Are You Getting Ready for A to Z 2014?

The Thinking Man sculpture at Musée Rodin in Paris (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

         When the Blogging from A to Z April Challenge isn't consuming nearly my every thought, it at least lurks in the shadows at the back of my mind.   I keep thinking about what's coming in 2014.  How many bloggers will sign up?    Who will be on the A to Z Team?   Will we find enough good folks to assist the team?   What will I be blogging about in April?

         Have you thought of a theme for your 2014 A to Z entries?   That is if you're going with a theme.  You might be just going random, which there's certainly nothing wrong with that.   Many participants fly through April by the seat of their pants and have a grand time doing it.  There's no right or wrong way to go with how you want to do the A to Z Challenge.

        Personally, I've found going with a theme easier to work with especially if I enter more than one blog as I have done in the past couple years.  It may seem superfluous, but I feel like I'd be neglecting my other blogs if any of them weren't part of the April Challenge.  I don't know for sure if I'll keep all four of my blogs busy that month.  It is a lot of work.  But it's also been worth the work I've put into doing it that way.

        Just the other day, the theme came for my main blog Tossing It Out.   I won't be revealing the theme until right before the Challenge begins but I just wanted to mention that I've started the planning for April for that blog and am beginning to organize the daily posts.   I've heard that others have also already started into preparing their posts for April.  How about you?   Have you started yet?  Are you still trying to decide what you want to do?   Or are you just going to improvise when April comes?

        No matter which way you go, have a good time with it!

        Please visit my post at Tossing It Out and leave a comment.  I'm doing some information gathering and would like as many opinions, suggestions, and insightful information that I can find.  I will be presenting my findings in an upcoming post on that blog.

        Thanks!

A to Z Tips - The Advantage of a Theme

If you’re participating in the Challenge, you are probably already planning your posts. That is good – plan and write as many as possible before the Challenge begins so you have more time to visit other bloggers in April. And it’s easier to do that if you have a theme for the month.

If you intend to wing it, nothing wrong with that. The first year of the Challenge, I didn’t have a theme. Of course this meant some days I was scrounging for something that matched the letter. (For Q, I blogged about Q*Bert and the crappy 1983 movie, Q – not good!)

A theme will give you direction. If you select movies, you can go with the movie titles. With music - band or song titles. With sports - players or teams. By narrowing the focus, it’s actually easier, because then you won’t be overwhelmed.

A theme also lets visitors know what to expect. They will be more apt to return, especially if they like your theme. If you can, include a line or two at the beginning of each post that states your theme for the month.

It’s good research. Select a topic you want to know more about – you’ll learn something as you search. Perhaps it’s something you need to research for your next book or for school. Kill two birds with one stone.

Does the theme have to match your blog exactly? No, it can be anything you want. If it’s something that interests you, chances are you’ve already talked about it on your blog. Brainstorm some different themes and pick one. If it fits your style, then do it.

If you need some ideas to get you started, I recently listed some fun, geeky themes at Allison’s blog, Geek Banter.

Have fun with it. Just think - your blog is a theme park for one whole month. Make it fun!

Co-host Ninja Captain Alex is the author of CassaStar and CassaFire and his blog can be found HERE