2015 A to Z Blogging Challenge Reflections

The A to Z Reflections Post is a post presented on your own blog site giving the A to Z Team, the other Challenge participants, and any other readers your thoughts about this year's April Challenge.

We are looking for feedback about the Challenge. Tell us what you liked and didn't like, what worked and what didn't. If you have suggestions about making future A to Z Challenges better, this is a good time to let us know. You can highlight other bloggers who you felt did an outstanding job or direct us to specific posts that particularly impressed you or that you found to be very helpful.

In other words, we want to know how the A to Z Team did and how the Challenge worked for you. If you'd do it again, tell us why. If you would never consider A to Z again, let us know what would make you feel that way.

Please put up your Reflections post between now and Friday, May 8. AFTER your post has gone live, add the link to the Linky List below. Enter the link that goes DIRECTLY to your Reflections post and not your general blog address. The list will be accessible for the remainder of this year. Be sure to grab the badge.

The list is intended for A to Z Reflections posts only. Any links to advertising sites or non-relevant posts will be removed from the list. General links added before you actually post will be removed. And remember that these posts will be directed to a diverse audience of varying ages and sensibilities so please respect others by refraining from posting obscene materials or hurtful attacks upon others. We want a productive interchange of ideas that can lead to positive innovation.

Add your link below AFTER you have posted your reflection post!

Guest Reflection: Maria Dunn #atozchallenge

Today please welcome Maria Dunn, one of the A-Z Challenge participants.  I've been reading reflections, and will be choosing some special ones to feature here at the A-Z.  Here's the first in the series.

As I reflect on this year’s A to Z challenge, I find a smile come to my face, satisfied to have completed another and already planning for next April.  Why smile?  Well it feels good to accomplish something that is, well, a challenge.   It is always fun to reacquaint with friends from the previous year’s challenge, meet new friends and cultures, and discover talented bloggers to follow.  It’s also a real delight to find how I grow through the challenge.  I appreciate alternative views a little more.  I find myself more compassionate towards the hurting.  I understand blogging, writing, and thinking a bit better.

1.     Loved catching up with some blog friends I made in last year’s challenge.

2.     Loved meeting new friends.

3.     Loved visiting with people from diverse cultures and from around the world.

4.     Loved being challenged to write.

5.     Loved being challenged to think and grow.

6.     Glad to be back blogging again after such a long hiatus.

7.     Sad so many didn’t finish.

8.     Glad I learned so much from some great bloggers like Silvia at Silvia Writes, who wrote on all things Romanian and Sharon at Shells, Tales, and Sails who taught us about all things fruit.  Did you know there was an ice cream fruit?

9.     Sad I wasn’t able to visit 5 new A to Zers every day.

10. Glad for those I did visit and revisit.  I hope to continue to check out others on the list in the coming days and months. 

Things I learned that were helpful.

1.     It was valuable to check in with the challenge website as often as I could to see the daily post there.  Often there were helpful tips to enhance the challenge experience.  Also, those who are commenting on the challenge website are among those who are surely continuing and so they make good first visits.

2.     It was nice not to have a particular theme, but I find that I enjoy visiting those who did, so I am thinking about that for next year.

3.     I like being able to find out more about the bloggers themselves.  So I appreciate reading the about me link and seeing their photo.  I may have to do a better job of that myself.

4.     I really liked when someone recommended another blogger, and I usually went over to visit them as well.  So I did do that a few times.  If I plan it out better, I'd like to include  more recommendations or bloggers I found worth a visit.  There are plenty I could and would recommend.

5.     Last year I planned it out a bit more.  That was helpful especially when time got tight.  However, I feel less stress about it at this year’s conclusion.  Is that because it wasn’t all new or because of just getting to it when and if I could?  I don’t know, but I think, if possible, I’ll plan ahead a bit next year.

Thank you to all who stopped by.    Thank you to the all the A to Z team for your dedication in seeing this through and encouraging all of us.  I don't know how you do it, but I know it wouldn't happen if not for you.  I appreciate you.  And thank you again, Lee, for your brainchild.  Really enjoyed visiting with each one of you.

                                                                                                                  God bless, Maria

A to Z Challenge, 2014

Thanks for being here, Maria and sharing your thoughts with us.  Maria blogs at Delight Directed Living.  Please pay her a visit.

~Tina, who apologizes for the late posting of this.  8th grade graduation festivities got the better of me.  Mea culpa...

What else did you do in April?

