H as in How Do You Make it Work? - by Matthew MacNish

Hello A to Z Challengers!

How has your April Challenge been going so far?

Personally, I've found a great balance between feeling not so much overwhelmed, but pleasantly challenged, and having great fun discovering new blogs and bloggers at the same time.

Hard is why we call it a challenge.

It's not easy writing a blog post every day except Sunday for an entire month, and even we co-hosts who are seasoned bloggers don't have the easiest time making it happen without freaking out a little bit.

How do we pull it off?

Well first of all, every blogger is different, but I would wager we co-hosts all use similar strategies. First, we schedule our posts ahead of time. There's nothing wrong with flying by the seat of your pants and drafting your posts the morning of for regular blogging (I do it all the time myself) but it would be really difficult to make that work for the A to Z April Blogging Challenge, and any time you did spend writing a post would be time you couldn't spend visiting blogs.

I don't actually write all 26 posts before the challenge even beings, but I do write about the first 10-15, and then I write another week's worth of posts each Sunday until they're all done. You can of course pick whatever strategy works for you, but we would highly recommend figuring out some plan for writing as many of your posts ahead of time as possible.

Another thing we do is get Help.

Not only do we have another fabulous list of Co-Hosts this year, but all of us have minions/assistant/helpers as well. When you're checking a list of literally thousands of blogs, it helps to not have to do it all alone.

My assistants this year are Sylvie Hanes from Life from An Optimist's Point of View, and Carrie-Anne Brownian/Ursula Hartlein from Welcome to My Magick Theatre.

They help us go through the list, and highlight great blogs with great themes, and also find people who aren't participating, or might need a reminder if they aren't up to date with their posts.

Have any questions?

Feel free to ask questions here, in the comments.

You can also reply to the co-host responsible for your section of the list in the email we sent announcing the challenge.

You can also ask questions by emailing us at contactatozteam@gmail.com. Find us on Facebook, and Google + as well.

Thanks for dropping by, and I hope you are all enjoying the Challenge and discovering tons of great new blogs! - Matthew MacNish

You can find me at My Blog | Facebook | Twitter | Tumblr

O is for ... Other Blogs!

What? I know I did something similar for L, but so what? It was awesome.

Now that we're over half way done with the challenge, how are you faring? So far, I have posted every single day except Sunday, and have visited at least ten blogs on the list every one of those days. It's a lot of work, but it's also a lot of fun.

Anyway, here are some blogs related to the letter O that I have been enjoying during the challange:

Michael Offut has been posting about Star Wars: The Close Wars, the animated TV series.

Oh Frog It! has been embroidering song lyrics.

Tim Brannan, from The Other Side, has been covering all kinds of monstrous topics.

Duncan, at Our Home Called Kuantan, has a nice series of Keep Calm.

Outside Perception had a lovely tribute to Boston yesterday.

Do you have any blogs you've discovered through the Challenge that relate to the letter O? Feel free to share them in the comments, and make sure to visit my five, follow them, and tell them I sent you. Oh, and you can find my blog here: The QQQE, if you'd like to follow me.

L is for Love

Blog love, to be specific.

After all, isn't that kind of the point of the A to Z Challenge? I mean sure, part of it is to push yourself to write a lot of posts, but mainly the idea is to visit a lot of blogs, and show them some love.

So here are a few of the blogs I've been reading during the Challenge:

Shannon Lawrence has covering Histories Mysteries.

L. Diane Wolfe has been sharing a lot of great Promotional Tips for Writers.

Joe Lunievicz has been writing about swordfighting.

Laura Eno has been writing about cats! Who doesn't love cats?

Andrew Leon has been posting about How to Be ... any number of things.

Do you have any blogs you've discovered through the Challenge that relate to the letter L? Feel free to share them in the comments, and make sure to visit my five, follow them, and tell them I sent you. Oh, and you can find my blog: The QQQE, here if you'd like to follow me.

Have a great weekend, and enjoy your Sunday off!

