#atozchallenge: Sunday Summary February 26, 2012

There's lots of activity going on as we make our big push for 1000 sign-ups by March 1st.  If you haven't signed up yet why not do it now.   Also please consider liking the A to Z Facebook page.  We're still sort of 200 likes there--shouldn't we have more like at least 700 likes?   Same with this A to Z Blog. Have you clicked the "Follower" button yet to become a "Friend of the Alphabet"?   Let's fire up some A to Z spirit!

We had some great posts on the A to Z Blog this past week.  If you missed any be sure to go back and check them out.  We are no longer accepting guest posts for the A to Z Blog as the schedule is now full.  Thanks to all of you who have shown such hearty participation.

Fellow co-host Konstanz Silverbow is providing some incentive with a great give-away.  Check out what she's offering at her blog No Thought 2 Small and then be sure to tell others about it as well.   Somebody's going to win a very cool package.

Be sure to be at the A to Z Blog this coming Tuesday February 28th.  I won't tell you what's going on, but I bet some of you can guess.  Tuesday is a very special day to celebrate.

Jenn at Scribbles from Jenn participated in Jenny Pearson's game of tag and helped with the push for 1000 by March 1st.

Sommer Leigh at Tell Great Stories provided one of the best A to Z posts that I've seen so far.  Make sure you pay her a visit to thank her for providing this valuable information and make sure you follow her advice when the April Challenge starts.  In fact, don't wait, start now!

RJR Daydreamer gave not only a nice summary of what the Challenge is but also provided an excellent graphic layout of what he did last year.

Donna Mc is a first-timer on her blog My Write Spot and she's getting organized for April.  She provides some excellent tips on how to plan for the Challenge.  I hope all of you will go through her checklist and make sure you've got these points covered.

A to Z got a slightly eccentric mention at The Slightly Eccentric Diary of Rob Z Tobor.  Thanks Rob--I think. Now don't you forget to start the Challenge on time.

Jman at Death of a Hardcore Gamer appears to be ready for April.  I think you'll have loads of fun, Jman.  Let all your friends know about this.

Susan Kane at the contemplative cat provided a round of A to Z brainstorming inspired by the "How It's Made" TV show.

Teresa at Journaling Woman was having an internal debate about the Challenge, but it looks like the Alphabet won.

Mish at Writer-In-Transit got very creative with her Challenge post.  Just goes to show what kind of inspiration comes from Blogging from A to Z.   Can you top this one?

Marcy at Maine Words (#235 on the Linky List) played the "Getting to Know Me" game by answering some of the questions posted to co-hosts.  Always a good time to get to know one another better and everyone is welcomed to join in the fun.

Dave at Dave Wrote This is another blogger who joined in the "Getting to Know Me" fun--Dave went with the entire list.  Whether you answer them all, just some of them, or make up your own questions; we'd all enjoy hearing some of your answers.  As we head into the Challenge you might want to set aside a post to introduce yourselves to the others who may not know you yet.

Susan Gourley/Kelley at Susan Says provided some important tips on her blog that can't be said too many times.   I hope everyone listens to what Susan says.

And hooray Inspire Nordic who also touted the Challenge on her blog.  So glad you're with us this year.

Patricia Stoltey is a solid supporter of the A to Z Challenge.  She's been giving weekly shout outs for us on her blog.

Janice at Jabblog had some kind of snafu with her sign up on the Linky List, but it gave her a reason to post about the Challenge which is always good.  Might as well turn lemons into lemonade.

Call it what you will, there's no reason to be in a tizzy about the April Challenge Lizard Happy--who is #370 on the sign up list by the way.

Tower of Archmage is a gamer blog that is returning to play the A to Z Challenge for the second year.  Have fun!

Thank you Christine Rains for helping push for the March 1st 1000!

I'm learning about Twitter and in doing so I spotted Laurie Carlson's Challenge to her readers.  Check out Laurie's great A to Z Post.    Then follow her blog while you're there--she deserves it.

Spirit Called put forth a call out for more folks to be a part of the April A to Z.   Yeah! That's the spirit!

The adrenaline is pumping high at Whatever.  Thanks Gossip Girl for your energetic post.

Susanne Drazic at Putting Words Down on Paper announced our drive to get 1000 sign-ups by March 1.  Come on bloggers!  Get everyone you know involved in the April Challenge.  Let's make this a party to rival any Oscar party out there.

Lindi from F.A.I.T.H. Girls gave the Challenge a nice mention and provided the link for others to sign up.  Anyone can do this--how about you?

