word - I'll be in touch after tomorrow

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  12. I prefer naysaying. I'm grumpy like that :)

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    1. Variety makes the world go round. ;-) Thanks for visiting. J E :-)

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  13. Replies
    1. Yes. Obscure but real. :-) Thanks for visiting, Courtney. :-)

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  14. Thanks +Teresa Cypher, a very cool post! Would love to be a Yeasayer for more friends & ourselves :)

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