Getting to Know Your Co-Hosts - Matthew MacNish

I'm Matthew MacNish.
I'm the author of the publishing and query critique blog: The QQQE
I co-author the YA literature blog: YA Confidential
I co-author the MG literature blog: Project MG Mayhem
I'm an aspiring KidLit Novelist, whose published short fiction you can find, here.
I collect vinyl records.
I love Star Wars, Anime, and Tolkien (yes I bought and watched The Hobbit on Blu-Ray last night - it was the third time I've seen it).

Here are my answers to some of the crazy questions we, and some of our readers, came up with:

"Where do you go to "Get away from it all"?"

I don't have time for that much anymore, but when I can, I like to hike in the mountains.

"Where do you hail from?"

Originally? Seattle.

"Name an item that you have too much of."

Records, I suppose.

“Your house in on fire; assuming your kids, pets, and other living things are safe, what do you grab as you head out the door?”

I'm really not a materialistic person, and I back-up my writing meticulously, but I suppose I would try to get my parents' ashes.

"Who is your favorite fictional character and why?"

Gandalf. I've wanted a Wizard for a best friend since I was three years old.

"Do you know how to 'Gangnam Style?'"

Yep. I used to be quite a dancer when I was younger. I could even breakdance a little, but I'm way too old and fat for that now.

Is there anything else you'd like to know? Ask away in the comments, and I'll come back to answer!

A to Z Post - P by Matthew

This post is brought to you by one of the April A to Z Challenge co-hosts: Matthew MacNish.

I was hoping to highlight some of my favorite posts I'd seen on the letter P, but then I realized it will take all day for me to read them.

So instead, I'll just list a few cool things that begin with the letter P, and then maybe mention a couple A to Z Participants.

Pirates - ARHG! Plus - booty.

Poetry - Pentameter even.

Prose - Particularly creative writing.

Pulled Pork - Because, yum.

Pizza - Same.

Paris - I've never been, but they say it's wonderful.

Paladins - Because they're really nice guys.

People - We make the world go round.

Pillow - Because that moment when your head finally hits it ...

And here is one of my favorite blogs from the challenge whose post about today's letter P, is great:

Kristen is a teacher, a writer, a fan of great literature, and a lover of all things revolutionary, so here's her post: Please Don't Dim the Lights.

Getting to Know the Co-Hosts - Matthew MacNish

Name: Matthew MacNish
Blog[s]: The QQQE, Project Mayhem, Afterglow Book Reviews, and, of course, this one.
Other Online Info: Twitter: "@MatthewMacNish," Facebook: "Matthew MacNish"
Publications: My short fiction has been published in the anthology Literary Foray, from Static Movement Press, and the online magazine: Vine Leaves Literary Journal.


10 GETTING TO KNOW YOU QUESTIONS

01. What is the most daring thing you've ever done?
Not something I plan admitting to on the internet ... although, one thing I can mention is: back in high school, in Minnesota, I went to winter camp, and one night, we sat in the sauna for hours, and then jumped through a hole cut in the ice down at the lake - naked.

02. What is your favorite article of clothing?
My shell-toed Adidas, any pair.

03. What is your favorite monster?
Gary Gygax's Gelatinous Cube, from Dungeons and Dragons. I even wrote a piece of flash fiction about it, for Underneath the Juniper Tree, which you can read: Cubic.

04. If you had to dress up as your favorite literary character, who would it be?
Hmm. Normally I would say Gandalf, from The Lord of the Rings, but Jeremy went with that the other day, so I'll say Aang, from Avatar: the Last Airbender (the most excellent animated series, not the terrible live-action film), because I want to ride that glider.

05. What is your favorite fairy tale, urban legend or nursery rhyme?
Beren and Luthien.

06. What is a cause near and dear to your heart?
The environment.

07. What's the strangest item you've used as a bookmark?
Another book.

08. Do you have any nicknames? What are they and how did you earn them?
Big Bird. I suppose that's because I'm tall? Or was it because my friend who made that one up is so short?