Today Jemima Pett, author of the Princelings of the East series, begins the first of her regular post features on the A to Z Challenge Blog.

If, like my friends, you took a bit of a break last week due to exhaustion, you may by now have forgotten everything else you did in April.  Judging by some of the Reflections posts, many people were like me - totally exhausted by keeping up the blog visiting!

The only thing I HAD to do in April were the chapter illustrations for my sixth book, Bravo Victor, which came out last week.  I thought it would be a nice relaxing thing to do in among all the blogging and visiting.  Then I got into last-minute mode - you know, when you don't have to do something yet, so you put it off?  I steeled myself and got most of them done over one weekend.  Not many writers do chapter illustrations, and sometimes I wish I hadn't started, but in the end I enjoy doing them, and I get great feedback from my readers.

Castle Marsh (c) J M Pett

They aren't great art!  More sort of scribbly sketches.  But my series is set in places I see clearly - the Princelings of the East come from Castle Marsh, which in my mind is in the UK's Norfolk Broads, somewhere between Hickling and Winterton.  It's a low lying area of reeds and cuttings filled with water, used by holiday makers who rent boats for a week to travel around and enjoy the sunshine.  We get a lot of sunshine in Norfolk!  This is Castle Marsh (the improved version, if you have the first versions of the first three books).

One I did for the new book is a view of the road from the dunes through the marsh to the castle, which captured the atmosphere I wanted exactly.

The Road to Castle Marsh (c) J M Pett

The frustrating thing about writing series is that although everyone is doing it (it seems), it gets harder to promote them as you go on.  I mean, if I see a book is part of a series, I want to start reading at the first one.  Sometimes you can enter halfway through without losing too much, but it always makes sense to go back and find out how the characters and their world arrived where they are.  I think it applies to all series, whether Suzanne Colliin's The Hunger Games, Lindsey Davies's Falco series, Bernard Cornwell's Sharpe books (I wish he hadn't done the prequels later), Harry Potter, or your favourite series.  You have to announce your new book so all your fans can leap on it (thank you!) but otherwise, the promotion effort goes into the first one or two, to attract new readers.  Is that true, do you think?

I met so many wonderful writers during this year's A to Z that I'm sure there are lots of experiences and opinions on this.  Readers, what do you think?  Have you jumped into the middle of a series? What's your favourite series, or do you prefer stand-alones? 

Jemima Pett, part of #TeamDamyanti for the 2014 A to Z Challenge
Jemima's blog http://jemimapett.com  
Follow on Twitter - @jemima_pett
The Princelings website: http://princelings.co.uk 
Facebook http://facebook.com/princelings

Z-End! #atozchallenge

You did it!!

You have reached the end of the Challenge.

There may have been days when you struggled – keeping up with posts, keeping up with comments… But you made it.

Now it’s time to look back and reflect.

Did you accomplish your goals?

Did you post every day?

Did you make new friends?

Did you enjoy the Challenge?

Join us starting May 5 for the A to Z Challenge Reflections post.

We ask that you reflect on your experience and let us know what you enjoyed, what you could’ve done better, and where we can improve.

The Linky List will open May 5 – please enter your direct link AFTER you have posted your reflections.

Thanks to everyone who participated. Your participation is what makes this Challenge so special.

Calling All Roadtrippers! Pit Stop Time!

Hey Roadtrippers! Calling you all in for a pit-stop. I don't know where you are on Route 66, but let's all meet here at the A-Z for a little chat about how our journeys are going.

I'm still chugging along, though not at nearly the pace I first started with. Then I was hitting 7-8 new blogs a day, out there meeting and greeting a socializing. Then I started to miss some of my old blogging buddies, and decided that I needed my friends, and the adventure at the same time. This choice did slow me down...

For me it was a good choice though, because some of these buddies were new ones, and it's not good to disappear at the beginning of a friendship! Those relationships have grown, and they feel like old friends now.

What I'm really loving is taking the Reflections part of Route 66 first. That way I know that the person I'm visiting took the Challenge seriously, probably finished, and had something to say about it. I've found some truly excellent examples, and some of those bloggers have agreed to share their Reflections here. You may have read some of them.

I've read gaming blogs, music blogs, atheist blogs, journal blogs, cooking blogs, craft blogs that make me envious of their enormous patience and talent, I've learned some new scrapbooking techniques (not that I'll ever have time for that in my life again, I'm predicting), I've seen other countries, experienced other cultures, read some amazing poetry, bought WAAAY too many books on my Kindle, just like last year, and met some incredible people. It's a blast! I'm going to just keep swimming, just keep swimming!