More and more of you are posting about the Challenge.  We are trying to keep up with these posts to list on our Sunday Summary.  I'm watching Google Alerts, emails from co-hosts, and the messages I receive from you who contact me.  If you've posted something and we've missed it here, let me know and I'll try to put it up.   In the weeks to come we may have so many mentions that I may have to distill them into the highlights and the most unique posts.

 But Please! no matter what--keep on promoting A to Z to get more sign-ups.  We are looking for 1000 by this Thursday and it would be nice to pass 1300 by April 1 so we can surpass last year.  Our goal is to make the Blogging from A to Z April Challenge bigger and better each year.   Thanks to all of you for helping us meet this goal.

And now a word from our sponsor courtesy of Ron Easton at Dads Unlimited:

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#AtoZchallenge Fiction and Call for Writing Prompts

 All A to Z participants have  some or the other plan for how they're going to meet the challenge. Like last year, I'll be doing fiction, based on prompts left by commenters.

Since this year I'll have hosting duties, I hope to pre-schedule at least some of the posts. 

So I'm requesting you, our blogging audience, to challenge me with an interesting picture that you would like me to write on, and drop me story starters, each sentence/phrase beginning with a different letter (i.e. the first word of the starter must start with a different letter from A to Z).  Last year this brought me to A to Z Stories of Life and Death. I hope I write enough stories this year to do another collection.

You can drop me the prompts in the comments on this post. Of course, when I post each prompt during April, I'll link to you and explain why I chose it. You may also mail me the pictures and story prompts at atozstories at gmail dot com.You need not be participating in the A to Z Challenge to challenge me with either a story starter, or a picture, or both. The more the merrier! Last year I had asked for word prompts, and I got loads to choose from! This year, I'm taking it a step further.

As a sort of warm-up and illustration of what I hope to do, I'm pasting below a picture, a story starter( both randomly chosen) and the resulting story.

Story starter: I can no longer... 

Picture:

Story:

I can no longer fit in small corner spaces. 

My body lurches as I run up the stairs, my joints have not been oiled in years, and my feet make thumping noises in tune with my overwrought heart. My breath wheezes, and I'm sure you can hear it from downstairs, where you count up to hundred, your face to the wall. I try hiding behind a cupboard, but my belly and my behind jiggle this way and that, and I know you would spot one or the other. I try hiding under the bed, but can only go in as far as my shoulder. I sneak behind the curtains, but they billow around me, calling to you. 

In the end, I stand amongst the clothes hanging in the changing room. As I hear the patter of your feet, your squealed warnings, and whispered threats, I squeeze my eyes tight shut and breathe the paint on the wall, rubbing the softness of my old cotton dress between my thumbs.

I think of yesterday, when you could have fit anywhere at all, but instead chose to hide your face against the wall. 'How can you see me Granny,' you said when I got you, your pigtails flying, your eyes trembling with unshed tears, 'when I can see nothing at all?'

I'll let you teach me, I decide, as I relax my grip on my dress. You walk past me in my search. 

Between you and me there's only the cloak of a few years, a hundred wrinkles, and a few dozen pounds. Wearing these, I hide from you in plain sight, and as it turns out, from my self.

-------

By Damyanti Biswas, co-host #atozchallenge

DL's Guide To Surviving A to Z

A to Z rookie.  Yep, that’s me.  So you’ve got to be asking yourself…how can someone who’s never been through a month of April blogging every day, write a survival guide?  And an even better question, why should I pay attention to anything he has to say?

Both very good questions, so let me answer them for you.  First, I don’t live under a blogging rock.  Even though I haven’t participated for the past two years, I did follow along and read a ton of posts.  I know what I liked, what worked, and consequently what didn’t.  Second, you know what I spent a good many years doing for my job in the real world?  Planning and scheduling!  Third, you know what else I used to do in the real world?  I wrote instruction manuals and trained new employees about the stuff in those manuals.  And finally, I’m motivated.  I have two goals for this post…to encourage somebody who’s not signed up yet to do just that…and to reassure those of you out there who are nervous about committing to what seems like a massive task and show you how easy it can really be.  You can do this!

To make it all the way to April 30^th with your sanity intact, you’ll need a survival kit.  I’ll show you a couple thing’s to place in that kit, but I’m sure they’ll be plenty more recommendations offered in the comments below.  Pick and choose what makes sense to you.

