Sign-Up List Now Open for the Seventh Annual A to Z Challenge!

Welcome to the seventh annual A to Z Blogging Challenge!

Please read and follow the sign-up instructions outlined below so you sign onto the list correctly!

The brainchild of Arlee Bird, at Tossing it Out, the A to Z Challenge is posting every day in April except Sundays (we get those off for good behavior.) And since there are 26 days, that matches the 26 letters of the alphabet. On April 1, blog about something that begins with the letter “A.” April 2 is “B,” April 4 is “C,” and so on. You can use a theme for the month or go random – just as long as it matches the letter of the alphabet for the day.

The A to Z Challenge is a great way to get into the blogging habit and make new friends. For more details and its history, go HERE

We recommend short posts, turn off Word Verification, and visit five blogs (or more) a day beginning with the one after yours on the list.

Blogs must be on an open platform – no Tumblr, Facebook, Pinterest, etc. – and comments enabled. Please make it easy for visitors to comment on your blog.

To streamline legitimate blogs from advertisement blogs, the Co-Hosts will be visiting each blog on this list throughout the Challenge. Once the Challenge begins, blogs showing no activity or those that miss five days in a row will be removed.

Please note your blog name and number in all correspondences. Remember that as blogs are removed, your number WILL change.

There are categories for those looking for like-minded blogs. Select ONE category code and enter it after your blog’s title/name. The code applies to your blog, not your theme for the Challenge and is purely optional. See the first few blogs on the list for examples. However, if your blog has adult content, you MUST mark it (AC) or it will be removed from the list. Codes are as follows:

ANIMALS: (AN)
BOOKS/REVIEWS: (BO)
CRAFTS/ART: (CT)
CULINARY: (CU)
EDUCATION/SCIENCE: (ES)
ENTERTAINMENT: (ET)
GAMING: (GA)
HISTORY/MYTHOLOGY: (HM)
HUMOR: (HU)
LIFESTYLE/SOCIAL: (LS )
PERSONAL: (PR)
PHOTOGRAPHY: (PH)
POETRY: (PO)
TRAVEL: (TR)
WRITING/STORYTELLING/MEMOIR: (WR)
ADULT CONTENT: (AC)

Be sure to grab the badge and display it in your sidebar so we know you are participating and link to the A to Z Challenge Blog.

For more information we recommend you follow the A to Z Challenge Blog and the hosts:

Arlee Bird @ Tossing it Out
Ninja Captain Alex J. Cavanaugh
Heather M. Gardner
Jeremy @ Hollywood Nuts
AJ Lauer
Pam @ An Unconventional Librarian
Damyanti Biswas @ Daily Write
Zalka Csenge Virág @ The Multicolored Diary
Joy Campbell @ The Character Depot
John Holton @The Sound of One Hand Typing

We also have a Facebook Page and Pinterest Site
Email address is contactatozteam@gmail.com
Twitter hashtag is #AtoZChallenge and Twitter id is @AprilA2Z

Sign up below and join us for a month of alphabet fun!
(When you sign up, you agree to receive A to Z related emails.)

Why Blog, or "A Break From Blogging? What Is That?"

Why do you Blog? Do you ever take blogging breaks? How does that work? I remember the days when I didn't care about whether or not I blogged on a schedule or what I actually blogged about. I blogged whenever I found something to write about. It was MY blog, right? Now, going on my third year of blogging more diligently, I find other bloggers talking about frustration with their blogs. Numbers aren't high enough, or it's too difficult to find something to blog about, or it takes up too much time, and the like. Why do you blog? Have you questioned whether or not it is time well spent, or just a waste of it? I think that, as with anything done regularly, we all question the why of what we are doing and whether we're doing it because we have to, or choose to. I understand blogging burn out. I've been there. It isn't fun. But neither is feeling cut off from my perceived communication with a larger world. I regularly participate in at least five blog hops. I do this because each of these offers me something I like having in my life (and schedules I can keep up with!). I feel that each blog hop speaks to different parts of me, who I am and what I'm interested in. Plus I'm always finding out new things and "meeting" new people. How about you? What's in it for you?
This is my second post here on the A to Z blogging Challenge site and I appreciate the opportunity to participate. A huge thank you to all my teammates and their help in showing me the ropes. I hope to have something a bit more interesting to post in the months to come... 

Images From:
bonniegroessl.com
gabrielweinberg.com

#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.