Please share some of the highlights of your journey in the comments!

~Tina

A-Z Reflections 2013: Ornery's Wife from Zoe's Cottage

As I was out reading Reflections Posts, I came across some fantastic ones that I thought would generate a good discussion. Perhaps you were too weary to write your own, but I'm pretty sure you still have some opinions. I thought Ornery's Wife did a great job of outlining some of the main topics we as co-hosts want to hear your opinions about. So comment away, or if you've already done so in your reflections post, feel free to leave the link to it in the comments. ~Tina

Since I have a strong tendency to FORGET things, I may have forgotten to write this when I had planned to and in fact may forget to put in some important thing.  I hope not...

First, the Positive aspects of the challenge:

• It was very well organized and advertized
• There were many participants, from diverse backgrounds, locations and perspectives
• I found a LOT of new blogs to follow
• Many new friends are following my blog :)
• There was a lot of information up front about how to be successful and by reading that I was able to finish the challenge successfully and change up many aspects of my blog to make it more reader and comment friendly.  I do love me some comments!
• After reading so many blog posts with the Captcha turned off, when I found one with that in it I was shocked! :)  I only had one or two anonymous comments that were unrelated to the post and those were directed to Blogger's spam folder.
• I like only having to link up ONE time at the beginning of the challenge instead of daily--sometimes I can't get to my computer until late in the day and not having to stress if I didn't make it at all was really nice!
• My Google Chrome browser highlighted which blogs I had already visited on the linky list so I could check out new ones easily since (as I mentioned before) I am inclined to FORGET things like where I had been before.  It only worked if I clicked the link directly from the list (as opposed to from another comment on a blog) and in Chrome (not Firefox) but that was how I usually went "shopping" for another friend. :)
• I love that there was not a set theme other than the alphabet letter for the day--you could choose your own theme for the month or choose not to use one at all and fly by the seat of your pants. 
• I was also glad there was no length requirement.  Some of my favorite reads were just a picture with a caption.  I also found that if the post was really long and about a topic I was only marginally interested in, I didn't spend much time there.
• I was challenged to amp up my writing, both in quality and quantity. The challenge seemed to attract a really large group of "real" writers, and their content was more often than not meaty and fun to read with fewer glaring grammar errors. 
• Truly, this was an amazing collection of bloggers!  Not only did most of them reciprocate visits, a lot of them left great comments. I have never had that type of response in any other blogging carnival/hop  in the past.

Now for the negative aspects, if one could call it that--Perhaps more like constructive criticism?

• There were several blogs I visited that never did post a single entry for the challenge after they announced they were participating or else dropped out early in the month. I couldn't find the email address to send the links to so I didn't ever report them. Even at the end of the month I was still stumbling across some of those.  Perhaps there could be a link on the linky page of the A to Z blog about where to report? (or did I just miss it??)
• I came across several blogs with Adult Content that were not flagged on the list. I may choose to visit one, but I would like to know in advance it is such. Otherwise the tags on the blogs were somewhat helpful when deciding which ones to visit.  For the most part the AC notes were the only ones I tended to avoid because I FORGOT what the different letters stood for other than WR and I didn't want to take the time to go back up and read the list.
• The Disqus comment thing was annoying.  Some of the blogs allowed you to comment with just your name and email address, but others required you to have a Disqus account or log in with Facebook, Pinterest, or Twitter.  I didn't comment there.
• Some of the blogger profiles are linked to their Google+ account, but there is not a visible link to their blog in their feed. So, when tracing down a comment I was directed to Google+ but couldn't reciprocate their visit because I couldn't find their blog address.  Perhaps if someone has their blog set up this way they might add a blog link to their home page or else in the comment itself.
• I was more likely to comment on a blog whose comment link was at the bottom of the post as opposed to having to drive back up to the top to find it.  Some of them were so small and hard to find it took a lot of time.  
• I was more likely to read a post if the entire thing was displayed when I arrived on the site as opposed to having to click a "read more" link. Page re-loads take valuable reading time and as I mentioned above, I have a tendency to peruse the length of the post before I read it to determine if I have enough time (or attention) to give to a lengthy piece or not.

And that is about it.  Thanks to Arlee Bird and all the helpers who made the challenge so much fun and easy to participate in.  Thanks to all my new followers and those who left such insightful comments on the posts. Thanks to you for reading this one!  I'll be back next year, maybe on more than one blog! :)

Thanks, Ornery's Wife (love that name) for sharing. Please go visit her at Zoe's Cottage and give her some more bloggy love.