First item to place in your kit is also the most important.  If nothing else makes it, this one item is an absolute must.  Take an index card, or a small piece of paper roughly the same shape, and write on it this one word in bold letters.  BREVITY.   As of today there are 661 bloggers signed up for this challenge and we are expecting something north of 1,000 when April gets here, so part of the challenge isn’t just writing a post every day but also visiting as many of the other blogs as possible to sample the awesome writing talent on display.  Uploading long diatribes, regardless of how fascinating the subject might be, cripples this initiative.  So keep your submissions short and to the point.  They’re easier to write…and read….that way.  The fact is, the shorter your post is the more comments you’ll probably receive.  :)

Next item to put in your survival kit, instructions on how to utilize the scheduling feature on your blog.  Posting every day doesn’t have to mean writing every day.  There are six weeks until April gets here and if you wrote and scheduled two posts a week until then, you would have 12 of the 26 letters/days covered before the month even begins.  Start today…right now as a matter of fact…stop reading this post and write one of your post for the Challenge.  Planning ahead will save you a lot of anxious moments.

So you’re more of a pantser than a plotter, and no matter how many good intentions you had when April 1 arrives you haven’t written a single post yet.  No problem, time to pull out that next item from your survival kit.  A tea spoon.  I know how standing at the doorstep of April contemplating blogging every single day can appear daunting, overwhelming.  The key is to not concentrate of the whole and instead break it down into pieces, small bites.  Take it one.post.at.a.time!  If you find some extra time to punch out a couple posts ahead of time, great, but don’t sweat it if you can’t.  Just worry about today’s bite!  And remember that BREVITY card?  Small bites!

What else should be in your survival kit?  Definitely something like a playlist for your MP3 player customized for the A to Z Challenge, or some of your favorite CD’s, maybe some type of aroma therapy or your favorite exotic coffee.  This is not intended to be a stressful event, and if you utilize some of the items in this survival kit you’ll avoid most of that, but still there are some participants that do get a little tense.  To combat this I recommend you utilize the items in your kit that best help you find a sense of tranquility that will help you through those times.  Remember, we want this to be FUN above everything else!

Last, but not least, duct tape.  Every self-respecting survival kit includes duct tape!

I hope I’ve helped some.  I’m here, along with all of the co-hosts, to see that you have an enjoyable experience.  A survival kit filled with at least those five things will take you a long way to surviving April in one piece, but it’s only a start.  If you have a suggestion for something else that needs to find its way into that kit, just leave a comment below.

Have  a great weekend!

Making A to Z Challenge More... Friendly!

Okay this is something that I did on the last year's "A to Z Challenge" and I thought this would be a good thing for you all to... so I share. I made a desktop calendar that had the breakdown of April right at the click of a button, this way no having to fumble back and forth.

Click on Image [First, should fill screen] and then right click [PC] save to your Hard drive or as your Desktop.

If you save it to your hard drive just click once on image and it should allow you to save as the desktop, you may need to readjust it in your settings. This also should work for most monitors as most have this shape and I have tried on most successfully

Also I have been making a few more banners/badges with some of the suggestions you had mentioned from the last post... you can find all of them either at the bottom of the main page or look for "A to Z Badges and Banners" at top.

So many banners/badges so little time, got something you would like to see... I will get it done...

Any questions please ask or stop by my site and I will do the best I can to help!

Jeremy [Retro-Zombie]

Let's Go Crazy!

Pre-March Sign-up Blast for #atozchallenge

We're trying to hit 1000 sign-ups by March 1st, which is next Thursday.  Please make an announcement on your blog to encourage your readers to join us in the A to Z Challenge.   If you have any special connection to bloggers who haven't signed up yet, send them an email to let them in on the April fun and ask them if they'd like to be a part of it.  This week we're counting on all of you to boost the numbers.   Can you help?

Tackling the Taunting Letters: Guest Alana Garrigues

        Many of you know Alana of Writercize for her tips on better writing and building writing muscle.  If you're looking for some great exercises to help you become a better writer, visit Alana's blog and let her be your trainer.  In this post Alana offers some suggestions on how to conquer some of the those letters that menace our successful completion of the Blogging from A to Z Challenge.




       There are a few select letters in the alphabet that like to taunt writers navigating the linguistic waters from A through Z. Dr. Seuss had one solution to this conundrum in his alphabetical children's books; he made up his own words like Zizzer-zazzer-zuzz.

       Since most of us have neither the illustrative talents nor the vast audience that Dr. Seuss enjoys, word creation is not likely the first choice of A to Z blogging challengers seeking to attract and sustain an audience. If I were to open a page and see a post titled xytorphian xolecites, I would probably run for the hills, thinking it was a foreign language or highly complicated medical terminology. Either way, something that would take far too much time and effort out of my blog reading time to understand!

       So, rather than cringe and avoid certain letters, cling to a dictionary in hopes of discovering inspiration or resort to nonsensical word creation, let's band together as fellow A to Z participants to brainstorm and support one another as we embrace a few pesky letters.

      Say it with me:

To the letters F, J, Q,

We are not afraid of U!

