J ~ Just Keep Swimming, Just Keep Swimming...

This post will be short and sweet because I just discovered no one wrote a J post. So as a co-host awake early, I'll just jump in. We do that. Don't be surprised if you come back and it's the real J post – we do that too.

When I discovered this, I immediately thought of Dory. I LOVE Finding Nemo, it's my 2^nd favorite animated movie. Can you guess which one is my favorite? Swedish chick, from Scandinavia, proud of her heritage...How to Train Your Dragon!

However, it doesn't have my favorite line in it:

JUST KEEP SWIMMING, JUST KEEP SWIMMING...

Dory had an amazing attitude throughout. She was cheerful, helpful, positive, and never gave up. No matter what happened, she

JUST KEPT SWIMMING!

No matter what has happened to you or your blog so far in the Challenge, it's behind. Adopt Dory's attitude, and starting from here:

JUST KEEP SWIMMING, JUST KEEP SWIMMING...

You've got nothing to lose, friends to gain, and we're nearing the half way point. Dory never knew how close they were or if they were going to succeed. That never stopped her. Don't let mid-challenge ANYTHING keep you down.

~Tina, Fierce Viking Chick, and co-host

I is for Influence

It's one of the most commonly asked questions during author interviews. "What novelists would you say influenced your own writing when you were growing up?" Most of the time the answers are comprised of the usual suspects, high profile writers who've sold oodles of books. For me it would be Stephen King, Dean Koontz, Ed McBain, Agatha Christie, Mickey Spillane, Pat Conroy, and many many more. But every now and then there are a few who make the list who...well let's just say they've flown under the radar.

There's another question that's asked in a lot in these interviews, and its "What was it that made you want to become a writer?" For me, the answer to that question is forever linked to the first.

I write because I love the feeling of seeing how my words/story affects others. I adore pulling at my readers heart-strings, making their heart race, forcing their hand to fly to their mouth in shock, or how they're unable to suppress a laugh in a quiet room. In my own small way, I am influencing them.

Some would say that influence can often lead to imitation (which could have easily been my I word today). Though it is said to be the sincerest form of flattery, I'm not trying to imitate the way that King, Koontz, McBain, Christie, Spillane or Conroy write. I'm trying to imitate the way they made me feel when I read their work. Every one of them held me hostage, manipulated my emotions, and left me the better for it. That is the nuts and bolts of why I write.

It's beyond my wildest dreams to become as influential as the writers above, and many others like them, but to be one of those authors who fly under the radar and possibly influence some other future writer? That would be a gift indeed.

Did you know that I'm running a contest over at my regular blog, Cruising Altitude 2.0? No? You can read all about it HERE, then you can hop right on over there.

DL

Hashtag the Heck out of Us!

Now that we're just getting into the swing of things, let's make the most of the A to Z Challenge by keeping in mind that it stretches beyond your blog. We’re social, with a presence on Facebook, Twitter and Google+ to make it easier for you to find likeminded participants and keep up with what’s trending – including the latest news from the challenge Co-Hosts. That is why it’s important to tag the challenge by using the official #atozchallenge hashtag when referencing the challenge in your social media updates – especially Twitter. Adding the A to Z Challenge hashtag to your tweets can help all of us cut through the clutter when searching for blogs to visit or staying up to date on discussions related to our daily alphabet party.

If you’re still wondering “how the heck do I use a hashtag?” or “why the heck would I use a hashtag?” the time for guessing games are over. Here are simple ways to Hashtag the heck out of the A to Z Challenge.

Hashtag your correspondence with us

When you send a tweet to us by writing @AprilA2Z, also make sure to add an #atozchallenge hashtag to the tweet. Unless it’s a really pertinent matter, you probably would do better just replacing the @AprilA2Z text with the #atozchallenge hashtag, altogether!

Hashtag your comments

Everyone and their momma is leaving comments that are one variation of “Hey, I’m stopping by from the A to Z Challenge!” or another – as if we really need to know (and we really don’t…or at least, I’ll speak for myself by letting you know today that I don’t need the reminder that you’re doing the challenge, ok?!) this bit of information. We get it. We read the memo. It’s been signed, sealed and delivered. Now here’s a thought…

If you really…I mean, really need to inform the blog that you’re visiting about your A to Z Challenge status, just put the #atozchallenge hashtag at the end of your comment. It takes up much less space and is less likely to leave a blogger wondering why he or she wasted time trying to read a comment that was nothing more than an announcement along the lines of “me too! Yay!” when it could have just as easily been summed up with a simple hashtag.

Hashtag your questions

Most, if not all, of the questions that people ask A to Z Challenge administrators can be useful to other participants who have similar concerns. Using the #atozchallenge hashtag can help your fellow participants get answers to something that they may have been wondering. At the very least, it also puts other bloggers on alert about matters that they are curious to know. Adding a hashtag can help simplify the question-and-answer sessions for @AprilA2Z on Twitter as well as other social media websites. It is easier for some participants to create a list or do a search for topics that are of interest to them if the hashtag is utilized more often, because it cuts down on the workload of having to find profiles and topics that might have come up in conversation about the challenge.

Hashtag your photos

Add hashtags to the photos that are included in your blog posts related to the challenge. This can be done by adding text directly in the image, using photo editing software or online photo apps such as Pic Monkey. If you don’t want to interfere with your visual masterpiece that you snapped in preparation for winning visitors over with your photographic images, you can also add hashtags to the “caption” section when editing the photo before publishing the blog post. The official A to Z Challenge hashtag can also be used to promote your blog posts on Facebook and Instagram.

So tell us…

How are you Hashtagging the Heck out of the A to Z Challenge?

-Nicole
@MadlabPost
2013 Blogging from #atozchallenge Co-Host
See you at the movies!