It's Not Over Until It's Over! Time to Reflect

The "I Survived" Badge Is Ready!

      Thanks to our in-house art guru, Jeremy Hawkins from Retro-Zombie, we have available for all of you who finished this year's A to Z Challenge a badge for you to proudly display on your site to show all the world of your amazing April feat.  Congratulations to all of you!

The Blogging from A to Z April Challenge Reflections Post 2013

         By now you have probably heard mention of this Reflections Post.  Those who are past A to Z participants are undoubtedly familiar with this Reflections Post and may have done one in previous years.  For those who don't understand what this is all about, I'm here to explain it to you.

          The A to Z Reflections Post is a post presented on your own blog site giving the A to Z Team, the other Challenge participants, and any other readers your thoughts about this year's April Challenge.  The way you present your post is up to you.   Essentially you can take the same approach with this post as you did your other Challenge posts.

          We are looking for feedback about the Challenge.  Tell us what you liked and didn't like, what worked and what didn't.   If you have suggestions about making future A to Z Challenges better, this is a good time to let us know.  You can highlight other bloggers who you felt did an outstanding job or direct us to specific posts that particularly impressed you or that you found to be very helpful.

          In other words, we want to know how the A to Z Team did and how the Challenge worked for you.  If you'd do it again, tell us why.  If you would never consider A to Z again, let us know what would make you feel that way.

         Please put up your Reflections post between now and Thursday May 9th.  After your post has gone online you can add the link to that specific post to the Linky List once it has opened starting Thursday night.  Enter the link that goes directly to your Reflections post and not your general blog address.  The list will remain open for entries for one week and will be accessible for the remainder of this year.

         The list is intended for A to Z Reflections posts only.  Any links to advertising sites or non-relevant posts will be removed from the list.    And remember that these posts will be directed to a diverse audience of varying ages and sensibilities so please respect others by refraining from posting obscene materials or hurtful attacks upon others.  We want a productive interchange of ideas that can lead to positive innovation.

Coming Soon!  The A to Z Road Trip!

       Details for this will be coming on this blog in the next few weeks.  Be watching for more information about this event.

       If you still have questions please let them be known in the comment section.  

Related articles

• Coming Soon - Reflections... #atozchallenge
• Very, Very Near to the End... ( #atozchallenge )
• QUICK! Let's Do Something Now! (#atozchallenge)
• Yep, that's all folks!

Very, Very Near to the End... ( #atozchallenge )

   

   The time is getting closer.  An A to Z Victory is almost yours to claim.  So what's next?

The A to Z Reflections Post!

        This tradition started with the very first Challenge in 2010 and has continued every year since.  Some of you may be wondering what this Reflections post is all about, so I will tell you.

        On Friday May 3rd an A to Z Reflections Linky List will go on line for you add the link to your post of your Challenge reflections.  This is the time when you can share your thoughts about the Challenge.  Tell all of us your likes and dislikes.   Let us know how the Challenge benefited you and what aspects bothered you.

         You can also share highlights such as new blog discoveries you made, certain posts that you enjoyed, or things you learned from other bloggers.  The Reflections post is your time to tell us what's on your mind about A to Z so we know what we did right and what we should change next year.  Also you can feel free to provide any ideas that you think might enhance future Challenges.

          When the list goes online, please wait until your post is up before adding your link to the list.  Unlike the Challenge itself, for the Reflections list we want you to link directly to your post.  This list will remain open for the week following May 3rd so you'll have plenty of time to add your link and you can post your Reflections any time during that week.   You can post your Reflections any time after April 30th, but list will not be available to you until May 3rd.

          We look forward to hearing from you.  And this gives you an added week of doing some more visiting.  We hope you have fun and we all become more informed.  Any questions?  Just ask.


Here are a few more bloggers who could use a last minute boost with followers.  Can you please help by visiting, following, and letting them know you stopped by?:

Tales of the Rock

Ramblings of a Silly Girl

Rabbit Trails

DeeCoded

Reflex Reactions

Warped Nerdiversity

Embracing Dawn

Writing Women's Fiction

My Crazy Family Circus

Lyre's Musings

Mainely Write

Flat Stanley and Friends

The Ninja Librarian

Simply Sarah

Bookish Geek

Ordinary Never Sleeps

      Let's ramp up visits, comments, and follows in these last few days.   And don't forget to subscribe to the blogs that you would like to keep following after the Challenge if they are on Wordpress or some other format that doesn't use Google Friend Connect.