Finally, dear X and Z,

We'll find great posts for you to be.

        Yes, last year those were the six letters that attempted to elude me. X and Z are pretty obvious. I was surprised that F and J were not more cooperative, expecting more difficulty towards the end if the alphabet with W and Y, but those two stuck out like a sore thumb. Random knowledge thanks to participation in the A to Z last year!

        Before we move forward, please take a moment to bookmark this post now. Go ahead. I know how amazing, creative and cooperative readers of this blog are, so I know they (and that means you!) are going to make it a valuable resource and reference point for all the 2012 A to Z bloggers who find themselves stuck on any of the aforementioned letters.

        Good, now ... I run a blog called writercize, where I create and post a few writing exercises (hence, writercize) every week, and I have an assignment for you here today to help you and hundreds if others prepare for the challenge. Ready?

        writercize: Brainstorm words, phrases, feelings, topics, celebrities, locations, companies ... anything you can think of ... for the letters F,J,Q,U,X,Z. Pick one letter to focus on, spout out solutions to a couple or give all six a go, but please help your fellow challengers out by leaving your brainstorm in the comments section of this post.

       The goal is to have a page where anyone in the challenge can visit for inspiration or a free word when those tough letters seem ready to bare their teeth.

       I'll get you started with a few, and really look forward to seeing what you all come up with!

F: first (love, kiss, fight, discovery), flight, fox, finnicky, fear

J: juice, jiggles, jumpy, jaded, jolly

Q: quell, quit, quake, quick, quart

U: underdog, understood, underwhelmed, ugh, ubiquitous

X: xeno, x marks the spot, x-hilirated, the exes, xanax

Z: zany, zither, Zoey, zebra stripes, zoo

          Good luck to everyone with the challenge, and here's to a very prolific April in the blogosphere! Now get those brainstorms thundering!



writercize.blogspot.com
www.alanagarrigues.com

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Getting to Know Elizabeth Mueller

ABOUT ME

Name: Elizabeth Mueller
Blog: Author Elizabeth Mueller
Other Online Info (Twitter, Facebook, Website):

@ElizbethMueller

Facebook

FB Fanpage 

Website

Google+

goodreads

Wattpad

Publications: Darkspell





10 GETTING TO KNOW YOU QUESTIONS 

1. What is the most daring thing you've ever done?

I would have to say stepping out of my comfort zone and getting my book published. Everything I do as an author is daring, from public appearances to making myself known to presentations! Not for the weak at heart, that's for sure.
2. What is your favorite article of clothing? I don't have just one favorite article of clothing--but I do love wearing black to the excess!
3. What is your favorite monster? Mike from Monsters Inc.!
4. If you had to dress up as your favorite literary character, who would it be? J.R.R. Tolkien's Lady Galadriel
5. What is your favorite fairy tale, urban legend or nursery rhyme? Hmmm...
6. What is a cause near and dear to your heart? Anything to protect God, children and family.
7. What's the strangest item you've used as a bookmark? Chewing gum wrapper
8. Do you have any nicknames?  What are they and how did you earn them? Liz--it's easier for friends to call me that compared to my entire name.
9. Name one habit you want to change in yourself: Letting myself put my writing career over my family--it can be a struggle especially with a small publisher. I am the only one truly interested in my book, who else can push it better than I can?
10. Tell us something interesting or shocking about yourself: I am scared of public speaking and I don't know how to ride a bike. I illustrated Darkspell, my YA Paranormal Romance Novel (using my children as the models). Check out the pictures here.

SOME A-to-Z QUESTIONS

1. What was your favorite A-to-Z post from 2011? I really don't have one, they were all created equal.
2. What brought you to the A-to-Z originally? My guilt for turning Lee down the first time back in 2009. Tell us about your first A-to-Z: My first A-to-Z happened int 2011. It felt like an onerous task at the start, but once I scheduled my entire alphabet post in advance, I enjoyed the funnest part: visiting and making new friends!
3. Are you doing a theme? Yes! A tour of my state--Welcome to Utah!
4. Are you writing & scheduling posts in advance? That's the only way to go if you don't want to feel overwhelmed--unless you're a guru.
5. What is your favorite letter of the alphabet, and why?  What letter do you like least? I don't have one right now, but when I was a little girl, it was E because it starts with my first name!

Tell me something fun and interesting about you!

#atozchallenge: A to Z Challenge Sunday Summary (2/19/12)

 

      Some excellent A to Z posts this past week.  Some highlights that got some excellent responses were Thursday's tutorial from Sue Travers about how to create a hyperlink for your blog signature and Shannon's piece on Friday about how the A to Z Challenge helps build community.  Damyanti has also been doing a great job with the Twitter feed.   Have you seen the Twitter newspaper yet?

