Blogging Beginnings ( #AtoZChallenge )

  My A to Z overview starts out with some of my past memories from blogging and my journey from that first post until now...





Blogging Beginnings






         Way back in September of 2009 I was at a sort of crossroads of life.  My job of 18 years had ended earlier that year and having difficulty finding another job I was pondering my next step.  It was at that time that I started running across ads about starting a blog to make lots of money.  Rather than send in the $99 to take the advertised blogging course, I instead researched the topic on my own which led me to Blogger.  Starting a blog was easy though it took some time to learn the ropes.  In fact I'm still learning.

          Having been interested in writing since I was a kid, blogging seemed like the ideal creative outlet for me.  And I started out with a lot of enthusiasm for my new found outlet of blogging.  Initially I spent the better part of every day researching and writing my blog posts, exploring other blogs, and trying to come up with ideas of how to promote my blog to gain readers.    Early on I discovered that to attract readers I needed to visit other blogs and leave comments.

           The principle of reciprocal commenting and establishing blogging communities was the spark that inspired the first Blogging from A to Z Challenge in April of 2010.  This event caught on in a bigger way than I had expected and in that first year an amazing community of bloggers was built around the A to Z Challenge.

              Over the succeeding years we've seen bloggers come and go.  A handful of dedicated bloggers have participated in the Challenge since the beginning while many more have followed along to support the efforts of the A to Z bloggers.  That support fuels those of us who take on this yearly Challenge--just the encouragement we bloggers hope for.  That is the purpose of the Blogging from A to Z April Challenge:  To expand interest in our blogs and to become better bloggers while connecting to others who have a similar goal.

             Some of my enthusiasm for blogging has waned since the earlier days of my adopted "career" and I don't put the same efforts into the endeavor as I once did, but I don't see myself stopping blogging.  For now I'm coasting in a sense, but I still see an explosion of functionality waiting for my blog.

           How about you?   How does your blogging experience compare?    Do you think you've found the real potential in your blog?    What lies ahead for you in regard to blogging?


*****************


Grab your A to Z gear, and other cool goodies from our graphics guy, here: NeatoShop.com/artist/Jeremy-Hawkins



You can see the list of all Blogs on our Master List!

#AtoZchallenge 2020 Anamnesis

Welcome to the eleventh year of the Blogging from A to Z Challenge! The team decided our theme for this month's posts here would be a take "2020 visions of blogging." Our first weekday posts focus on:

Memories from Blogging in the Past

Which brings us to the post title I used today:

Anamnesis

• the recollection or remembrance of the past; reminiscence
• the remembering of things from a supposed previous existence
• the ability to recall past events; recollection
• used as a narrative technique in fiction and poetry as well as in memoirs and autobiographies
• recollection, remembrance, reminiscence

This topic is special to me because I started my blog specifically so I could take part in the A to Z Challenge. I've since moved my blog, but Twitter never forgets! My first year, 2012, I did a month of posts about myself, and a month of posts about characters from my Fractions of Existence book. (The posts were mostly about the side characters.) Yes, I had the crazy idea to do two themes, to double post all month. The result? A lower comment count on both sets plus twice the work for me.

But my own posts weren't what kept me coming back for more. It was the community I found and the friends I made. I'd love to know how many of you have a comment from me on your April 2012 posts! It's great to remember why we started blogging and to see how far we've come. I hope you'll leave a comment over the next few days with your own memories of the blogging past.

Ready to sign up for the challenge? Click this: https://forms.gle/NHq5j25cNjZsishM9

Already signed up? Grab a copy of the Master List! Click this Grab your A to Z gear, and other cool goodies from our graphics guy, here: NeatoShop.com/artist/Jeremy-Hawkins

Theme Reveal 2020 #AtoZChallenge

It's time to reveal your theme for 2020! 

We'll even share our theme. It's 2020 Vision, of course! Join us here on the A to Z Blog all month long for posts from our team, and be sure to sign up with your theme reveal here.

Please make sure you share the link directly to your Theme Reveal Post and not your general blog post.

You can see your blog immediately on our Theme Reveal List and you can see the list of all Blogs on our Master List!

Be sure to sign up for the Theme Reveal by Thursday, March 26th! After that, the form will be closed. 

If you haven't signed up for the challenge on the Master List, you can do so here.