N is for Not Giving Up

Yay! We're halfway through the challenge! How's it been going for everyone? Have you made new blogging buddies? Found some great themes you can't wait to check in on every day? I know I have! 

And yet, as fun as A to Z absolutely is, it's not called a blog challenge for nothing. It's meant to test you blogging perseverance. Twenty-six posts in one month is no small feat. And it's around this point in the challenge when bloggers tend to start running into walls here and there. Again, I know I have. 

But try not to lose sight of the goal here. A community of bloggers, coming together to push themselves and one another to blogging excellence. And you can do it. Just keep plugging away. Trust me, the harder it feels right now, the greater the reward when you finally cross that finish line at the end of April. 

So congratulations for NOT giving up on the A to Z Challenge. You're a survivor, you're gonna make it! And we'll be there waiting for you when you reach your goal!


A to Z Co-Host S. L. Hennessy can be found blogging at Pensuasion. 

C is for Come on, A to Z-ers!

It's day three of the challenge, and things are just starting to heat up! How's everyone doing so far? Met some awesome new bloggers? 

The first few days can be a little overwhelming, with the plethora of new blogs to visit and comments on your own blog to keep up with. But don't worry! Just take it one day at a time. Once you get a routine down, it'll all come a little easier. 

Until then, here are a few tips that might help you along the way: 

- If you're not sure where to start, I find that it's always good to simply begin with the blog right after yours on the A to Z sign-up list. Give a quick comment to your A to Z List neighbor, and then proceed on from there. It's a great way to meet new bloggers you might have missed!

- We're all seen the list, and it is LONG. Don't worry about trying to visit every blog signed up for the challenge. Instead, come up with a manageable number of blogs per day and try to stick with that. If you only manage to make it to five, that's perfectly fine. 

- Don't forget to comment back on the bloggers who visited your blog. That's the best way to find blogs with similar interests and make lasting blog connections. 

And most importantly, don't forget to have fun. This is a blogfest people. Enjoy it! 

A to Z co-host S. L. Hennessy can be found blogging over at Pensuasion. 

How Important is #Collaboration in the #Blogging Community? #atozchallenge

Composers for Relief: An Album of Collaboration

Arlee Bird started the A to Z April Blogging Challenge to encourage a feeling of community amongst bloggers-- scores of bloggers have benefited through this challenge and will do so again this year. This was made possible through the collaboration of the co-hosts, (Lee, Alex, Tina,  Jeremy, Nicole, Stephen, Heather, AJ, MJ Pam, and yours truly,of course.

Today, one of the members of #TeamDamyanti , +Samantha Geary Jones, is here with a post on collaboration, and how it resulted in an awesome project that might help lives come back to normal in the typhoon-ravaged areas of Philippines. Take it away, +Samantha!

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We all have hopes and dreams. Our hope is our strength. It’s what inspires us to be greater. What pushes us to venture beyond what we know and take a chance. A chance to inspire. A chance to be inspired. A chance to make a difference.

Imagine what we can accomplish, together.

When talents and dreams converge--that’s when the real magic begins.

And that’s exactly what happened in December of 2013. In the tragic wake of the worst natural disaster in Philippines history, over 30 compassionate composers and 28 amazing authors from across the globe, collaborated on a compassionate project to support the relief efforts in the most devastated areas ravaged by Super Typhoon Yolanda.

The charity event began with the Composers for Relief album--28 tracks embodying a sense of hope and triumph from the brilliant minds of film composers and musicians. Each track inspired an author’s tale, reflecting the soul of the notes with well woven words. These 29 stories transport you Beyond the Binding of the imagination in heart pounding sci fi, enchanting fantasy and gripping slices of realism.

Even now, the collaboration has captured the creative minds of film students at Limkokwing University of Creative Technology in Malaysia, whose GLOBAL VISUAL HARMONIES project, under the direction of Ray Kril, adds a stunning element of hope in the form of short films inspired by the album.