       Yesterday (Saturday February 18) we had the first of a series of "Getting to know the Challenge hosts".  I was the first victim--er, I mean subject.   More to come so be watching.  Tomorrow (Monday February 20) we'll hear from Elizabeth Mueller.

       And again, more of you have been doing your part in getting the word out and providing encouragement to others:

       A call to sign up to the Challenge was put forth by The Unconventional Librarian.

       Thank you Marta Smezik for adding the A to Z sign-up reminder at the end of your posts.  Love your dedication!

        Matt Conlon gave a good A to Z pitch on his blog =]V[=.  I'm not sure how you pronounce it, but I think I spelled it right.  Good to have Matt back for a second Challenge go around.

       Yikes! Wikes! Hikes on the Long Trail is encouraging readers to join us in the Challenge!  Thanks for that one.

       Jeremy at Geeky Tendencies also gave a push for others to join in.  Geeks Rule!

        Katie K. at Bear Much Fruit sounds like she has a plan in store for April and gave us a hint on her A to Z post.

          At In Which We Start Anew Jo proudly displayed one of Jeremy's new A to Z graphics against her pretty blue background and announced the Challenge.  Tasteful looking site Jo!

          Diligent Writer announced her intentions to do some diligent blogging in April.  Welcome to the Challenge!

           I like the shades of lavender in the background of the First Draft Cafe blog and I like the announcement of joining us in the Challenge.

           Nicole at Madlab Post did a nice job of name-dropping the A to Z Challenge in her post that revealed her April plans.  I think we'll be seeing more of these types of posts in the weeks to come.

           Angel from Et Cetera stated her intentions to participate in the A to Z Challenge and gave good reasons why.   As did Marie from Bonkers in Barnhart--it never hurts to plan ahead.

          Then there was Sheila at Sheila Scribbles debating whether or not to do the April Challenge.  Come on, Sheila, do it--you'll have more fun than last year.

           Annalisa Crawford at Wake Up, Eat, Write, Sleep gave a reminder that Blogging from A to Z is for all bloggers and not just writers.  That's right--any blogger is welcome to blog through the alphabet and it can even be with pictures or whatever you want to theme alphabetically.

           Keep it coming one and all.  And don't just keep it on your blog.  Post a notice at your local library.  Place an announcement in your school newspaper, club bulletin, or any other local media that you can think of.  Think creatively.   Let's reach out to bloggers that might not be in our normal reach--that is, those outside our normal circle of bloggers.   New faces and voices are partly what this Challenge is about.

            We can all play a role in this.  Can we reach a thousand sign-ups by the end of this month?

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#atozchallenge: Getting to Know Me -- Arlee Bird

         Some of you may not know all of the co-hosts of the A to Z Challenge so we thought we'd do a series of getting to know us posts.   We'll give you some basics about each of us and answer some of those questions you've all been dying to know.


ABOUT ME

Name:   Arlee Bird--it's a phony writer name.  If you want to know my real name it's not too difficult to find, but I'm not gonna say here.


Blog:   Tossing It Out is my main blog where it all started.
I can also be found at Wrote By Rote (memoir), A Faraway View (a blog about dreams), and A Few Words (a contemplative blog inspired by Psalms).


Other Online Info:  I do have a page on Facebook and I'd be happy if you signed up to "like" it.   



10 GETTING TO KNOW YOU QUESTIONS

1. What is the most daring thing you've ever done?   I once gave up everything to walk from Tennessee to California.  Well, actually I didn't make it very far on that trip, but 17 years later I did end up in California after an adventurous life.


2. What is your favorite article of clothing?  Hmm---Depends on the time and place, but I do like Hawaiian shirts.


3. What is your favorite monster?   Godzilla was the first monster movie I ever saw.  I saw the film in the theater when it first came out in the mid-1950s.  I was a very young kid then but I was fascinated.  Godzilla was my first monster love and has remained my favorite.
  
4. If you had to dress up as your favorite literary character, who would it be?   Well, heck if I know!  I actually usually don't think about the way characters are dressed.  And I can't think of anything for this--Huckleberry Finn maybe?  


5. What is your favorite fairy tale, urban legend or nursery rhyme?  This certainly covers a lot of ground.  I guess I'll go with first loves again.  Here is the first rhyme I ever memorized and I can still recite it:

Deedle, deedle dumpling, my son John

Went to bed with his stockings on.

One shoe off.  One shoe on.

Deedle, deedle dumpling, my son John.

