5 Super Results of Visiting A-to-Z Challenge Blogs in the Summer #atozchallenge #roadtrip

Whether slow and steady, or fast and furious, we road trippers are racking up lots of blog-visiting miles on the A-to-Z Challenge signup list. It is a wonder how many of us have noticed some unexpected payoffs along the way.

Of all the blogs you've visited so far since May, it’s easy to find yourself in the following scenario:

1. Reading and commenting on more blogs than you normally would during the A-to-Z Challenge off-season.
2. Learning about topics of interest you didn't even know you had.
3. Meeting or exceeding the amount of blogs you visited back in April, during the actual challenge.
4. Being motivated to update your own blog with new material, more often, to keep it fresh for potential visitors.
5. Interacting with more bloggers on social media.

Which of the scenarios described here apply to YOU? What are some additional results or perks that you've noticed while visiting blogs during the A-to-Z Challenge Road Trip?

A-to-Z Challenge Co-Host Nicole Ayers writes about making movies at The Madlab Post. She is currently supporting U.S. Military Veterans with her short narrative drama film ABYSS: THE GREATEST PROPOSAL EVER, Available on DVD (Limited Sneak Preview Edition). 

Storyteller's Perspective: 500 New Fairy Tales Found - The Scoop

Anyone remembers the article from The Guardian that has been going around on social media sites since 2012? (Yes, it really has been 2 years, and I still receive the link from well-meaning friends and acquaintances at least once a week). The headline read "Five Hundred New Fairy Tales Discovered in Germany," and was enticing enough to permanently stick in the Internet pipelines.
Here is some related news you might not have heard yet: 150 of those legendary 500 are now available in English translation, as part of a bilingual publication called Original Bavarian Folktales: A Schönwerth selection (translated by Charlotte M. Wolf, PhD). Brand spanking new, this book came out in March 2014, and received a lot less of the well-deserved attention than the Guardian article. Go figure.

So, what's all the hoopla really about?

Let me burst the bubble first: The "Five Hundred" are not, in fact, all "new" fairy tales. They were collected by a wonderful gentleman called Franz von Schönwerth in the 19th century, and they have been preserved in his estate along with hundreds of pages of linguistic notes and other interesting information. And when you read them you can find many that have very close variants in other collections of folktales - and I am not even only talking about Grimm. So, strictly speaking, the 500 are not as mint-shiny as you might have thought they are.

With that said: They are awesome.

We learn from the introduction to the English translation that Schönwerth was, in fact, a very thorough collector. He gathered all his stories from one specific region (the Upper Palatinate of Bavaria), and mostly listened to what the everyday people of the villages had to say. The result is an amazing kaleidoscope of stories that paint a world full of magic: Spirits of Earth (dwarves and giants), Water (nixies and mermaids), Fire (will-o-whisps), and the Forest (Forest Maidens and Gnomes); legends of the Sun and the Moon, of the Mountains, lore of Witches and Wizards, and even remnants of German mythology. You will have to read the whole thing for yourself, but I'll give you some of the highlights that stuck with me:

1. A folktale where the pretty girl is the mean one, and the homely girl is the kind one, and it doesn't change in the end.

2. A "prequel" to a Czech folktale I included in my book, explaining the origin of all the superpowers of the Extraordinary Helpers of the hero (traditional folk superhero origin story? Damn right!)

3. A folktale about a human family that befriends the mountain dwarves; the women end up being midwives to each other's children, the human lady even breastfeeds a baby dwarf, and when one of the dwarves asks for a human girl's hand in marriage, he is politely refused, and the friendship does not suffer from it at all. I was reading it, waiting for a conflict that never came.

4. A funny folktale about what would happen if flour fell from the sky instead of snow.

5. Two haunting variations of the Melusine legends where a mermaid marries a human man.

There are many, many more that I could mention. Most of these tales are less "elegant and sophisticated" than the Grimm tales - in exchange, they have a local flavor and a world teeming with magic that makes you love them. They show a lot more compassion and harmony between people and nature, vivid imagination, and a deep love for storytelling.

Next time you see the Guardian article pop up, link the book to others that might like it!

As usual, you can find Csenge (@TarkabarkaHolgy) at:
The Multicolored Diary - Adventures in Storytelling
MopDog - The crazy thing about Hungarians...
Her book, Tales of Superhuman Powers, a collection of folktales that feature superpowers, is available on Amazon.com.

Themes That Rocked! Insightful Writing Tips from Chrys Fey

Please welcome Chrys Fey, author of Hurricane Crimes and the upcoming 30 Seconds!


You posted writing tips – what made you choose that theme?

I post writing tips all the time on my blog, so I decided to stick with that theme for my first A to Z Challenge, but I used topics I wasn’t planning on blogging about anytime soon.

Which letter was the most difficult?

Surprisingly enough, it was letter “S”. At first I planned on blogging about song writing, but came to realize that topic is vast and that not many writers may want to know about song writing. I chose the supernatural genre as the topic for “S” a few days before it was to go live.

Which tip was the hardest for you to learn as a writer?

The hardest tip for me to learn actually had nothing to do with grammar or how to make my writing better. It was about having patience. I was so ready to publish my first book—at a young age—that I was rushing toward that goal before I was really ready. Then when I was in the querying process, desperately trying to get anything published, my impatience doubled. I soon learned that it’ll happen when it is meant to happen.

Which one do you think most writers miss or ignore?

I always say a writer should do A LOT of research about their story, and about publishing. Many aspiring writers ask me what they should do to get published, but that’s a hard question to answer because the process differs from person to person. There are some things that all writers should know to do, such as the importance of building credentials, how to write query letters, and where to look for agents. Except countless aspiring writers don’t know they need to do those things, because they didn’t do any research before diving into their dream.

That really is a great question though, Alex. I would be interested to hear what everyone else thinks.

Which letter got the best reactions?

In regard to the number of shares, that’s a tie between my posts Quotes about Writing and “Z” Words to Add to Your Writing, which also received the highest number of comments. All of my posts got wonderful comments, though.

Which one was your favorite?

I love all of them, but the one that is most special to me is the one I wrote about my mom, Inheriting the Writing Gene. I truly believe she is the reason why I am a writer today.

Are there a lot of vegetarian writers out there?

There are certainly more than I thought there were! I was amazed at how many bloggers commented on my “V” post to tell me they are also vegetarian or vegan.

If you participate in the Challenge next year, do you have a theme in mind?

I am definitely planning on participating next year, and I do have a theme in mind. I don’t want to spoil it just yet, but I will say I’m borrowing the theme from my (future) Disaster Crime series. ;)

Disasters would be cool! Hopefully not disasters in writing. Thanks again, Chrys!


Co-host Ninja Captain Alex J. Cavanaugh is the author of Amazon Best-sellers CassaStar, CassaFire, and CassaStorm, and his blog can be found HERE