09. Name one habit you want to change in yourself:
When I drink too much, I sometimes end up hungover. I'm okay with the drinking part, it's the hangovers I'd like to get rid of.

10. Tell us something interesting or shocking about yourself:
Not sure about shocking, but it's probably interesting that I used to own a small, independent record label in Minneapolis. It was called Butterbeat Records, and we produced 12" vinyl singles, mostly hip-hop, trip-hop, and electro. It was so small, and so before the internet got big, that you can't even find much about it on Google.

SOME A-to-Z QUESTIONS

01. What was your favorite A-to-Z post from 2011?
I'm afraid I have to admit I've never taken part in the A to Z challenge before. The enormity of the commitment always intimidated me. Then Arlee and Alex talked me into it, and now I realize it's not nearly as difficult as it seems. So don't be afraid! Sign up, pick a theme, schedule some posts, and you'll be good to go.

02. What brought you to the A-to-Z originally? Tell us about your first A-to-Z:
See above. I have been following and reading many A to Z bloggers for, what is it now, three years? I've always enjoyed the posts, but this will be my first A to Z!

03. Are you doing a theme?
I am, and it will be revealed in April.

04. Are you writing & scheduling posts in advance?
Absolutely. I can't imagine doing it any other way.

05. What is your favorite letter of the alphabet, and why? What letter do you like least?
I'm not sure. K for Katana? S for Samurai, Sword, Sorcery? M for Magic (and Matt)? I'm not really sure. I love language, and I love letters, but I seem to have an affinity for the crooked ones. My least favorite is probably C. C wishes he could be S or K, and sometimes he tries to be, but he never quite manages it.



Voting for A to Z Video Challenge is now open.  Please click on Voting tab at the top of this page and fill out the ballot.   Links to videos can be found there as well.






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Meet the A to Z Team for 2012

          Anyone who follows this blog is probably aware that the Blogging from A to Z April Challenge is just a few months away.   If you don't know about what the Challenge is all about, please click on the "What is Blogging from A to Z?" tab above for an explanation.

          Today we want to provide you with the list of A to Z Team members for 2012.  Please stop by to visit these wonderful bloggers and say hello to them.  If you are not following them already then we encourage you to click the "Friend Connect" to join their sites.  Then be sure to visit each of them often to keep up with news about the upcoming Challenge.   

           Some cool things are coming up and we don't want you to miss a thing!

Here is the A to Z Team for 2012:

Tossing It Out (Arlee Bird)

Amlokiblogs (Damyanti Biswas)

Alex J. Cavanaugh (Alex J. Cavanaugh)

Life is Good (Tina Downey)

Cruising Altitude 2.0 (DL Hammons)

Retro-Zombie (Jeremy Hawkins)

The Warrior Muse (Shannon Lawrence)

The QQQE (Matthew MacNish)

Author Elizabeth Mueller (Elizabeth Mueller)

Pearson Report (Jenny Pearson)

No Thought 2 Small (Konstanz Silverbow)

Breakthrough Blogs (Stephen Tremp)


           Please get to know each of us.  If there are questions or comments about the Challenge, let any of us know and we'll give you the answers you need or address your comments.   Since a big part of the A to Z Challenge has to do with networking you should start your networking with all of us now.


          If you haven't joined this A to Z Challenge blog we encourage you to do that as well.  The Blogging from A to Z Challenge Blog is the official Challenge site.  We don't want you to miss any Challenge updates.


           Sign ups for the Blogging from A to Z April Challenge will begin on January 30, 2012.

Related articles

• In Which Arlee Bird Explains Why Blogfests Are a Big Deal (damyantiwrites.wordpress.com)
• A Favorite Blogger Speaks: Reflections from Alex J. Cavanaugh (a-to-zchallenge.com)
• The Challenge Pays Off: Damyanti Biswas Got a Book Out of It (a-to-zchallenge.com)
• A Challenge Report from Jenny Pearson (a-to-zchallenge.com)
• Stephen Tremp Celebrates the Blogging from A to Z April Challenge (a-to-zchallenge.com)