6. What is a cause near and dear to your heart?   The greater appreciation of juggling and classical music.


7. What's the strangest item you've used as a bookmark?   Candy wrappers?  I used to use them as bookmarks all the time when I was in college.  


8. Do you have any nicknames?   What are they and how did you earn them?   A few guys in high school used to call me "Juggler".   I have no idea why--well, I guess I do know.  The name didn't really come into common use though. 


9. Name one habit you want to change in yourself:   I have a terrible nail-biting habit that I've had since I was a small child.   My parents tried to stop it by putting some sort of hot sauce on my fingers.  I guess that's how I developed my love for hot sauce and spicy foods.


10. Tell us something interesting or shocking about yourself:   I've revealed so much about myself on my blog that it's difficult to think of something I haven't said.  But let me toss this one out:  I love musicals--especially Rodgers & Hammerstein and old Busby Berkeley extravaganzas.  I know, shocking!

SOME A-to-Z QUESTIONS

1. What was your favorite A-to-Z post from 2011?    Not fair!  That's like asking which of my kids is my favorite.  But okay, I'll play this one.  I'll go with my X post II x X=XX.  It's a tough letter and I felt like I came up with something fairly unique. 


2. What brought you to the A-to-Z originally? Tell us about your first A-to-Z:  Short story: 200 followers and I had an amazing time.  You can find the longer story here.


3. Are you doing a theme?  I'm doing at least 3 themes and I'll be saying more about that later on those 3 blogs.  Not sure what I'll be doing on Tossing It Out yet.   I will be doing some blog juggling for sure.


4. Are you writing & scheduling posts in advance?    My 3 themed blogs are mostly done.  I will hopefully have Tossing It Out written and scheduled before the Challenge begins.


5. What is your favorite letter of the alphabet, and why?    What letter do you like least?   Favorite letter is probably "A" since it represents excellence.  "F" represents failure, but I can't totally knock the letter since it also represents fun and fantastic.   Actually I guess I like all the letters.

I hope you've enjoyed these questions and answers. Don't forget, you are welcome, even encouraged, to ask any additional questions you might have in the comments section. Or feel free to answer the questions yourself! We won't tell.

***

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#atozchallenge: Community & the A-to-Z

When I took on the A-to-Z Challenge last year, one of the most rewarding things I experienced was the warmth of the blogging community. Before the A-to-Z I'd been trundling along, randomly talking to myself on my blog. I wasn't really visiting other blogs, and I certainly wasn't commenting on them. Yet I yearned to have people comment on my own posts; I just had no idea how to make that happen.

What I learned was that talking to myself meant I wasn't embracing the full glory of the blogging community. You see, we get to know each other, we comment on each other's blogs, we support each other. And this is no clique, no closed community. Anyone can take part in it by jumping in with both feet and putting yourself out there.

How do I do that?

Visit other blogs. Leave comments. Follow other blogs. If a blogger recommends another blog, check it out; you may just like it!

On your own blog, you can respond to any comments left to you. There are a number of ways to do this, either by email or by posting your reply in the same comments section. You can also carry the conversation back their blog, as long as it is done respectfully. I make it a point to not only respond to the comment, but to then also visit the other blog back and leave a genuine comment.

You will find that as you do this more people may wander by your blog. They may even follow you and/or leave comments. Speak to them, not to yourself, and you will go a long way.

How does the A-to-Z help me with this?

The A-to-Z gives you an easy means to connect with similar bloggers, as well as bloggers who may not be similar but still interest you. It gives you a list of blogs, a virtual cornucopia of reading material and connections, right there on the linky list.

In addition, it provides inspiration for what to post about. The possibilities are endless, yet a prompt can help get you ideas you might not have had otherwise. You have a built in audience coming by to see what you have to say.

On top of that, you get energy and excitement. Everyone has something to prove. Engines are revving, and there's nowhere to go but out into the blogging community.

The A-to-Z gives us all the opportunity to step outside our cocoons and stretch beyond our comfort levels. There is a good chance you'll find that this is exactly what you've been waiting for, and what you've needed all along.

May you find your Muse.

Shannon
The Warrior Muse

How to Make a Hyperlink Signature: Guest Sue Travers

       You can find Sue Travers at Traverslife among other sites.  Today's guest article is a reprint which offers a how-to explanation on leaving a link to your blog in the signature you leave on comments.  Here Sue explains why it's a good idea to do this and how you go about creating the link.

Hyperlink signature for the A-Z Blogging Challenge

Non technical, non threatening instructions for making a hyperlink signature!