      Let's put the Varoom! into the last few days!

Related articles

• Hashtag the Heck out of Us!
• QUICK! Let's Do Something Now! (#atozchallenge)
• E: Must read---Every #AtoZChallenge Participant Deserves Visitors..and some MUST DONTs
• Sharing ( #atozchallenge )

T is for TIME!

Time. I don't know anyone who has as much as they want, do you?

I think as bloggers, we as a subculture have an especially short amount of time. Most bloggers, or at least those I'm familiar with, have a day job, a family, all while we are trying to work on our novels, or our music, our pieces of art, our humor, our crafts, or whatever our passion is, yet still attempting to maintain sanity. It ain't easy.

Then, to all of the above, let's add changing our blogging frequency (for most) add more visiting, more return/recognition of comments, and you've got a person stretched pretty thin.

Yet, most of us are loving it! Why? I think what we all have in common, regardless of what type of blog we have (and sorry if I didn't mention your flavor...but these daily posts are supposed to be short...) is DETERMINATION. Hmm, someone wrote about that at D...

TIME (whatever we may have) + Determination = Success

If you've made it this far, you're going to make it all the way! Six posts left. Just keep swimming, just keep swimming...

What I'd really like to know though is what have you learned? How did it go? Now that it's all over, what advice would you give others? (Yes, I know it's not over...I'm advertising...we take liberties...) How has participating changed your blog? You'll get a chance to tell us during our traditional Reflections Posts. Don't worry right now about when or where or how...just finish The Challenge. We'll let you know later what the rest of the scoop is.

A to Z Reflections Linky List: #atozchallenge

          As this is being posted I realize that it is not yet May 7th where I am, but it is in some other parts of the world.   So let the Reflections begin.

            For those still not familiar with the A to Z Reflections Post and the other things A to Z that are still to come, you might want to revisit the A to Z Blog posts of Sunday April 22nd or Tuesday May 1st.   We don't want any of you A to Z fans to miss out on any of the upcoming A to Z events.


            Here is the essence of what the current A to Z Reflections post is all about:


             The A to Z Reflections Postings will begin on Monday May 7th.  These posts will be your personal thoughts about the A to Z Challenge and, like the A to Z posts, you can do them anyway you want--in prose, verse, images, or whatever suits you best.  We want you to tell us about your A to Z experience.


            Share your pleasures, your pains, your setbacks, your gains.   Who did you meet along the way that you found to be especially helpful or inspiring?  Did you have a favorite blog post?   Or a favorite series?   Which blogs did you discover during April that you will be returning to in the future? 

          You can tell us what you thought were the highlights of your April Challenge, what you learned, what changes you might make next time, or what surprised you most.  There are no limits as to what your Challenge experience might have been so tell us in your best way how you felt about the April A to Z Challenge of 2012. 

         Express your gratitude or vent your frustrations.  If you'd do this again, let us know why.  If you hated it. tell us why.  We want you to tell your A to Z story to the rest of us.  Like the Challenge itself, this Reflection post is your creative outpouring.  Be it prose, verse, song, video, or images, you can express yourself in anyway that you like. 

       You don't have to have finished the Challenge or even entered the Challenge to be eligible to submit a Reflections post.  Didn't finish or never got started?   Let us know what happened and tell us how you feel about that.   If you were an observer who followed some of the A to Z blog posts and even commented on a regular basis, give us your thoughts about the Challenge.    

           We do ask that you keep your posts no more than a thousand words.  There will probably be a lot of blogs to read so we don't want to bog anyone down with exceedingly long posts.

            You can add your Reflections post to the Linky List anytime between now and Saturday May 12th at 10 PM Eastern Time.   Please add the link that goes directly to your Reflections post and not your general blog link.  We plan to keep this list up until the end of 2012 and since there could be a large number of links on the list it may take a while for readers to get  through it and we don't want visitors to have to be searching for your Reflections post.

           We hope you enjoy these Reflections posts and perhaps even learn something from them.  And we hope you will continue to discover new blogs that will be of interest to you and meet new blog friends.  Have fun!


          The Post Challenge Challenge begins here next Monday May 14th.   Be here then for the complete details.

          Important Note!!     Please Read before signing on to the list!!