 

I can’t think of a better way to build a community--one that transcends crafts and continents, cultures and creeds. Consider collaborating with your fellow bloggers and friends, authors and artists, musicians and filmmakers. 

That’s what the A to Z challenge is all about, coming together as a blogging community. In this challenge bloggers from all fields are welcomed, and it can become a cauldron of collaborative creativity.

Let’s take it to the next level-- reach out to one another. Take a chance. YOU can make a difference--you need only try. It’s amazing what we can accomplish, together. 

Begin the journey today by visiting the other bloggers in the A to Z Challenge Sign-up list. Or take part in the A to Z Challenge Theme Reveal. By the time the challenge starts, you would have made friends, and who knows, even thought of a project to do together-- which would enrich your life, and that of others.

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Beyond the Binding is available NOW on Amazon & Smashwords in all ebook formats . Cover designed by Jennifer Redstreake Geary

Composers for Relief is available NOW on ITunes, Amazon, CDBaby & Spotify

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 Have you taken part in a creative, collaborative project? Teamed with other bloggers to create something new, hosted a blogging event together? Has the A to Z challenge resulted in creative ideas of collaboration for you?

Calling all #atozchallenge participants to #SocialMedia !

A to Z April Blogging challenge is all about networking, connecting with interesting bloggers and making blog friends. 

To that end we usually recommend following other blogs, commenting on their posts.

Another way to cement these relationships is to follow each other on social media.

One of the things I want to encourage this year for AZers is cross connection-- follow as many AZ bloggers as possible on the following social networks:

Facebook

Twitter

G+ page

Start with following Blogging from A to Z April Challenge :

Facebook page

Twitter id and hashtag: @AprilA2Z and #atozchallenge

G+ page: +April Hosteam 

I'll also share my details here:
My co-host blog: Amlokiblogs
My participant blog: Daily (w)rite

My Facebook 

My Twitter: @damyantig

My G+: +D Biswas 

If you're on any of these networks, leave me the details in the comments below-- I'll follow you, and encourage others to do the same. While adding your social media details, make sure to mention the name and number of your blog in the sign up list. 

Use this format for your details:

My Blog Name and Number on the list
My Facebook
My Twitter
My G+

Follow each other as more AZ participants drop in their social media deets in the comments below.

Following other AZ participants on social media would create a buzzing network. And who doesn't want more followers, right?

 It would deepen a sense of community come April and the Blogging from A to Z Challenge! So what are you waiting for? Sign up for the challenge if you haven't already, and leave us your details in the comments.

#Blogging for #atozchallenge : To Theme or Not To Theme?

You're all signed up for the A to Z Challenge. (If you aren't, go on, run and do it, I'll wait.)

One of the questions doing the rounds:  

What do I blog about? Does it all have to be about the same thing?

Short Answer: No, but it helps to have a theme.

You can just post on your blog 26 different things for 26 days of April, and you've still won the challenge. 

Some folks do it each month of the year (-- they even do 31 posts a month, don't ask me how, I do about 8. Ok, maybe 10 if I'm feeling productive).

If you're one of those daily bloggers, and have an established audience, I would still recommend an A to Z Blogging Challenge Theme. If you're not, I'll recommend a theme.

WHY? 

• Because a theme sticks in the minds of people, aka, your visitors. 
• A blog challenge is about building community-- so if folks remember you from you challenge posts, they'll be blog friends for longer. 
• You also have to do less work in some cases, because once you thoroughly research a topic, your posts come that much easier! 
• Niche audience: It is important to attract the core audience of your blog, because they'll remain loyal due to their interest in a particular topic-- and if you blog on that topic for the #atozchallenge , you can be sure to attract a regular band of followers.

So, if you wish you can blog without a theme. I'm only saying Blogging for A to Z challenge might be so much more effective for your blog if you have a theme!  