Why do you want a hyperlink signature?
• You've signed up for the A-Z April Blogging Challenge
• You plan to comment on other bloggers posts in a caring and sharing way after The Challenge has finished
• You hope the person for whom you crafted a kindly word, will come tovisit your blog in return
• You want to make it easy to visit your blog. You don't want them to have go to your profile page, scroll down, find you have 3 or even 8 blogs, and wonder which one to look at first
• Sadly, people give up in frustration if it's not easy to work out which is the relevant blog
• The nifty signature will take them to the specific blog (or post) you'd like them to visit. Easy!

How to do it:
The letters and symbols below are what the computer needs to navigate to your blog or post, (and you wouldn't believe how hard it was to find a blog title that hadn't been taken!) I've colour coded it for ease, normally it's all in black, and appears more or less in one line. It's only broken up like this because I put it on a powerpoint slide so you can see it. (Otherwise it goes straight into a hyperlink signature which wouldn't help you at all.)

All you do is copy those letters and symbols out - the whole lot up there, exactly the same (but of course with your personal, relevant information) - including the space after the a - into a Word document or equivalent. Don't add anything else. Save it where you can refer to it easily.

Next. Where it's red is where you put your blog address (what you originally called your blog - if you can't remember click on the title of your blog and check in the address bar at the top of your page.) But of course you do it in black, not red.

Now choose your signature. Are you going to use your real name, the name of your blog, a nom de plume or what? Type that in where I've used blue. That will become your hyperlink or 'clicky' signature, and is what I should see in the comments section when you copy/paste from your saved word document.

That's all! It should work.

Please, please, please, feel free to give it a go here. I was nervous the first time I tried it in public, thinking I'd stuff it up (which I did about 4 million times before I got it right). I won't be critical if you get it wrong...honest! Please ask for help if you get stuck.

Related articles

• How To Create a Hyperlink in Your Blog Post (misadventuresinlamosquitia.wordpress.com)
• With Regards To Building Website Links For Your Site There's A Lot Of Ways To Do This (leccoworkshop.com)
• Amazing Alzheimer's Videos via a Hyperlink (asourparentsage.net)
• How Do I Blog Thee? Better Blogging Tips - 2/3 (seekersportal.wordpress.com)

Keep Track of #atozchallenge via The #atozchallenge Daily!

Last April, the A to Z challenge had about 1300 participants.This year, more than 600 bloggers

 have already signed up . Who knows how long the list would grow by the third of April?

I have to admit I was a little lost last year--so many blogs to visit, so little time! Plus, I had my 

own posts to think of, which according to my leave-everything-till-the-last-minute personality, 

I had left unscheduled, writing each day as it came. By the time I came to the list, I was 

horrified. Which link had I visited last? Then, when I clicked on a link, it sometimes turned out

 the blogger hadn't posted in a week. Which pissed me off, of course. 

This is when I discovered the #atozchallenge tag which our host Lee helpfully added to all his

 comments. I went on Twitter and discovered fresh A-Z posts by bloggers on this hashtag. No 

worrying over whether the link was valid, and I also got to make new Twitter buddies, and 

agonize with them about the number of posts to be written or visited! (For explanation of hashtag 

for those new to Twitter go here.)

So I basically went and created Twitter newspaper, The #atozchallenge Daily, one which 

automatically collects all the links posted with the  #atozchallenge tag. Even if you're not 

on twitter, all you have to do is bookmark this newspaper. Opening it everyday is a 

great way of finding links to fresh A to Z posts. You'll also find it embedded here in 

this blog, on the sidebar to the right! Embedding it on your own blog is as easy as clicking on 

this link, clicking on the "Embed" tab to the right on the page that opens, and copying the

resultant code into your blog.

If you are on Twitter, you can follow us for updates on @AprilA2Z, and use #atozchallenge 

for any posts you make about A to Z, now, or during the challenge in April. This would make 

it very easy for us and others to find you---adding tons of exposure to your blog. Also, we can

 be twitter buddies and obsess over A to Z building up to the challenge, and also when it 

begins to make us dizzy with all the comment love and discussions!

Of the host team, (besides the main @AprilA2Z) you could follow these folks on Twitter :

Alex J. Cavanaugh :                                              @AlexJCavanaugh

Stephen Tremp at Breakthrough Blogs :            @StephenTremp

Matthew MacNish at The QQQE  :                       @MatthewMacNish

Jeremy Hawkins at Retro-Zombie:                      @iZombieJMH

DL Hammons at Cruising Altitude :                    @DL_H

Shannon Lawrence at The Warrior Muse :         @thewarriormuse

Elizabeth Mueller :                                                @ElizbethMueller

Karen Gowen at Coming Down the Mountain : @KarenGowen

Damyanti (that is, moi) at Amlokiblogs:               @damyantig

So if you're on Twitter, follow @AprilA2Z and let us know you're participating--and spread the word via the #atozchallenge 

The more we are, the louder the noise we'll make, the more the people we'll make friends with, and the more fun we'll have. (Not to mention additional twitter and blog follows!)