          This list is intended only for those who are posting an A to Z Reflections post.   Please post only the link to your Reflections post and not the URL address of your blog.  If your intent is to add a link to your advertising site or just to get your blog noticed, be aware that those links will be removed from the list when discovered.   If you have any problems with your entry or accidentally enter the incorrect link, please contact us.  Refer to the "Contact Us" tab for contact information:

.

U for Upward and Forward in the #atozchallenge

This post is brought to you by one of the April A to Z Challenge co-hosts: Damyanti@Amlokiblogs.

We're almost near the finish line---and this has been quite a ride, from A to T.

 For U, it is upward and forward-- just six days to go and another year of the challenge would be accomplished.

Time for second wind, a fresh burst of energy, of not looking back.

Once the challenge is done, we invite you to reflect on your A-Z journey:

The A to Z Reflections Postings will begin on Monday May 7th.  These posts will be your personal thoughts about the A to Z Challenge and, like the A to Z posts, you can do them anyway you want--in prose, verse, images, or whatever suits you best.  We want you to tell us about your A to Z experience.

          You can tell us what you thought were the highlights of your April Challenge, what you learned, what changes you might make next time, or what surprised you most.   Let us know about special bloggers you met in your A to Z journey or about a post or posts that especially moved or impressed you.  There are no limits as to what your Challenge experience might have been so tell us in your best way how you felt about the April A to Z Challenge of 2012.

           We do ask that you keep your posts no more than a thousand words.  There will probably be a lot of blogs to read so we don't want to bog anyone down with exceedingly long posts.

            As I've said, the Blogging from A to Z Challenge Reflections Posts of 2012 will start on Monday May 7th.  The Linky list will go up on that day so you can enter the link for that post on the list.  For those who already have blogfests or something else planned for that day, don't worry--the list will be open for the entire week so you can publish your Reflections post anytime that week and still participate.  That list should also be accessible until the end of the year along with the A to Z Master List.

#atozchallenge: What's Next? Coming Soon!

Artwork by Ada Z from Collagepodge.com

The 2012 A to Z Challenge Reflections Post
      
          As we enter into the final week of the Blogging from A to Z April Challenge some of you might be wondering What Next?  

         The frenzy of daily blogging and rushing around to visit as many of the other blogs as you can may have worn some of you to a frazzle.  You might be looking forward to a blogging break.  While others of you may be having such a great time with the Challenge that you might experience A to Z withdrawal come April 30th.

         Whichever the case may be, we hope that you will stick around in May for one more big event--the Blogging from A to Z Reflections Post 2012 Edition.   Those of you who have participated or followed the previous Challenges will probably remember what I'm talking about.  For those of you who don't know, I will explain.

          The A to Z Reflections Postings will begin on Monday May 7th.  These posts will be your personal thoughts about the A to Z Challenge and, like the A to Z posts, you can do them anyway you want--in prose, verse, images, or whatever suits you best.  We want you to tell us about your A to Z experience.

          You can tell us what you thought were the highlights of your April Challenge, what you learned, what changes you might make next time, or what surprised you most.   Let us know about special bloggers you met in your A to Z journey or about a post or posts that especially moved or impressed you.  There are no limits as to what your Challenge experience might have been so tell us in your best way how you felt about the April A to Z Challenge of 2012.

           We do ask that you keep your posts no more than a thousand words.  There will probably be a lot of blogs to read so we don't want to bog anyone down with exceedingly long posts.

            As I've said, the Blogging from A to Z Challenge Reflections Posts of 2012 will start on Monday May 7th.  The Linky list will go up on that day so you can enter the link for that post on the list.  For those who already have blogfests or something else planned for that day, don't worry--the list will be open for the entire week so you can publish your Reflections post anytime that week and still participate.  That list should also be accessible until the end of the year along with the A to Z Master List.

A to Z 2012 Evaluation Posts

           Last May on Tossing It Out I had a series of A to Z evaluation posts where we looked at the good and the bad in the Challenge of 2011.   This proved to be such a popular and helpful series of posts that we will be doing this again, this time on this A to Z Challenge Blog.

            Watch for these posts in May and be sure to let us know what changes you would like to see in the next Challenge.  Tell us what you would improve, keep the same, or get rid of in 2013.   Give us your thoughts on the A to Z Video contest and any other ideas that might add an extra special dimension to the A to Z Challenge.

             Since we will be having the evaluation posts, you might want to save any thoughts along those lines for those posts and not the reflections posts.  But by all means feel free to add your evaluations to the Reflections if you'd rather do it that way.   The evaluations will delve deeper into the specifics and offer more suggestions for your consideration.