And if you do have a theme, you may choose to reveal it on March 21st through the A to Z Challenge Theme Reveal 2014, hosted by Anna Tan Csenge,  Zalka, Guilie Castillo Oriard , Samantha Geary Jones and Vidya Sury.

Getting to know: Author Martha Reynolds

Please join me in welcoming Martha Reynolds, an author and A-Z participant. She's the first to answer the “getting to know you questions” that I posted during my invitation for guest posters. Over the next few months leading up to the 2013 challenge, we will have lots more of these posts. If you're interested in participating, just email me (Tina) at tndowney (at) gmail (dot) com. Be sure to include “guest post” in your subject. I get a LOT of emails...

1. When did you start blogging and why? Tell us a bit about the kind of blog you have. Be sure to include the name of your blog and the link.

I wrote and posted my first blog on July 13, 2011. It was my birthday and I thought it would be a good way to begin. I hadn’t yet started writing full-time (although the book was percolating in my head), so my blog was simply based on my own reflections about life, love, and family. It still is, for the most part, although I have posted a little about this whole crazy journey into publishing! I blog at Wordpress under the title “MarthaReynoldsWrites.” 

2. How did you find out about the challenges, and how many have you done? What was your favorite part of participating?

The April (2012) Blogging from A to Z Challenge was my first, and I absolutely loved it! I found out about it by reading other blogs, and I think it was late March when I first read about it, so I made a quick decision to participate. By that time, I’d written most of my first novel and was awaiting a response from my editor. The theme I chose was writers, but I included poets, essayists, and songwriters as well as novelists in my group. I received some good feedback and I know I gained more followers from the challenge.

3. What suggestions would you have for visiting new blogs during the A to Z challenge? What blog visiting strategy has worked for you during the challenge?

This is tough, because we’re all so busy. For me, I’d return to the A to Z main page, with the blog links, and simply go through the list. Some blogs just grabbed me, and I liked and followed them. What I’ve found works best for me is setting up my notifications on Wordpress so I receive a digest of blogs every Monday. Some folks only blog once a week (like me), so this way, I can use Monday morning to catch up on what’s been posted.

4. What topics or themes would you like to see other bloggers cover during the challenge? What types of content (poetry, short stories, writing tips, photos, reviews, etc.) would you enjoy reading during the A to Z Challenge?

I’d love to read reviews, as long as they weren’t too lengthy. I found some great writing tips last April, and that’s always beneficial. Someone blogged about food, and I thought that was fantastic. Actually, I’d be happy with just about anything, although I do remember one blogger who used the challenge to explore some BDSM language and ‘procedures.’ That’s not for everyone!

5. Please tell us something unusual about yourself – don't be shy. Check out my revelation from last year here.

As a writer who works from home, it can be hard to find the right discipline. I sit at my computer, and social media is all around me. Sometimes when I’m stuck with a scene, it’s too easy to click on Facebook and see what my friends are saying. All of a sudden, it’s an hour later and I haven’t done anything with my scene. The Challenge really made me focus on the topic, because I was posting every day (except those Sundays, when I was planning the week ahead). I tried to keep my posts relatively short (400 words tops, most times 250-300), understanding that we want to read as many as possible.

So I don’t know if it’s unusual that I get distracted, but I know now that writing means writing, not tweeting, or checking my Amazon stats.

6. Are you joining the challenge in 2013? Are you doing a theme? Please share any plans you have. We promise not to steal your ideas.

I am definitely joining the 2013 challenge! Can’t wait, really. I loved my 2012 theme and actually thought about doing it again (there are so many wonderful writers), but I’m also thinking about places. Places where I’ve been – a short reflection of that place. It might be a foreign country, city, town, village, or even just a church, a hilltop, a bar. Someplace where something memorable occurred. I think it could work!

Thanks for joining us Martha, and letting us get to know you better! We look forward to reading your April 2013 challenge posts. Congrats on the publication of your first novel, Chocolate for Breakfast, available at Amazon.