If you don't like Twitter, keep your finger on the pulse by bookmarking The #atozchallenge Daily...either way, have fun and win new fans this April by participating in the A to Z Challenge!


--------------
Damyanti Biswas, co host of the #atozchallenge.

Teaching Often Makes You the Student

Today we have a special guest post from Heather of Random Interruptions. She's a very new blogger, but is jumping off the high dive and joining us in the A-Z. Please give her a warm welcome!

Teaching Often Makes You the Student

        I am so happy to be joining you today. Thanks Tina for the invitation to guest blog.    I started my blog at the end of 2011, so I am still very much a newbie. I am really excited about participating in the A to Z Blog Challenge.

       I work as a supervisor of an agency that provides support coordination/case management to people with disabilities. A couple years ago I was asked to co-train a class titled Person-Centered Planning, which focuses on how to write plans based on individuals’ needs, wants, goals, etc. That sounds like a no-brainer, doesn’t it?

      The introduction to the class is for all of the participants and trainers to share their greatest goal for themselves. Most answered with goals of traveling, furthering their education, etc. My goal was to write a book. I have been telling my friends in casual conversation for years that I wanted to write a book, but now I said this OUT LOUD to people who look to me for guidance every day. The pressure was on!

     Making this proclamation, I felt that I would be a hypocrite if I didn’t start taking steps to make it happen. After all, in my profession we assist others in achieving their goals every day. Shouldn’t we lead by example?

     I have learned that writing is easier said than done and it has been a process to say the least. My first step was to buy a laptop to make writing more convenient and portable. Step 2 was joining Goodreads where I have read some incredible advice. That has all been wonderful but I still hadn’t written anything! About a month ago I started my blog, just to get the creative juices flowing. I am still struggling and learning how it all works but I am looking forward to the A to Z Challenge to light a fire under me.

     And, …I am teaching the class again in March 

What would your greatest goal be? What are you doing to achieve it?

You can visit me at: http://randominteruptions.blogspot.com/

Stephen Tremp "Opening" Release

Hi everyone, and thanks for stopping by. I'd like to thank Lee for the opportunity to promote the recent release of my suspense thriller OPENING, the second installment int he BREAKTHROUGH series. Here we go .....


“A scientific breakthrough of such magnitude it could radically alter the future of humanity—for better or worse—is in the wrong hands.”

Graduate students from M.I.T. have stolen a breakthrough in wormholes. Their leader, Nicholas Fischer Jr., has convinced the group to assassinate powerful politicians and World Bank executives, privy to the discovery, to prevent them from using it for their own New World Order agenda and egregious profits.

Orange County resident Chase Manhattan, man of danger, is part of a new breed of modern-day discovery seekers. As the death toll mounts, Chase and his friends must battle this group of misled zealots from M.I.T. The conflict: will this discovery be used to benefit and advance the world in ways only previously imagined, or will greed and incompetence be used to manipulate the masses and benefit a select few. Amplifying the problem, events escalate as a scientific Pandora’s box is knocked over and the contents spilled out.

Stephen Tremp, author of the BREAKTHROUGH series, has a B.A. in information systems and an MBA degree in global management. Stephen has a background in information systems, management, and finance and draws from this varied and complex experiential knowledge to write one-of-a-kind thrillers.

His novels are enhanced by current events at the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN) and other scientific research facilities around the world. These potential advances have the ability to change the way we perceive our universe and our place in it!

REVIEWS

I am a big fan of BREAKTHROUGH, the first book of the Chase Manhattan series, so I was looking forward to OPENING. Author Stephen Tremp has not only not disappointed with the new installment, but also raised the bar in OPENING, providing a slick complex action thriller.

The scope of the story is breathtaking and the action is non-stop. The events are so plausible that at times I was nodding in agreement thinking, "Yeah, that could happen." The story is cued directly from current world events and scientific breakthroughs.

Arlee Bird
Writer, Blogger and Juggler of Words and Phrases

I enjoyed reading OPENING. You did a great job of grabbing and keeping my attention. Your use of description was wonderful and your attention to detail just helped to add to the book. The action was quite intense at times. I am a big fan of BREAKTHROUGH, the first book of the Chase Manhattan series, so I was looking forward to OPENING.

Audrey Sillett Lintner

You can visit Stephen Tremp at Breakthrough Blogs. BREAKTHROUGH and OPENING can be downloaded:

Kindle for $1.99

Smashwords for $1.99