Post Challenge Challenge


           I'm sure not many of you got through the entire list and I've heard many say that they will be continuing to go through the list after the April Challenge has ended.  It is a great way to discover new blogs so I'd encourage this.


            Last year our co-hosts Shannon Lawrence and Tina Downey hosted a Post Challenge Challenge.  Be watching for more details concerning this in the next week or so.


The A to Z Challenge Blog


           This blog will stay open for business!  This has proved to be a rather popular site and we want to keep it active.   No after Challenge schedule has been determined yet, but we're open to suggestions.  What we will be doing however is accepting guest posts for the upcoming months.  These posts will be about blogging and writing in general and whatever else you want to read here.  We will be featuring your blogs and providing the blogging news that seems most appropriate to appear on these pages.  Let us know your thoughts.


Let's Spike the Blog Numbers!

          I'd like to make one last request today.  In these final days of this Challenge, let's boost follower numbers on all the blogs that need it.   My goal is to see every blog leave this Challenge with at least 100 followers on their sidebar widget.

           This week, whenever you come to a blog that has less than 100 followers showing and you're not following them already, click that button and follow that blog.  I think most of you feel pretty good when you get a new follower so spread the love.  Become a follower and let that blogger know in the comments that you've done so.  You might even get a new follower by doing this.

            To start you off, go to the blog A Few Words and become a follower there and leave a note in the comments that you've done so.  Now I know this is a shameless plug since this is my blog, but I'd like to end up with 100 followers there at the end of the month.  And actually I'm making a point with my plug.

            If other bloggers don't know you're there you won't get followers very quickly.  In order for you to receive comments and followers you are going to have to get out there and leave some comments on other blogs and follow them as well.   It works and I know this from experience as do most of you.

          So, if you currently have less than 100 followers, note this in the comment section on today's post here.  And then get out and visit some blogs that you haven't been to before and encourage visitors to come to yours.  Increased visitors and followers will increase your odds of gaining readers and getting comments.  Try it and let us know if it works.

            Enjoy the upcoming week of blogging and make it the best one yet.   Some of the toughest letters are still to come and I'd say we are going to see some interesting posts full of creativity.



       

Related articles

• 10 sure ways to win the #atozchallenge ! (a-to-zchallenge.com)
• http://tossingitout.blogspot.com/2010/04/q-is-for-quotes-what-people-have-said.html
• http://tossingitout.blogspot.com/2010/05/my-reflections-of-blogging-from-to-z.html
• http://tossingitout.blogspot.com/2011/04/after-a-to-z-challenge-whats-next.html

O for Onward in the #atozchallenge !

This Letter "O" post is brought to you by Damyanti, co-host for the A to Z Challenge.

So we're nearing the finishing line... and I'm thrilled to say a whole lot of us are marching on, commenting widely and often, and having a rollicking good time.

Posting to theme everyday for a month can drain a blogger, however, so to everyone whose energies are flagging, we say, "Onward! We're almost there!"

And now, I'll repeat the advice I've been harping on all month: 

1. Turn off your word verification. It helps no one. You may moderate comments for a while if you're unsure. I still find blogs with the Captcha on, and it makes me feel sorry.

2. In your comment id, link only to your AZ blog, NOT your profile which may have five other blogs. Trolling through ten links to find your A-Z blog is too much to ask any one visiting back.

3. Leave a link to you when you comment, so no one spends hours finding you.

4. Comment when you visit blogs, and you'll get comments in return.

5. Make it easy for people to follow your blog and follow you on social media.

So, Onward, folks-- 9 more days to go, and you'll be a winner! You can do this :)

Don't forget about the May 7th Reflections post.  Save the Date!  Details coming soon.








.

Get in the locker room! It's half-time!

Alright team, let's huddle up. It's half-time, and that means it's time for our locker-room talk. (I'm an avid football fan and would love to know what the coaches say to the team when they head in there for either a tongue lashing or a rah-rah good job talk...)

We're ½ way there! You're doing an awesome job out there! I've seen some great plays! No fumbles so far, and we're sticking to our game plan. Are there any questions?

“Yeah, coach. I was wondering if I could sit out the third quarter. I'm just so tired!”

*If you need a couple of plays off, that's fine. There's nothing wrong with posting twice in one day to catch up for a rest day of no posting.

“Coach – I've visited a lot of folks who haven't visited back. Should I just stop reaching out and concentrate on those who are being active in this game?”

*That's a tough one. Your call. As far as I'm concerned, the visiting is one of the most exciting parts. You never know what you're going to find. You don't know if your next blogging buddy is right around the bend, five blogs away! I think the navigation buttons that you'll  be able to install will get the fire going again on the visiting.

“Coach – I've got lots of energy left. Where should I spend it?”

*That's an easy one. Visiting! I'm sad to say some folks have only gotten a very few visitors. Sad state of affairs! So if you've still got a lot of spring in your step, then step up your blog-hopping. Wherever you land, they'll be glad you came by.

Ok folks, it's time to head out there again. Keep up the good work, and don't forget our goals. Discipline to blog frequently, and community building through finding new bloggy friends! When this is all over, you'll be glad you stayed in the game.


And now some news!


A to Z Reflections post on May 7th


       On Monday May 7th the Linky list for your Blogging from A to Z Reflections Posts will open.   For those who have blogfests or other plans made already for that day, don't worry the list will be open for the entire week.  We hope all A to Z participants will plan to sign up and present your thoughts about the April Challenge.


        Be watching for more information about the Blogging from A to Z Reflections Post.

The A to Z Navigation Buttons Are Ready!

Many of you have asked for the A to Z Navigation Buttons that we had last year.  Those of you who do not know what I'm talking about can find the buttons at the top of the side bar.  Check them out--they are pretty cool.

Marcus Clearspring who created the popular A to Z Navigation Buttons for last year's Challenge   has done it again.   For those of you who are interested in adding the buttons to your site visit Marcus's site Writing Investigated.

If you don't want to add the buttons to your site or would just like to test them out, there is a special site for the badges at http://a-z.marcusclearspring.com/

Here are a few more words from Marcus:

1) Blogger's new "Dynamic Views" do not show custom widgets. Choose a
theme from a different group, if you have switched to Dynamic Views.

2) Wordpress.com (only .COM) bloggers cannot use custom widgets. They
simply don't allow it. For these people, the page at
http://a-z.marcusclearspring.com
offers the buttons. You can just add an image in your sidebar and
link it to open the above page.

Here are some more Challenge participants who Missed the List:

Kerrie at Here I Am Kaycee has been leaving some wonderful A to Z posts with excellent reminders for all of us.   Stop in for a visit and while you're there click her follower button to help her try to reach her first 100.



.

Coming Soon: Your A to Z Stories

            Starting December 12th we'll be hearing stories on this blog Monday through Friday until January 6th.  These will be stories from you who participated in the 2011 Challenge.   There will be repeats of some of your reflections posts from the beginning of this past May.  Also if you would like to submit a post about the A to Z Challenge experience we would invite you to do that as well.

             It's time to start hearing from you, the ones who made the 2011 Challenge the success that it was.  If you would like to give your permission for us to reprint your Reflections post then email us at arleebird at gmail dot com.   We will reprint it here on the Blogging from A to Z April Challenge Blog and link back to your blog.  It provides this blog some content that will help others and it will give your blog some of the recognition it deserves.

           Likewise, if you would like to submit a special guest post please send us an email at arleebird at gmail dot com telling us what you would like to write about and when you can get it to us.  Once again it's your blog advertised here, you are helping the A to Z cause, and we link back to your site.

            We're open to just about anything you want to write about and in any format.  We want to build the buzz as we near the day when the A to Z sign ups start.  Can you help us make the 2012 A to Z Challenge even more amazing than the Challenge of 2011?

            On Monday December 12 we'll be posting the 2011 Reflections from Julie at Empty Nest Insider to kick off our campaign.  Julie is the inspiration for this concept and we'd like to give her credit for the idea.  We appreciate her interest and enthusiasm concerning the 2012 Challenge.

           So, please, let us hear from you.  Send us an email to give us permission to reprint your reflections or to suggest an idea that you'd like to talk about on the A to Z Challenge Blog.   Please include the link to your Reflections post to make it easier for us to locate it.  If you would like to participate please let us know by Tuesday December 6th.  That's next week so don't tarry.  Once the days are filled we will stop taking submission requests.  Let us know ASAP.

            Then, let others know about this blog.  If you are not yet a  member please sign up and encourage others to do the same.  If we post your A to Z Reflections or your guest post, we will let you know when it will go on line so you can let your readers know about it.

             April will be here before we know it.  It's not too early to start building for success.  And a huge thank you to all of you A to Z bloggers who are dedicated to the success of the Blogging from A to Z April Challenge of 2012.



.